North metro letters

March 25, 2009 at 4:18AM

No logic for bonuses

Reasons offered for paying bonuses to AIG executives are not convincing:

"AIG must retain those 'best and brightest.'" Where are the disgraced executives going to go? Who would hire those who initiated worldwide problems for more of the same?

"AIG needs them to untangle the mess." Chances are that below those policy- and deal-making executives are the technicians and worker bees who really know the business and where things went wrong. In addition, there are plenty of smart, young finance folks, laid off from firms affected by AIG's failure that would be happy to become AIG employees.

PAT RYAN GREENE

CHAMPLIN

Congress out of line

The AIG outrage is understandable, but dangerous to us all. The way that the U.S. Congress is licking its collective lips over the bonuses paid by bailed-out insurance giant AIG is not only a waste of energy, but in my opinion, it's unconstitutional. Article 1 of the Constitution states that "No bill of attainder shall be passed." A bill of attainder refers to the legislative branch targeting an individual that Congress believes has committed a crime, and punishing this individual without the benefit of a trial.

So the question arises: Have the executives of AIG committed a crime? The answer, justified as our anger might be, remains a firm no. To my knowledge, there was no corollary to any federal bailout money prohibiting such bonuses from being paid. But the underlying point is this: If there were such corollaries, it is still outside of Congress' purview to punish those who break their laws. That, of course, is the domain of the judicial branch.

KELLY DOPP

ELK RIVER

Keep up services

As a taxpayer and a parent of an adult child with Down syndrome, I want to thank those at the Capitol who have been proposing ways to raise revenue to balance the budget. I certainly want our tax dollars spent in the most effective and efficient manner possible, including the state-funded services my son receives. I also see our tax dollars as investments, helping all our citizens be part of our communities and develop their skills and gifts. For my son, his friends, and other families I know who have children with disabilities, the state-funded support they've received has made a life of dignity possible.

We can't cut our way to a healthier economy and a humane society. We need to raise enough revenues so people who need the support can continue to receive it.

DENNIS COLLINS

HAM LAKE

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