Seems like the decent thing to do. Here are the opening passages:
Americans for Limited Government President Bill Wilson today in a letter urged President Barack Obama and members of Congress to “return the $4.37 million they received in campaign contributions
from AIG since 1989, including the $644,218 they received in 2008.”
from AIG since 1989, including the $644,218 they received in 2008.”
“If the American people are to believe all the angry words and
threats coming from the White House, President Obama must return the
$104,332 he received from AIG during the 2008 campaign cycle,” declared
Wilson in a statement.
Podcast RSS Feed
Full EconTalk Text
{ 9 comments }
Unfortunately, their needs are greater than ours.
They deserve to keep the money. That money helped to create the Change!™ we needed.
.
How dare anybody ask the aristocratic class to do without their "needs"?
I can hear crickets chirping in D.C.
Sunk costs are still sunk. How much dead-weight would be created in returning the money? Is it something we really need to spend money on?
I appreciate Wison's sentiment. Hell, I agree with the sentiment. I don't think creating more waste is the solution.
Some animals are more equal than others on the farm.
The numbers reported are contributions made by AIG employees, not AIG itself. In fact, it's illegal for corporations to use their treasury funds to make political contributions. At most, corporations are allowed to set up separate PACs and solicit contributions from their employees. These PACs may not give any single federal candidate more than $5,000 per year.
Americans for Limited Government should know better than to confuse the company with its employees. Those employees supported Barack Obama (and John McCain), for lots of reasons–and most of them did so well-before anyone was thinking about bailouts.
Methinks nails it.
He is no more going to return AIG's contributions than he is going to return illegal foreign contributions.
I know exactly where President Obama will find the answer to this challenge:
45-degrees to the left of the podium, and 45-degrees to the right of the podium.