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Wednesday, February 4, 2009
Just to let you know … I’m free Tuesday night
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
For those interested, I’ll be delivering the seventh annual “Real State of the Union Address” (a title conferred by the event sponsor, Women’s Actions for New Directions) on Tuesday, Feb. 10, at 7 p.m. at Hillside International Truth Center, 2450 Cascade Road SW in Atlanta.
The event is free, and we usually draw an audience of several hundred people. Following the pattern of recent years, I’ll speak for 15 or 20 minutes on the state of the nation and world, followed by a response from the Rev. Joseph E. Lowery. The reverend and myself will then take questions from the audience, which is generally my favorite part of the evening.
If you show up, feel free to introduce yourself by your “nom de blogue.”
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Obama condemns “culture of narrow self-interest” on Wall Street
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
I can’t find a transcript or video of Obama’s remarks today as he announced the $500,000 limit on executive compensation, so here’s a compilation of quotes I culled from various sources:
“We all need to take responsibility. And this includes executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand, when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses. As I said last week, that’s the height of irresponsibility. That’s shameful. And that’s exactly the kind of disregard for the costs and consequences of their actions that brought about this crisis: a culture of narrow self-interest and short-term gain at the expense of everything else.
“In order to restore our financial system, we’ve got to restore trust. And in order to restore trust, we’ve got to make certain that taxpayer funds are not subsidizing excessive compensation packages on Wall Street.”
“For top executives to award themselves these kinds of compensation packages in the midst of this economic crisis is not only in bad taste - it’s a bad strategy - and I will not tolerate it as president. We’re going to be demanding some restraint in exchange for federal aid - so that when firms seek new federal dollars, we won’t find them up to the same old tricks.”
“As part of the reforms we are announcing today, top executives at firms receiving extraordinary help from U.S. taxpayers will have their compensation capped at $500,000 — a fraction of the salaries that have been reported recently. If these executives receive any additional compensation, it will come in the form of stock that can’t be paid up until taxpayers are paid back for their assistance.”
The proposal will also require affected firms to report on non-salary perks provided to top executives.
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Obama, McConnell agree on something …
The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
and less noteworthy, so do I.
“WASHINGTON — President Barack Obama risked a backlash within his own party by criticizing “Buy American” provisions in the huge stimulus bill that would ensure that most of the big infrastructure money goes to U.S. suppliers.
The measures, highly popular among congressional Democrats and trade unions, have come under heavy criticism from U.S. trade partners, some of whom threatened this week to file legal actions against the U.S. if the measures become law.
Asked his views on the furor, President Obama said in separate television interviews Tuesday that he wanted to avoid any steps would “signal protectionism” or risk fueling trade tensions.
“I think that would be a mistake right now,” he told ABC News. “That is a potential source of trade wars that we can’t afford at a time when trade is sinking all across the globe.”
….By siding with its trade partners in Europe and Asia, the administration could antagonize key allies in Congress as it struggles to win passage of a nearly $900 billion economic-recovery package.”
I see where Mitch McConnell, the Senate minority leader, said something similar earlier this week, warning that “”I don’t think we ought to use a measure that is supposed to be timely, temporary, and targeted to set off trade wars when the entire world is experiencing a downturn in the economy.”
They’re right. Passing such laws is a natural instinct in hard times, and after the stock collapse of ‘29, Congress gave into that instinct by passing the Smoot-Hawley tariffs. Other major economies retaliated, compounding the Great Depression. Surely we have learned better.
