Family Life

02.05.09 | FL News Team

President Obama is going after some big Wall Street salaries. He has imposed limits on salaries for executives whose companies get government bailouts in the future: no more than half-a-million dollars a year.

Mr. Obama said corporate executives should not be "rewarded for failure." In a White House event, he again expressed outrage over news that Wall Street chiefs approved billions of dollars in bonuses last year while the government was bailing out struggling financial institutions. Excessive corporate severance packages  --  "golden parachutes"  --  will also be derailed. 

Troubled corporations receiving federal aid will be required to abide by new rules on transparency and accountability. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner cited a growing sense that those who were not responsible for the economic meltdown are suffering more than those who were responsible. Mr. Geithner said economic recovery will require "restoring confidence in the leadership" of struggling financial institutions.

President Obama said the economic crisis is highlighted by "falling confidence and rising debt." He made another strong pitch for the massive economic stimulus package being deliberated in Congress. The President noted it's not perfect but argued doing too little or doing nothing could have disastrous implications.