After American International Group paid out $165 million in bonuses to top executives in March, Congress exploded in a political orgy of outrage.
“How do they justify this outrage to the taxpayers who are keeping the company afloat?” asked President Barack Obama.
“Rewarding senior executives who created this mess is nothing short of an outrage,” added House Republican Whip Eric Cantor, one of many Republicans who backed a 90 percent surtax on those bonuses.
And in a radio interview, Iowa Sen. Chuck Grassley, the top Republican on the Senate Finance Committee, suggested AIG executives “do one of two things: resign or go commit suicide.”
But when the news broke late last week about a second, $235 million round of AIG bonuses, the halls of Congress resounded largely with, well, silence.
The almost uniform congressional shrug was particularly notable following the announcement that Goldman Sachs would be setting aside an $11.36 billion compensation pool for its roughly 29,400 employees. The per-worker amount is close to what Goldman paid employees in 2007, when Wall Street was seeing record profits.
“I think people are just picking up on it,” said Sen. Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), whose proposal to cap and tax bonuses was dropped in the last stimulus debate.
In the House, Financial Services Committee Chairman Barney Frank (D-Mass.) and Joint Economic Committee Chairwoman Carolyn Maloney (D-N.Y.) said they were still reviewing the specifics of the payments. - Politico Story
Why aren't that out trying to tax these bonuses at 95%? Where is the huge blast of when hell freezes over fodder? What is so different this time around?
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