Great American Journal: Pork, Ear Marks & AIG

Congress recently approved $410 billion dollars more in spending. That's with $180 billion passed last spring, $345 billion in the summer, $700 billion in the fall and the recent $780 billion bailout.

The total so far is $2.415 trillion dollars.

The $410 billion in additional spending includes 8,500 earmarks price tagged at $7.7 billion.

According to watchdog group Taxpayers for Common Sense they report;

Congressman Ron Paul of Texas leads House Republicans having 20 earmarks short of $74 million in the bill. Congressman Don Young from Alaska has 27 earmarks over $71 million.

Senator’s Thad Cochran and Roger Wicker of Mississippi have earmarks totaling $860 million in the bill. Senator David Vitter of Louisiana comes in at $249 million and Senator Kit Bond of Missouri comes in at over 248 million.

The total is $1.502 billion dollars.

After receiving another $170 billion dollar bailout from the American taxpayer, AIG paid out $165 million in bonuses to its executives.

I am mad at Congress, Obama and Chris Dodd, not at AIG. Mad about the 1,100 page Pork-a-Saurus bill that was crafted in large part behind closed doors by Pelosi and company. It was released around 11 pm at night, then placed on the floor for a vote hours later before anyone could conceivably hope to even read it. This is where it all began.

According to the Center for Responsive Politics' website OpenSecrets.org, here are the top recipients of AIG campaign contributions in Congress.

Obama, Barack (D) $110,332
Dodd, Chris (D) $281,038
Schumer, Charles E (D) $111,875
McCain, John (R) $99,249
Baucus, Max (D) $90,000

Kerry, John (D) $85,000
Johnson, Nancy L (R) $75,400
Sununu, John E (R) $69,049
Clinton, Hillary (D) $61,515
Lieberman, Joe (I) $57,900
Rangel, Charles B (D) $53,582

This raises two key questions: Was bailout money used to receive political contributions for deals made in secret? Will the politicians who received AIG cash give the money back?

Democratic leaders and this Administration worked to pass a bill with a provision allowing AIG executives to get millions in bonuses. Once the million-dollar bonuses became public, Democrats this week tried to pass a legislative cover-up.

Instead of authorizing the Treasury Department to recover 100 percent of the bonus pay, the Democrat’s response was to pass a bill imposing a 90-percent tax on the very same executives they permitted to receive the bonuses last month.

I can’t believe the AIG executives don’t go public and blow the whistle on Congress. Instead they are foolishly letting themselves become scapegoats for Obama & Chris Dodd and allowing them to get off the hook Scott free.

The reason we have an AIG executive bonus scandal right now is because we started bailing out businesses that made corrupt decisions. From the beginning I have opposed the bailouts because they are not going to or ever solve the real problems in this country.

All the pork, ear marks, bailout monies and bonuses at taxpayer’s expense are out right insanity and the insanity must #stop! Tell Obama and the Congress we want it all back, every thin dime and not just campaign contributions from AIG. The American people want the bailout money also. We want it back now. We want it back today.

Source: Center for Individual Freedom