Can I Have Chuck Schumer's Pay?

I find it deeply troubling that Congress is seriously discussing what amounts to the illegal confiscation of legally-obtained compensation of AIG employees.

The fact that the compensation is undeserved is beside the point—it was agreed upon in a legal fashion.

The fact that the public is outraged is also beside the point—the contracts were signed, to my knowledge, following our laws.

The Democrats in Congress, though foolish, are not so bluntly stupid as to merely declare the contracts invalid; they know they can't do that. The courts would surely rule (if perhaps on appeal) in favor of the recipients of the money. They also realize, though will not admit, that they passed legislation that allowed this money to go to these employees.

Furthermore, the AIG recipients are smart enough to realize that the Democrats are grandstanding; after some months go by, and some meddlesome lawsuits, they will almost certainly get to keep the money, as they would have kept it in 2008, 2007, or 1975. They are also probably smart enough to realize that this won't happen again, and will find new employment—rendering the idea of "retention bonuses" laughable.

So where does Chuck Schumer come in? Consider this quote from yesterday:

"If (AIG CEO Edward) Liddy does nothing, we will act and will take this money back and return it to its rightful owners, the American taxpayers. We will take this money back by taxing virtually all of it.

"So let the recipients of these large and unseemly bonuses be warned. If you don't return it on your own, we will do it for you."

Did you catch that? We will take this money back. Take. As in, Steal. Confiscate. And why should it be taken from them? Because, in short, they did a lousy job at their workplace yet get compensated far above their value.

So in a similar vein, can I have Sen. Schumer's pay? After all, he does a horrid job and has a popularity level only slightly above smallpox. His pay comes straight from my tax dollars, and I am outraged that he does such a lousy job at his workplace and is compensated very well anyway. He and his kind, more than anyone (including AIG), are running this country into the ground. And this country is a lot more important than AIG is.

Can I take his paycheck, please, and return it to the Treasury?