WASHINGTON – President Barack Obama singled out financial institutions for causing much of the economic tailspin and criticized their opposition to tighter federal oversight of their industry.

While applauding House passage Friday of overhaul legislation and urging quick Senate action, Obama expressed frustration with banks that were helped by a taxpayer bailout and now are "fighting tooth and nail with their lobbyists" against new government controls.

In his weekly radio and Internet address Saturday, Obama said the economy is only now beginning to recover from the "irresponsibility" of Wall Street institutions that "gambled on risky loans and complex financial products" in pursuit of short-term profits and big bonuses with little regard for long-term consequences.

"It was, as some have put it, risk management without the management," he said.

The president also told CBS' "60 Minutes" that "the people on Wall Street still don't get it. ... They're still puzzled why it is that people are mad at the banks. Well, let's see. You guys are drawing down $10, $20 million bonuses after America went through the worst economic year ... in decades and you guys caused the problem," Obama said in an excerpt released in advance of Sunday night's broadcast of his interview.

The House bill, which passed 223-202, would grant the government new powers to split up companies that threaten the economy, create an agency to oversee consumer banking transactions and shine a light into shadow financial markets that have escaped federal oversight.

Obama is seeking swift approval in the Senate "because we should never again find ourselves in the position in which our only choices are bailing out banks or letting our economy collapse."

No House Republicans voted for the bill, and 27 Democrats voted against it. Opponents argue that the broad legislation overreaches and would institutionalize bailouts for the financial industry.

The Senate Banking, Housing and Urban Affairs Committee is working on its own version of the package.

In his address, Obama contended that the worst economic downturn since the Depression wouldn't have happened if the rules governing Wall Street been clearer and enforcement tougher.

Obama singled out Republicans and industry lobbyists for trying to block the changes.

Last week, top House Republicans urged more than 100 financial industry lobbyists to work harder to defeat the bill. Lobbyists have spent more than $300 million this year trying to scuttle the bill.

Opponents say that the changes would limit consumer choice and that added federal oversight would stunt financial market innovation.

Obama suggested that was one risk worth taking.

"Americans don't choose to be victimized by mysterious fees, changing terms and pages and pages of fine print. And while innovation should be encouraged, risky schemes that threaten our entire economy should not," he said. "We can't afford to let the same phony arguments and bad habits of Washington kill financial reform and leave American consumers and our economy vulnerable to another meltdown."

Obama has scheduled a meeting Monday at the White House with financial services industry leaders to seek support for his effort to tighten federal oversight of the industry and to limit pay for top executives at institutions that accepted billions in bailout money from the government.

Yeah. I think after the money that has been dumped into bailing them out,,the criticism is deserved.

"gambled on risky loans and complex financial products"

LOL... who pushed the banks into lower their lending standards?

The great community agitators/litigators.. Good call Barack..

Why give all that dough to folks who would use it to bolster the economy.
Hussein chose to give it to those who gave very generous bonuses to their already rich CEO's.

Right on Obama!





Figures!



$300 million? Man that would have paid a lot of employees.

The Republicans say, give us more and we might stop it! Screw the people! Pay me!
LMAO

Number one contributors to the Obama campaign (grass roots my...ss)

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638
Obama is a Goldman Sachs puppet, no wonder why Timothy Geithner was selected as the Secretary of Treasury of the Obama cabinet..former Citigroup chief executive.

Great find Atlantis.

Who is it that gets to determine what constitutes a " threat "??

And now there is going to be an " agency " that will " oversee " consumer transactions??

Now they want to keep track of what people are doing with their money??

Or will those " agency " people just make sure the people aren't getting shafted by a bunch of fine print??

I will make this perfectly clear for those that think I am a " more of the same " kind of guy.

I 100% agree that company executives getting 10 million+ bonuses when their companies are failing is absolutely absurd.

If any one of us fails at our job, we get fired. They fail at theirs, they get millions.

Makes no sense at all to me.

We've always had antitrust laws in this country.


United States antitrust law is the body of laws that prohibits anti-competitive behavior (monopoly) and unfair business practices. Antitrust laws are designed to encourage competition in the marketplace. These competition laws make illegal certain practices deemed to hurt businesses or consumers or both, or generally to violate standards of ethical behavior. Government agencies known as competition regulators, along with private litigants, apply the antitrust and consumer protection laws in hopes of preventing market failure.

They are just reinforcing them. It's dangerous when one or two companies hold the power to create a financial meltdown of the entire economy.
Like what just happened!

Gotta' remember, It's Obummer logic. Will never make sense to intelligent folks.

Doesn't make sense to his followers, they just accept his word and follow his command.

What kills me are the threats of some executives to quit over the limitation of bonuses.
These laws should stop that. Besides, who the h3ll would hire the Jackapes responsible for this crap anyway.

If you ask me they should be required to return to school and reeducate themselves.

It's scary that many of these same people are teaching future economists etc in this country!

What's the name of the course, How to take outrages chances and sink the world economy?

Check this out:


http://www.nytimes.com/2009/12/11/business/11goldman.html

Unethical Finance 101!

Risky Economics 101?
And
How to ransom bailouts from Gov and still recieve a bonus?

If you want to pay off the deficit. Try here!

Hate to break it to you, Willing....

That isn't " Obama logic ". That is " Republican/Conservative" logic.

That is the " free market " at work.

I understand about the Anti Trust laws already in place.

However, with the government already being as meddlesome as it is, can we really trust them to have an agency that will do nothing but make sure those laws are enforced?

And where would monitoring " consumer transactions " fall into the enforcement of Anti Trust laws??

Many of the consumers doing the transaction with the problem makers were mortgage companies and other banks.

fair enough. But do you think there will be language inserted into that part that makes that absolutely clear??

" Consumers " means people. Not just a certain few.