--- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "BillyG." <wg...@...> wrote: > > --- In FairfieldLife@yahoogroups.com, "do.rflex" <do.rflex@> wrote: > > But...can you trust what his teleprompter is telling him to say? For > instance, who is operating the teleprompter? And who decides what signals it > sends to Obama?
You can't answer questions from a teleprompter, Billy. > > > > OBAMA: We're about -- I'm about to go to California, but I wanted to make > > sure that I had a chance to address all of you before we leave. And we're > > going to have a town hall meeting there in which we're going to be > > answering questions from voters about a whole host of issues. > > > > Obviously, the whole issue of AIG and these bonuses that have been paid out > > have been consuming a lot of attention, and rightfully so, because they > > represent what I think all of us consider an inappropriate use of taxpayer > > funds. > > > > But what I think is also important and just as outrageous is the fact that > > we find ourselves in a situation where we're having to clean up after AIG's > > mess. And so I just had a meeting with my economic team but also spoke with > > Chairman Barney Frank of the Financial Services Committee about the > > importance of giving ourselves tools to prevent ourselves from getting in a > > situation where an AIG can pose such enormous vulnerabilities to the system > > as a whole. > > > > And what we are working on is a resolution authority that would be similar, > > not identical but similar, to the powers that the FDIC currently has over > > banks. What they're able to do is to, at the same time protect creditors, > > depositors, and consumers, while also exercising greater power proactively > > over institutions like AIG which is not a bank which is an insurance > > company with a hedge fund on top of it. > > > > It would allow us proactively to get out in front, make sure that we're > > separating out bad assets from good, dealing with contracts that may be > > inappropriate, and preventing the kinds of systemic risks that we've seen > > taking place with AIG. > > > > So my economic team is going to be cult consulting with the Hill. We're > > going to have moving that on a fast track. This is part of the broader > > package of financial regulatory steps that we're going to be taking that > > ensures that, going forward in the future, we're not going to find > > ourselves in these kinds of terrible positions again. > > > > One last point that I want to make. People are rightly outraged about these > > particular bonuses, but just as outrageous is the culture that these > > bonuses are a symptom of that have existed for far too long; a situation > > where excess greed, excess compensation, excess risk taking have all made > > us vulnerable and left us holding the bag. > > > > And one of the messages that I want to send is that, as we get out of this > > crisis, as we work towards getting ourselves out of recession, I hope that > > Wall Street and the marketplace don't think that we can return to business > > as usual. The business models that created a lot of paper wealth but not > > real wealth in the country and have now resulted in crisis can't be the > > model for economic growth going forward. > > > > And I've spoken before. We have to move beyond a constant bubble bust > > mentality and start establishing a foundation for long-term economic > > growth. That involves making investments on health care and energy and > > education. That means increasing our productivity across sectors and not > > just relying on the financial sector for all our economic growth. It means > > that shareholders and board of directors have to hold executives more > > accountable for their compensation scales. You know, the fact that these > > guys are looking for bonuses having run down AIG begs the question of why > > were they making that much beforehand when nobody was criticizing them? > > Everybody thought they know what they were doing. > > > > OBAMA: That kind of culture has to change. And I think that's what the > > American people are looking for. The financial regulatory package that > > we're designing as well as the economic policies that we want to put in > > place are going to put an end to that culture. > > > > That's what we're striving for. That's what the American people are looking > > for. And working with Congress, that's what we're hoping to deliver. > > > > All right? Thank you, guys. > > > > I'll just take a couple of questions. Go ahead. > > > > QUESTION: Can you do anything about the bonuses, Mr. President? > > > > OBAMA: We are exploring every possible avenue, as is Congress, to see what > > we can do. But what we need are tools that allow us not to find ourselves > > in a situation where we only have two options. > > > > One is to withhold money from AIG that could potentially lead them into a > > spiral that could affect the entire financial system. Or, on the other > > hand, having folks get bonuses and at least have the capacity to sue the > > government and get not only their bonuses but potentially even more out of > > the legal system. > > > > We've got to have tools that, under our legal authority, allows us to deal > > with these issues. That's what we're going to be striving for. > > > > QUESTION: Do you wish that you would have found out before these bonuses a > > lot sooner than Thursday so you could have done something more then? > > > > OBAMA: Well, look, rather than going sort of the details of finding it out, > > ultimately, I'm responsible. I'm the president of the United States. We've > > got a big mess that we're having to clean up. Nobody here drafted those > > contracts. Nobody here was responsible for supervising AIG and allowing > > themselves to put the economy at risk by some of the outrageous behavior > > that they were engaged in. > > > > We are responsible, though. The buck stops with me. And my goal is to make > > sure that we never put ourselves in this kind of position again. > > > > QUESTION: Mr. President, a new round of bonuses from these contracts are > > coming out. What would you say to the American public to quell the anger > > because people are angry about this new round that's coming out? There's > > more bonuses are said to be coming for AIG executives. > > > > OBAMA: Well, I don't want