Chicago Business Attorney Blog
Congress has breached its contract with the taxpayers. Can we sue?
Client comes to me with a problem. She hired a consultant to take care of her company’s computers and telephone systems, and agreed to pay them a monthly retainer. She is paying for their services. But, the company shut down and is no longer performing the services that she pays for.
The answer is obvious – Stop making the payments. It’s basic contract law. You know, the law that Professor Kingsfield in “The Paper Chase” pounded into the first year law students brains. They had a contract, they breached it by not paying, so your performance is excused. In fact, they owe her money for services she paid for but did not receive.
Why is this different for taxpayers who pay their taxes but the government has shut down?
We have a contract a with our federal government. We pay taxes and they perform the services.
But the government has shut down. So why should we continue to pay our taxes? We pay for those services.
Why are our politicians still getting paid? (Cuz it’s in the Constitution.)
The government shut down is unprecedented. We are treading in unchartered territory. But, we cannot do anything about it . . . because it’s the government that has breached its contract with us and the government is immune from these types of lawsuits.