The root causes for the economic crisis were too much debt, a culture of short-term rewards for long-term risk-taking and fatally flawed mathematical risk models. And plain old greed.
BBC NEWS | Business | Davos 2009 | How bad is the crisis going to get?.
President Barack Obama says that multi-billion dollar bonuses taken by Wall Street bankers are „shameful“ while taxpayers bail out their industry.
The president said their actions „were the height of irresponsibility“.
He said his administration would tell bankers they needed to show some discipline and restraint.
Mr Obama was responding to reports that employees at financial companies in New York collected an estimated $18.4bn (£12.9bn) in bonuses last year.
„It is shameful, and part of what we are going to need is for the folks on Wall Street who are asking for help to show some restraint and show some discipline and show some sense of responsibility,“ he added.
BBC NEWS | Business | Obama slams Wall Street bonuses.
I’m talking with other people who are getting more depressed as the day goes on and here, Ⅰ think, is why: We are surrounded by the leaders who fucked it up: bankers, marketeers, regulators, and the press. They were in charge. That’s what Davos is: the people in charge. So who’s to say that we’re going to find the answers in Davos? Well, the people in Davos will. But Ⅰ think the evidence is strong that the answer is not here.
- FTD: Gastkommentar George Soros – Wie es zum Crash kam
- ZEIT:
- Tagesschau: „Das ist der Gipfel der Unverantwortlichkeit“
- SZ: Reden wir über Geld - „Manche Manager sprechen wie Faschisten“
- NY Times: Obama Calls Wall Street Bonuses ‚Shameful‘
- NY Times: What Red Ink? Wall Street Paid Hefty Bonuses
- Salon: Obama trash-talks Wall Street
- HuffPost: Davos Notes: Contrition, Paralysis, and the Embrace of Faith and Philanthropy Take Hold
- Economist: A special report on the future of finance: Greed–and fear
- Washington Post: President Decries ‚Shameful‘ Bonuses For Wall St. CEOs

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