Despite the half-hearted efforts of A.I.G. head Ed Liddy to return some of the bonus money, there will still be taxpayer funds used to make wealthy traders richer. Congress and Barack Obama have delivered a lot of tough talk, but so far they have not done all that they can to stamp out A.I.G.'s greed. So here's an idea care of Dan Cantor of the Working Families Party, have Albany tax every dime out of those bonuses.
From PolitickerNY:
Amen Dan! New York needs every spare penny we can find to help balance the budget this year. Further, not only should these bonuses be taken away, the entire wealthy class should be made to pay their fair share. I know Majority Leader Smith and Governor Paterson are sick of hearing about the Fair Share Plan, but until they approve it the working class will continue to fight tooth and nail for it.The Working Families Party called today for a 100% state tax on the $165 million in announced bonuses at insurance giant AIG.
"If Washington can't find a way to get this money back, Albany should," said Dan Cantor, Working Families Party Executive Director. "The same people who helped wreck the economy are taking home millions in taxpayer-funded bonuses while classrooms, hospitals and homeless shelters here in New York face billions in cuts. It's disgusting in the extreme. AIG got its bailout. When will working families see theirs?"
Cantor continued: "Opponents of Fair Share Tax Reform like to talk about how much the rich have suffered from the economic downturn. But the real pain of this recession is being felt by millions of hardworking New Yorkers who bear no responsibility for the financial shenanigans that got us into this mess."
"The Governor proposes to balance the New York's budget through devastating cuts that would place the burden almost entirely on the backs of working families. Taxing AIG bonuses and asking those who can afford it to pay a little more in taxes is a far better solution."
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