Maybe constitutions were a good idea in 1787 when life was slower and people weren't as educated but in 2009 we need to be able to do things more quickly. In 1787, we didn't have the internet and the ability to disseminate information like we do now.

Laws are all we need now. Constitutions are from a long gone era. They were great at the time.

@ Bob Terwilliger:

No, the income was earned in 2008. It was DISTRIBUTED in 2009. There is a BIG difference. Perhaps you should take a course in tax law before making such a comment?

Besides, the "ex post facto" part of it is that the money is already earned from a 2008 contract, and they will be taxing it at a new rate from a law passed in 2009. That's unconstitutional, and the Feds will spend millioins defending their unconstitutional law in court, where they will eventually lose.

If they didn't want these bonuses paid, Congress should have allowed AIG to go bankrupt and have the judge void the contracts.

@ Boortz:

Darn, it, I was going to blog this tonight after I got home from work. Now I look like a follower...

...by transacting business in federal reserve notes (paying state employees, collecting state taxes, enforcing money judgments, etc). They do it every day because we let them. Why not get some real money (gold/silver) and see who in your business network will accept it? The whole reason governments fear leaving fiat money is because doing so would allow citizens to be financially responsible and force the government to do likewise.

There is nothing ex post facto about it. The income was received last week, in 2009. It is still 2009. Congress can change the 2009 tax code all it wants until December 31, 2009. Sure, they are pandering to the wealth envy crowd, but they unquestionably have the authority to do it.

Geez, maybe I was too deadpan and not over the top enough (if that's possible), but you can't mock liberals thesedays without getting accused of BEING one...

It's so funny, liberals were all for majority rule until California's Proposition 8 unexpectedly passed. Now they know the goal is to have "the right people" in office. Looks like they have that now.

I sense that maybe you were being sarcastic? I hope so. This country is not a democracy. Or should I say, it was not MEANT to be. This is what you describe and it seems that is surely the direction we seem to be headed in full steam towards oligarchy. Unless we stop it now.

What does it matter about some silly legalese in the Constitution AND
Let no obstacle get in our way

AND

It's The Will Of The People, which is the very definition of law, isn't it?

NO! All your talking about is MOB RULE! Pure and simple. People like you have two basic problems, you haven't learned that when you get angry, you quit thinking and second, your blamingthe wrong people. Why don't you take a look at the Tenth Amendment. Then start holding your beloved politicans feet to the fire and make them come up with some answers.

To those of you who voted for the bunch now in charge, I say this:

"IF THIS WERE A REPUBLICAN CONTROLLED CONGRESS PULLING THIS C*AP, THERE WOULD BE HOWLS AND OUTCRY FOR HEARINGS AND INVESTIGATIONS WITH SPECIAL PROSECUTORS. YET MANY TRY TO JUSTIFY WHAT OUR LAW MAKERS ARE DOING AND ARE FAR TOO WILLING TO LOOK THE WRONG DIRECTION. PEOPLE WHO PUT THESE CLOWNS IN OFFICE WOULD RATHER CHOKE THEN ADMIT THEIR MISTAKE. WHILE MANY SCREAM ABOUT THIS 163 MILLION AND DEMAND HEADS ON A PIKE, YOU NEVER SEE THE BILLIONS THAT ARE TRULY BEING MISSPENT. IF CONSERVITIVES NOT GOING TO PAY ATTENTION AND BE THIS EASILY MISDIRECTED AND LIBERALS ARE GOING TO CONTINUE NOT TO ADMIT THIS IS NOT THE CHANGE THEY HOPED FOR....THEN i SAY FINE. YOU GET WHAT YOU DESERVEW! ONLY PROLEM IS, YOUR DRAGGING THE REST OF US OVER THE CLIFF WITH YOU!

The Obama Show - starring gongress -- the funnist reality show on tv.

Of course they don't care. The constitution is nothing more than a contract with the people. Since they are attacking contracts why would the constitution be any different?

Citing the Constitution. Those Founding Fathers didn't even have reality TV and WWF? How could the know how to set up a system of governance that would function beautifully for 200 years?

Some guys are rich! Time to burn our founding document!

Article 1 Section 9 applies to the National Government. Since the AIG bonuses were paid under 2008 tax regulations, any law passed to impose new taxes would be Ex Post Facto and unconstitutional. Also, since the bailout has a provision allowing the payment of bonuses owed under contracts, a law rescinding that protection, aimed specifically at AIG, would also be Ex Post Facto, and possibly a Bill of Attainder.

This scares the hell out of me. What a slippery slope we are on. The government was formed to uphold contractual obligations and to provide for the common defense of the people. Once the government buys into these companies they create a grandiose sense of entitlement to micro-manage according to the populism. Even communist China allows its businesses to practice with more flexibility regarding internal contractual agreements.

So now we are seeing the beginning of the end of contractual obligations at the behest of government destroying our ability to defend ourselves against such overt oppression via the guns of government.

....that Democrats in Washington tend to ignore--or worse--blatantly defy the Constitution on a daily basis....

Printing money, impairing contracts, entering into treaties, etc. is just "business as usual" to democrats like Schmucky Schumer, Maxine "don't Axe me no questions" Waters, Charles "Slumdog" Rangel, "SanFranGranNan" Pelosi, Harry "The War Is Lost" Reid, etc.

Yeah, now that's change we can believe in.

No *state* can pass an ex post facto law. Does this prevent the federal government from doing it though?

"Thus, the particular phraseology of the constitution of the United States confirms and strengthens the principle, supposed to be essential to all written constitutions, that a law repugnant to the constitution is void, and that courts, as well as other departments, are bound by that instrument."
- Chief Justice Marshall

It's time for the people to remember the value of the Constitution

FWIW, Mark Levin said on his show last night that Ex Post facto only applied to criminal law, not this bailout.