Just as the "Obama might be a little too wimpy to get it done,"narrative started gaining steam, he's put the slap down on Wall Street. The White House has ordered mandatory executive pay cuts for the top bailout recipients, which include Bank of America, CitiBank, AIG, GM and Chrysler. The top-paid executives at companies that have not paid back bailout money will see pay cuts of 50 to 90 percent. The White House is also demanding a 90 percent reduction in bonuses at those companies.
Watch video of President Obama talking about Wall Street reform.
But this glimmer of fiscal and ethical responsibility is already being threatened on Capitol Hill. Financial industry-backed legislators like minority whip Eric Cantor, among others, are trying to water down finance reform. Why? Well, consider that in the 2008 election cycle, the commercial banking industry alone shelled out nearly $40 million in campaign contributions. This election cycle, it has only handed out $4 million. Are the banks withholding money, awaiting results, in a pivotal mid-term election? Very likely. Is it working? Looks like it.
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