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Senate may be sane (if only by comparison)
March 24, 2009
It appears the Senate may not move as quickly to destroy the financial sector enact a punitive tax on TARP employee bonuses as the House did.
President Obama, after whipping up populist outrage against the AIG bonuses, hedged on the tax in his "60 Minutes" interview, and some Senate Democrats are having second thoughts, reports CQ Politics:
With two Republicans signed on as cosponsors, the legislation written by Baucus and Grassley could have a clear path through a Senate with 58 Democrats sitting in the majority.But with a chunk of the Democratic Caucus remaining uncommitted to the legislation and some top Republicans vowing to slow it down, Democratic leaders would have a significant problem on their hands if they tried to push it forward.
All of this is disappointing to Senator Suicide:
Charles E. Grassley of Iowa, the committee’s ranking Republican who joined Baucus in crafting the legislation, complained bitterly about Obama’s weekend retreat from the congressional proposals.“We wouldn’t be using the tax code if he had been on top of things and kept the bonuses from going out in the first instance. All the special interests that the president said he’s fighting are raising their ugly head and he’s submissive to them,” Grassley said
As terrible as the TARP tax is as a policy matter, it would almost be worth passing if its coverage were just a little broader.
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Comments
It's almost embarrassing to watch these politicians and pundits contort their way into supporting one side or another. Still an awful situation for AIG: they can't disclose who gets the bonuses, without having those people hired away, but they can't hide it without the government claiming that AIG is giving bonuses to fraudsters and felons.
Posted by: TaxRascal | March 24, 2009 10:51 AM