Does Extortion Work?

Extortion

Ex*tor"tion\, n. [F. extorsion.]
1. The act of extorting; the act or practice of wresting anything from a person by force, by threats, or by any undue exercise of power; undue exaction; overcharge.
2. (Law) The offense committed by an officer who corruptly claims and takes, as his fee, money, or other thing of value, that is not due, or more than is due, or before it is due. --Abbott.
3. That which is extorted or exacted by force.
Syn: Oppression; rapacity; exaction; overcharge.

extortion. (n.d.). Webster's Revised Unabridged Dictionary. Retrieved March 23, 2009, from Dictionary.com website: http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/extortion

It is now said that 15 of the top 20 AIG bonus-getters are going to pay (or have paid) back their big bonuses they recently received—a total of about $30 million. The aggressive attorney general of the Empire State, Andrew Cuomo, seems happy to report this.

Here's some more about Cuomo from the article:

"I applaud the employees who are returning the bonuses," Cuomo said during a conference call with reporters. "I think they are being responsive to the American people."

Cuomo said 9 of the 10 people receiving the largest awards have agreed to return their bonus. Additionally, 15 of the top 20 bonus recipients have consented to returning their money. Cuomo said some have refused to return the money, while others are still considering it....

Cuomo said he doesn't plan to release the names of the employees who have agreed to return the bonuses, and said there is no implied threat that if an employee doesn't consent to returning the bonus that their name will be released.

I'm not so sure about that last sentence.

(I also suspect that lawyers for the bonus-getters have found some way to keep open the door to a lawsuit at some future time to get those bonuses back, when the conditions are more favorable to such a possibility.)

Question: If the AIG bonuses were legally obtained (no matter how dimwitted) by work in a law-abiding company, and the government pressures them into giving those bonuses back by various threats of taxation (and the potential of deep public shame), is this extortion?

Answer: According to the definition above, Yes.

Question: Does Extortion Work?

Answer: In our current government, Yes.

Question: Who are you going to vote for in the next election?

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?