The Scandal Hidden by the Scandal

As I write this, many citizens are writhing in angst against the AIG bonus payments being paid by a company that sought, and received, $170 BILLION in taxpayer money to be "bailed out".

And, almost as if it were planned*, congressional "leaders" are crafting legislation to "tax away" the bonuses.

There has been back and forth accusations, SEN Chris Dodd (D-Conn) first denied, then admitted to inserting an amendment into the Stimulus package protecting bonuses agreed to before the bill was signed. (When other than elected officials do this, it is normally called "Lying".) But, he says he did so at the urging of the Treasury Department. Meanwhile, Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner claims he didn't learn of the bonuses until 10 March. But then again, he didn' t know about having to pay taxes until sometime after 4 November 2008, either.

Reportedly, some of the bonus recipients are feeling threatened by the public outrage... and I don't doubt it.

But all this is a smoke screen. All of this is really distracting from the true scandal.

Actually, two scandals.

The first scandal is that our congress is pushing to "tax away the bonus". This, of course, appeals to many who find these bonuses stupid and downright wrong. Its a mob-mentality thing. But, the people to whom this "punishment" appeals are missing the bigger point.

As wrong as the bonuses are. As dumb-headed as they are from a PR perspective. As utterly unethical and immoral... they were not illegal to be made. They were not limited by anything as of the date they were agreed to. To now go back and punish the company, and the employees for something that when done was not "wrong" in the legal sense, is itself wrong.

There is, of course, a Latin term for this: ex post facto. In legal terms, if you make something illegal retroactively, it is ex post facto. Congress is attempting to do just this.

In criminal law, ex post facto is supposed to be prohibited in a nation that adheres to the "rule of law". At least to the extent that someone can be convicted for something that wasn't illegal when he did it. The reverse is allowed, where a crime is repealed or punishment reduced after the crime was committed, or punishment decided.

But this is very scary ground being broken by our congress in its rush to do something. Today, maybe it is silly bonuses by some executive big-wigs. Maybe tomorrow, that investment you made expecting it to be tax-free, will be taxed retroactively to when you made it. Maybe that thing you did which was perfectly legal when you did it will be made illegal retroactively, and you will be in jail.

When our lawmakers can retroactively change rules, clauses, and laws... nobody is safe. And, nobody can count on anything. The bedrock of not only our economic system but even our very lives is removed. Who would enter into contracts in a place where they can be disregarded because of mob rule? Who would invest money if they can't even be sure their money is legally safe? This is not a good thing.

The other scandal is just as bad, but hardly a precedent.

Our legislative branch was purposely made by our founding fathers to be deliberative in nature. To take its time to grapple with the big questions. To pursue changes only after much thought, debate, deliberation and discussion.

Every time congress rushes to "fix" something, it almost always ends up making things worse. This is a prime example, but sadly not the first nor likely the last.

Remember, the "Stimulus" package that spent $789 BILLION of your and mine tax dollars was 1200 pages. It was not read in total by any single member of congress or the President before it was passed and signed into law. Much less we the people being able to read and comment to our elected officials. The single most expensive spending by our government in history was rushed... horribly rushed... and this is what you get for it. This, and the pork.

The scandal is that we send people to Washington to be our proxies. They are there to work for us, to do our bidding in the legislature (and the executive) so that we can go about our lives trying to make a living and raise families. Yet, despite their salaries and staffs. Despite the perks of office. Despite their responsibility --- they cannot even bother to read the legislation before voting on it.

This total lack of responsibility is the second scandal being covered by all the smoke and mirrors.

I believe the time is coming soon when the American people will no longer tolerate such sloppiness from our employees in Washington. I believe congress knows it too, and are desperate to keep the majority of us from learning it, or thinking too much about it. I believe they know what will happen when we do.

CP