Of course we will have Fascism in America, but we will call it Democracy. - Senator Huey Long

From Daily Kos: It is interesting to note that the bonuses about which President Obama is so angry were explicitly protected by Senator Dodd in the stimulus bill that President Obama signed. Can someone help me understand why AIG is a bunch of bad guys for taking advantage of provisions that the Congress went out of its way to add to law?

http://www.foxbusiness.com/...

"While the Senate was constructing the $787 billion stimulus last month, Dodd added an executive-compensation restriction to the bill. That amendment provides an "exception for contractually obligated bonuses agreed on before Feb. 11, 2009" -- which exempts the very AIG bonuses Dodd and others are now seeking to tax." "The amendment made it into the final version of the bill, and is law." "Separately, Sen. Dodd was AIG’s largest single recipient of campaign donations during the 2008 election cycle with $103,100, according to opensecrets.org."

What an amazing coincidence!

In an interview with CNN, Dodd said Treasury officials approached him in February and asked that he scale back a provision in the stimulus bill capping bonus payments to executives at firms that received government money. Dodd said he acceded to Treasury's request, which made the limits on bonuses prospective only. And have now been thrown out, thanks to Timmy Geithner!