This week we have seen raw, nasty power. We have seen the very reason why we have a constitution for you. Yes, you. We have seen what it is that separates us from the likes of Russia and Vladimir Putin.
What we saw was our president attack individuals who had received bonuses from AIG. He rebuked them on national television. Then he ordered his treasury secretary to try to take the money back from the bonus babies. We saw senators and representatives attack those private citizens. The political leaders threatened to write laws to tax away the bonuses. They tarred the already tattered reputation of a huge company. That put the jobs of thousands under threat.
Meanwhile New York’s Attorney General demanded the names of the citizens who received the bonuses. As if they were criminals. Barney Frank demanded the same from the boss of AIG. If the company did not give up the names he would ask Congress to subpoena them. Again, as if these individuals were criminals.
The AIG boss said the company may give up the names. But he would want a guarantee they would be held confidential. Because the employees had already received threats of violence. Barney Frank was not much interested.
These bonuses were paid under contracts. Contracts are protected by law. Beyond that they were doubly protected. The President’s stimulus package specifically protected them.
Mobs do not care about laws. Autocrats like Putin and Venezuela’s Chavez do not care about laws. And some of our leaders do not care about laws. What do you suppose these leaders of ours would do to these individuals if laws did not stand in their way? What would they do to satisfy the mobs they have incited?
Did they engage in this demagoguing to distract you? From some of their mistakes in our economic mess? Perhaps. Were they embarrassed over how bad they looked? Did they point the finger at people receiving a million bucks because they goofed over a hundred billion bucks? Perhaps.
They threatened to use their power to break contracts these individuals had with their employers.
Suppose you work for a company. The company contracts with you for a bonus. Achieve this this year and we pay you this bonus. So you achieve it. But now the company says it had a really bad year. So it will not pay the bonus. It does not matter whether you did what was called for. No bonus - because the company lost money.
