UPDATE: The bill to expand the powers of the Treasury and confiscate earnings actually passed the House and is now in the Senate.
You can also call the Senate switchboard at 202-224-3121 to tell your Senators whether you oppose or support the bill.
Dear friend,
I was in the middle of writing a great Message to you this afternoon about how first-time membership in the Libertarian Party has increased every month for the last three months and we’ve seen a 151 percent increase in new volunteers. People are excited about the Libertarian Party!
Then I got a phone call from 202-225-2176.
It was Congressman Alan Grayson’s office.
They’re not sharing the love.
You may have gotten an e-mail from me last Friday about the Florida Democrat and his disturbing “Pay for Performance” bill.
If you didn’t, or you’ve forgotten, Grayson’s bill would give the Treasury Secretary complete, absolute and total power to define so-called “unreasonable compensation” to ANY employee at a company the federal government owns shares of, which the government may then confiscate.
Here’s where it gets really scary. The bill does not define what “unreasonable” is. That total and absolute power is given to the unelected Treasury Secretary, who is free to write his own rules.
And judging from his years of unfiled tax returns, he’s not the kind of guy who should be writing his own rules.
That power doesn’t just apply to incompetent managers. It even applies to janitors, employees who actually performed their jobs well, or theoretically employees who make good money and oppose President Obama.
It’s also retroactive, meaning they can go back in time and steal money already paid out. Even the Soviet Union didn’t allow that!
Just how enamored is Congressman Grayson with unquestioned government power?
He even went so far as to go on national television and claim the Constitution gives the President’s administration the right to forcibly confiscate money from people the administration feels didn’t “earn” it!
Socialists have been calling for “maximum wage” laws restricting private salaries for years – and using the exact same arguments touted by Grayson. If his bill passes, advocates of a virtual “salary cap” on private individuals will have a toe in the door.
Well, apparently Congressman Grayson isn’t happy with the phone calls he’s been getting from concerned Libertarians.
His office called me around lunch to complain from 202-225-2176.
Yep, they’re giving an unelected bureaucrat – one who’s already proven he can’t follow the law – absolute power to define "excessive" pay and have the government confiscate it, and they have no shame admitting that.
They just didn’t like the fact the swarms of Libertarians calling their office were more focused on his blatant power grab and not which specific bailout packages were included.
Not that it matters. Americans are angry over the fact the Treasury Secretary is being given absolute control to write his own rules allowing the government to steal private citizen’s paychecks, and all it takes is one quiet amendment to apply the undefined powers to many more companies.
They know it’s not only the first step towards “maximum wage” laws, but that giving the Executive Branch absolute power to confiscate the property of people the president’s administration feels didn’t “earn” -- with no rules or standards in the legislation -- is a frightening step away from the free country we love.
Giving the executive branch expanded powers was a bad idea under the Bush administration, and it’s still a bad idea under the Obama administration.
And stealing the earnings of private citizens because the president’s appointee feels like they didn’t “earn” it is the first step towards the kind of economy touted by people who look at the rubble of the Soviet Union and think, “Great idea! Let’s do that here!.”
You can call Congressman Grayson yourself at 202-225-2176 to let him know what you think about his plan to give the Obama administration absolute, self-defined power to define "excessive pay."
Yep. 202-225-2176.
Tell them the Libertarian Party sent you.
With optimism,
Donny Ferguson
Director of Communications
Libertarian National Committee
Donny.Ferguson@lp.org
PS – If you are receiving this email, and have not yet become a member of the Party and wish to do so, please click here to sign up to become a member of the only political party dedicated completely to cutting taxes and maximizing liberty. If you need to renew, please do so by clicking here.
PPS - If you have not yet contributed, please consider a donation right now of $25, $50, $100 or $1000 to the Libertarian Party. Your contribution will be used to grow the Party and expand the message of liberty. From ads to outreach, every dollar goes towards leading the liberty movement in its fight to restore the Constitution and maximize freedom.
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