Power of the State

 

Because I was on the board of the local chapter of the ACLU, I am aware of the overwhelming power the government has against individuals. Usually those individuals are poor or belong to a minority, but the phrase came to mind this morning while listening to the CEO of AIG testify before Congress.

Oh, yeah. I enjoyed seeing him sweat even though he wasn’t in charge when the ‘bonus’ contracts were written up. At first, I thought it was because the power of the State was coming down on his head.

Turns out- not exactly. He has been receiving death threats, and he made a point of letting everybody know it. Here comes the interesting part.

Representative Barney Frank asked for the names of the recipients of bonuses. The CEO said he would give those names, but only if Congress agreed to keep them secret. He read examples of the death threats that he had received and said that he believed that if he released the names that those people would be put in danger.

Frank said- no deal. If you don’t give me the names indicating which, if any, had returned those bonuses, I will subpoena them. If there are threats, law enforcement will take care of it.

Now if I were one of those bonused executives, I would return that check ASAP because the only thing worse than the power of the State is the power of a mob that is enraged by injustice.

I can only speculate as to whether Frank planned it that way, but if he doesn't win this round, I bet he wins the next because he wields the onerous power of the United States government.

Nancy Sherer

 

 


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