President Barack Obama responded Thursday to a front page story in the New York Times which reported that Wall Street handed out $18.4 billion in bonuses for the year, calling the payments "outrageous".

President Barack Obama issued a withering critique Thursday of Wall Street corporate behavior, calling it "the height of irresponsibility" for employees to be paid more than $18 billion in bonuses last year while their crumbling financial sector received a bailout from taxpayers. "It is shameful," Obama said from the Oval Office. "And part of what we're 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."

The president's comments, made with new Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner at his side, came in swift response to a report that employees of the New York financial world garnered an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year. The figure, from the New York state comptroller, drew prominent news coverage.

See video of his speech:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/01/29/obama-18b-in-wall-street_n_162305.html
中国的官员只对上司负责，如果没有制度保障，想让他们清廉也难。
美国的资本家只对自己的公司负责，如果没有制度保障，想让他们少给自己点钱，有点”restraint", "discipline", "sense of responsibility"，大概也不容易。总统也就能说他们两句，又能拿他们怎么办？