Ron Paul has a point, though I wish he didn't

[LuckyTheDog]

I really, really hate to say this, but... the crazy old neoconfederate Ron Paul has a point here. Taxing the AIG bonuses in this way is probably unconstitutional. We all knew there would be screw-ups when the bailouts were rushed through. And we all knew that corporate execs would seek to game the system any way they could. We might have to chalk this up as a lesson learned:

http://rawstory.com/news/2008/Paul_Bill_to_tax_bonuses_unconstitutional_0319.html

Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX) yet again went against the grain in Congress when he stood up in the House and argued against a proposal that would tax 90 percent of AIG executive bonuses, saying that it was a "disgrace," a "distraction" and an "outrage" that undermined the Constitution.

[Schema Thing]

1. Just curious

on what basis would it be unconstitutional?

[dsc]

5. It is very close to being, if it isn't, a bill of attainder

which is patently unconsitutional.

[Schema Thing]

15. No, it's not that

A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. Bills of attainder are forbidden by Article I, section 9, clause 3 of the United States Constitution.

[FLAprogressive]

17. Sorry....Ron Paul is a constitutional law scholar. Ask any of his YouTube or DU fans.

:sarcasm:

[notesdev]

27. definition: bill of attainder

A bill of attainder (also known as an act or writ of attainder) is an act of legislature declaring a person or group of persons guilty of some crime and punishing them without benefit of a trial. Bills of attainder are forbidden by Article I, section 9, clause 3 of the United States Constitution.

[LuckyTheDog]

6. I am not a legal scholar

But I think the courts could look at that as a bill of attainder or ex post facto law and/or an ex post facto law.

[Schema Thing]

16. see above

those things are about declaring a person or group criminal.

[LuckyTheDog]

20. The ex post facto law charge ...

... might hold up in court. Also, the courts could rule that the bill is a de-facto criminalization of the bonuses.

I am not sticking up for Paul here. I have worried about that from the start.

[jmowreader]

7. Article I, Section 9 prohibits it

No Bill of Attainder or ex post facto Law shall be passed.

A bill of attainder is one that has a negative effect on a single person or group.

On edit: since they're trying to take back already-granted bonuses, this is also an ex post facto law--one that works retroactively.

[Schema Thing]

18. It would seem not

as those things are about criminal laws, not tax codes.

[jmowreader]

22. They'd call this tax thing a bill of attainder

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

2. Ron Paul doesn't know shit about the constitution.

Fuck him and all his little fanboys.

[nomorenomore08]

8. Seconded! Marijuana legalization is about the only thing I agree with him on,

and that's not enough to keep me from recognizing him for the decrepit, bigoted kook he is.

[Cha]

23. And girls..I'll second

that since I got into with one tonight at work but she was the one hurling insults at Obama and his supporters and I just stuck up for the President..

I ended it as she was going out the door with "Love Obama":)

[emilyg]

3. A lot of people on TV have been

saying the same thing.

[Lint Head]

4. It's unconstitutional to steal our tax money for bonuses.

[BlueDogMizzou]

10. Unethical definitely, illegal, probably not since Dodd

added wording to the stimulus bill that made it OK, unconstitutional, uh no.

[ColbertWatcher]

9. Talk is cheap and so is r0N pAuL.

This dumbass waited (how long) before he asked for help for his district after Hurricane Ike.

He's a racist ass.

[LuckyTheDog]

11. Yes, Ron Paul is a turd

But that does not make him wrong about the AIG bonuses tax.

[ColbertWatcher]

24. I don't listen to him, so I have no idea if he could be right about anything. n/t

[Naturyl]

12. Ron Paul is irrelevant.

No one is listening, and no one cares. Get on your little soapbox and go to town, Ron.

[FLAprogressive]

13. even some DUers are part of the "Ron PAUL Is the Only TRUE Constiutionalist!!1one11!" R[_|OV3]LUTION

why do progressives even listen to this windbag?

And then they refer to him as Dr. Paul like the rest of his sycophantic fans....like having an M.D. degree makes you knowledgeable about the constitution or economics or anything else.

Wake up DU and get your heads out of your asses! This guy is a racist sack of shit! He is the epitome of a broken clock.

[Naturyl]

19. Racism is the least of his problems...

Worse than that, he wants to send *every* American of *any* color back to the economic equivalent of 1897.

[Geek_Girl]

14. It is unconstitutional

and won't hold muster in court. But I believe this was trap set up by dems to show that republicans don't have any principals whatsover even when it comes to TAXES.

[Gin]

21. did the Senate vote on this yet? if not....it's all moot until then.

[gratuitous]

25. Too bad he didn't identify what's unconstitutional

Big talk, no specifics. Or, in terms someone from his state can understand, all hat and no cattle.

Speculation about a bill of attainder is meaningless; "Dr." Paul didn't quite see fit to explain what was unconstitutional about taxing these bonuses. And, since levying taxes is a power explicitly given to Congress by the Constitution, it's not up to a minor party Representative to decide what's constitutional and what isn't constitutional.

Why is Ron Paul seeking to usurp the power of the Judicial Branch? Isn't that an impeachable offense?

[chollybocker]

26. Didn't Al Capone also go down on tax fraud charges?

Audit their asses off.