Raw Story: "Obama slams ‘fat cat bankers’ in CBS interview" [View All]

[Amerigo Vespucci]

Obama slams ‘fat cat bankers’ in CBS interview

http://rawstory.com/2009/12/obama-slams-fat-cat-bankers-cbs-interview/

By Agence France-Presse
Saturday, December 12th, 2009 -- 10:11 am



US President Barack Obama has hit out at Wall Street "fat cats", expressing anger that banks bailed out by the government plan huge bonuses while millions of Americans battle poverty and unemployment.

"I did not run for office to be helping out a bunch of fat cat bankers on Wall Street," Obama said Friday in excerpts of an interview with CBS television to be aired on Sunday.

With unemployment still hovering at around 10 percent, amid a recession triggered in part by the excesses of financial institutions, Obama voiced frustration that "some people on Wall Street still don't get it."

Lavish pay and bonuses on Wall Street have been blamed for encouraging the excessive risk-taking that with the subprime mortgage housing crisis fueled the global maelstrom and brought the US financial sector to the brink of collapse a year ago.

That prompted the US administration to unveil a rescue package topping 700 billion dollars, in part to shore up troubled institutions.