Congressman Bruce Braley says it’s time to tax some of the bonuses employees are getting at the companies involved in the Wall Street bailout.
AIG — the American International Group — got $170 billion from U.S. taxpayers to stay afloat. This week AIG executives announced employees in the company’s financial products division would be getting $100 million worth of bonuses. Braley says the bonuses aren’t deserved.
“This same financial products division drove our global economy off the cliff,” Braley says.
Braley, a Democrat of Waterloo, says it’s time for congress to teach AIG “a lesson.” He supports a bill that would apply to all employees at businesses that received government bailout money. It would impose a 50 percent tax on employee bonuses of $50,000 or more.
“The revenues from that tax program would go back to help loan money to small businesses who are actually creating jobs in our economy,” Braley says.
Braley made his comments Wednesday night on “The Ed Show” on MSNBC.
Braley supports another proposal that he says would “make Wall Street pay for Main Street’s rehabilitation.” Reinstating a “transfer fee” on excessive stock trading would generate $150 billion a year, according to Braley.