Where's the Sanity?

It was hard to hide from this week; the absolute outrage over bonuses paid out to employees of AIG.  I'm not going to go there in this blog because there are legitimate arguments on both sides of this debate, but what is truly outrageous is Congress' reaction.  No, not the grand-standing in hearings or the emotion-filled, populist pandering sound bites. I'm talking about the bills to tax the living daylights out of bonuses not returned.  Is this in fact constitutional?  Isn't the IRS supposed to be a revenue generating entity we all pitch in to pay for the business of operating as a country.  That's what Lincoln used it for... to pay off the debts of the Civil War.  But somehow this Congress would like to turn it into a punitive agency.  (Did you see Vladmir Putin walking down the halls of Congress?  It really feels like he's there.)  If Congress has it's way it will use the IRS to hunt down Americans whose behaviour it deems distasteful.  After all, they did nothing illegal because Congress gave these employees the okay to take the money in the first place!  Can someone tell me where's the sanity in Washington?