to quell anger. I think people are right to be > > angry. I'm angry. What I want us to do, though, is channel our anger in a > > constructive way. And the most important thing we can do right now is > > stabilize the financial system, get credit flowing again to businesses and > > consumers, and make sure that we change how these businesses operate so > > that they don't put us in a situation in which, when things go bad, the > > taxpayers have to foot the bill and when things go good, folks are getting > > not just $6 million bonuses but $30 million or $40 million bonuses. > > > > Now, keep in mind -- I think it's very important to remind ourselves that > > there are a whole bunch of folks now who are feigning outrage about these > > bonuses that a year ago or two years ago or three years ago said, well, we > > should never meddle in these compensation plans. These are the best and the > > brightest. They know what they're doing. That's part of the market. > > > > And now, suddenly, they're outraged. The point that I've been trying to > > make consistently has been that we believe in the free market. We believe > > in capitalism. We believe in people getting rich. But we believe in people > > getting rich based on performance and what they have add in terms of value > > and the products that services that they create. > > > > And it's appropriate for us to have some regulatory mechanisms in place to > > ensure that we never have a situation where the government has to step in > > or you've got taxpayers who are having to foot the bill for other people's > > mistakes. That requires some regulatory framework, and my hope is that one > > of the lessons we learn here is that putting smart regulations in place, > > oversight, transparency, accountability -- those things are not > > anti-market; they're pro-market. > > > > OBAMA: When last year, Barney Frank and I worked to allow shareholders to > > at least cast a non-binding vote on compensation packages, there were some > > people who attacked us saying government has no business doing that. Well, > > look, all we're trying to say is you've got to be accountable to somebody. > > > > And it's that measure of accountability that I think is part of what has > > made America strong. And we have to get back to those kinds of values. > > > > All right? I'm going make this -- two more questions. Go ahead. > > > > QUESTION: (Inaudible) thousand dollars to AIG... > > > > OBAMA: I'm sorry. I can't hear you. > > > > QUESTION: You received $100,000 from AIG during the campaign. How do you > > feel about those contributions today? Do you plan to do anything about it? > > And at least one member of Congress has now called for your secretary of > > the treasury to resign. Your thoughts? > > > > OBAMA: Well, I have complete confidence in Tim Geithner and my entire > > economic team. Understand, as I said before, Tim Geithner didn't draft > > these contracts with AIG. There has never been a secretary of the treasury, > > except maybe Alexander Hamilton, right after the Revolutionary War, who's > > had to deal with the multiplicity of issues that Secretary Geithner is > > having to deal with all at the same time. > > > > And, you know, he is doing so with intelligence and diligence. Nobody's > > working harder than this guy. You know, he is making all the right moves in > > terms of playing a bad hand. And what we need to be doing is making sure > > that we are providing him the support that he needs in order to work > > through all these problems so that we're able deal with them more > > effectively in the future. > > > > QUESTION: Mr. President, was it a mistake to prop up AIG? And if not, can > > you tell the American people why this company was so important to the > > economy that it had to be propped up and needs to be continued to be > > propped up going forward? > > > > OBAMA: Right. Well, look, this can get pretty technical, but I'll try to -- > > but I'll try to simplify it. Last year when the Federal Reserve decided to > > step in, again, that wasn't a decision that we made but I actually think it > > was the right decision. AIG had insured a whole bunch of losses for a whole > > bunch of banks that had made bad bets on subprime loans and mortgages that > > had been packaged and bundled up and made into securities. These were > > massive insurance policies. Unfortunately, because of a lack of regulation, > > they were able to issue far more insurance policies than they could pay out > > on these various instruments that these banks had issued. > > > > And had AIG been allowed to simply liquidate and go bankrupt, all those > > banks who were counterparties with AIG would have experienced such big > > losses that it would have threatened the entire financial system. > > > > I want to repeat something that I said before the joint session. My > > interest is not protecting banks. My interest is protecting the American > > people. You know, the people's 401(k)s, ordinary folks who have a credit > > line with a bank for their small business, people whose pension funds are > > invested in some of these financial institutions. > > > > The prospect of all that unraveling would have been unacceptable -- an > > unacceptable risk. Now, was we're trying to do is get ourselves in a > > position where we make sure that, going forward, we're not held hostage to > > all these bad decisions that were made by these huge institutions in the > > past and that we create a system where they can't make all these bad bets; > > they can't issue these insurance policies one on top of the together > > without having the assets to back them up. > > > > That's the kind of regulatory reform that we need. That's what these folks > > are going to be talking to the folks on the Hill about. And I am confident > > that we can strike the right balance that allows our financial system to > > stabilize, allows people to innovate in the financial markets, but don't > > allow them to put everybody else's savings, everybody else's well-being, > > other people's jobs, other people's homes at risk. > > > > And that's the task that lies before us, and I'm confident we can get it > > done. > > > > All right. Thanks, guys. > > > > http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/03/18/AR2009031801770_pf.html > > > > http://snipurl.com/e31zd > > >
