Bailout Rip-offs

[Dana Rohrabacher]

If a company has been so mismanaged that it has been given a taxpayer bailout in order to survive, taking the loot away from corporate executives who've had the chutzpah to give themselves $millions is the right thing to do no matter how it is collected. I would prefer the approach legislation that I have authored takes, which is to require the return to the company of all bonuses given to its executives as a prerequisite to any taxpayer bailout money being awarded to that company. We can not permit our own people who are suffering horrendous loses in home value and savings to be taxed to provide bailout money to companies whose own resources have been drained by top executives. These companies should not be bailed out in the first place, but if they are, taxpayers have the right to make demands and retrieve money taken from the company.

[Dana Rohrabacher]

The choice is between doing nothing and doing it this way. If you would prefer to let these looters keep their money rather than accomplishing the goal through the tax system, that's a reasonable position on which we disagree, but that's your only choice. The Democrats control the Congress.

[Mary Lundin]

I totally agree with you here except for "no matter how it is collected". Using the tax system to accomplish this goal is wrong in my view. But I'm will to listen to your argument.