Obama Flip Flops on Wall Street Bonuses: Obama now says bonuses are part of free market
Barack Obama, US president, on Wednesday said he “did not begrudge” the multi-million dollar bonuses given out to Lloyd Blankfein of Goldman Sachs and Jamie Dimon of JPMorgan Chase and added that their large pay-outs were a consequence of America’s “free market system”.
Mr Obama’s comments, in an interview with Bloomberg BusinessWeek, are likely to attract further controversy at a time when public anger over the Wall Street bonuses is increasingly being directed at Washington. They were also on Wednesday contrasted with Mr Obama’s recent criticisms of the “obscene” bonuses paid out on Wall Street as evidence that the White House was unable to sustain a clear message on the subject.
Mr Blankfein was paid a $9m bonus for 2009 and Mr Dimon received $16m – both in stock and both significantly lower than in previous years. “I know both these guys and they are very savvy businessmen,” said Mr Obama. “I, like most of the American people, don’t begrudge people success or wealth. That is part of the free- market system.”
Read the whole story at FT
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