U.S. President Barack Obama (C) makes
remarks urging Wall Street to roll back executive bonuses as he proposed a
fee to repay taxpayers for a financial bailout at the White House in
Washington, January 14, 2010. Obama is joined by (L-R) Chair of the
Council of Economic Advisers Christina Romer, Treasury Secretary Timothy
Geithner, National Economic Council Director Larry Summers and OMB
Director Peter Orszag.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
WASHINGTON, Jan. 14 (Xinhua) -- U.S. President Barack
Obama on Thursday proposed that major financial firms in the United States pay a
new fee to help government recover losses on a financial crisis bailout fund.
The tax on banks, insurance companies and brokerages
with more than 50 billion dollars in assets, would start after June 30 and raise
90 billion dollars over the next 10 years.
The Obama administration, which will send the bill to
Congress in early February, expects that 60 percent of the revenue would come
from the 10 largest firms.
U.S. President Barack Obama (R) makes
remarks urging Wall Street to roll back executive bonuses as he proposed a
fee to repay taxpayers for a financial bailout as Treasury Secretary
Timothy Geithner listens at the White House in Washington, January 14,
2010.(Xinhua/Reuters Photo) Photo
Gallery>>>
In a televised speech, Obama said that he was
determined that every dollar spent from the 700 billion dollar Troubled Asset
Relief Program to rescue Wall Street firms, auto companies and mortgage holders
is either repaid or paid for in some fashion.
"My determination to achieve this goal is only
heightened when I see reports of massive profits and obscene bonuses at the very
firms who owe their continued existence to the American people," Obama said at
the White House.
"We want our money back! And we're going to get it,"
said the president, surrounding by member of his economic team.
"My commitment is to recover every single dime the
American people are owed," Obama stressed, adding that the desire is heightened
by reports of new big bonuses for bank executives.
"That's why I'm proposing a financial crisis
responsibility fee to be imposed on major financial firms until the American
people are fully compensated for the extraordinary assistance they provided to
Wall Street," he stated.
According to Obama administration, the 700 billion
dollar financial bailout program will end up costing U.S. taxpayers around 117
billion dollars.
"Obviously, a lot less than the 700 billion dollars
that people have feared, but still a lot of money," said Obama.
In his remarks, Obama said if these companies are in
good enough shape to afford massive bonuses, they are surely in good enough
shape to afford paying back every penny to taxpayers.
However, the Financial Services Roundtable, which
represents 100 top financial services firms, voiced strong rejection to the
proposal.
"Two-thirds of the TARP investment from banks has
already been repaid with a large profit to the taxpayer," said the Roundtable's
president and chief executive Steve Bartlett.
"This proposed tax will do nothing more than stifle
economic recovery and encumber more pressing concerns, such as covering new
regulatory costs."
The U.S. Chamber of Commerce also sent a letter to
the Obama administration, saying the proposed fee would have unintended
consequences that "may cost the government more than it hopes to raise."
"While the Chamber agrees that TARP funds should be
recouped and excessive risk curbed, we are extremely concerned about a proposed
bank tax because it may restrict the liquidity needed by small business to fuel
job creation and economic growth," said the Chamber's letter.
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) --
Economic recovery in the United States is spreading to more parts of the
country, the Federal Reserve said on Wednesdays in its latest survey on business
conditions.
The survey, known as Beige Book, was based on economic
information supplied by the Fed's 12 regional banks and collected before Jan. 4,
and struck a more positive tone than the last survey, which was released on Dec.
2. Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 13 (Xinhua) -- The U.S. federal budget deficit totaled 91.85
billion U.S. dollars in December, reported the Treasury Department on Wednesday.
The deficit was slightly less than the 92 billion dollars
that analysts had expected.Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 12 (Xinhua) -- The
U.S. Federal Reserve said on Tuesday that it posted a record profit of 52.1
billion dollars in 2009 and thus paid 46.1 billion dollars to the Treasury.
This gain represents a 14.4 billion dollar increase over
the 2008 results, namely 31.7 billion dollars of 35.5 billion dollars of net
income. Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 11 (Xinhua) -- For those with a
glass-half-full view of the U.S. economy, Friday's jobless report released by
the Labor Department was good news -- at least the unemployment rate didn't
rise.
But here's the bad news: unemployment in the United States
is likely to remain high in 2010, and possibly for the next few years, experts
said. Full story
WASHINGTON, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) -- The
U.S. Federal Reserve (Fed) policymakers saw "the recovery in economic activity
was gaining momentum," , according to documents released Wednesday.
Minutes of the Federal Open Market Committee (FOMC), the
Fed's monetary policy decision meeting, held on Dec. 15-16, showed that Fed
Chairman Ben Bernanke and his colleagues saw more positive signs about the
economy's prospects compared with an assessment made in November. Full story
