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President Obama used his radio address to continue to push for passage of his economic stimulus package, and also said that the American people will not excuse the arrogance and greed of those who took bailout money and paid themselves big bonuses.

Here is the video:

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Obama had some harsh words for those who federal money, but paid themselves big bonuses, “And adding to this outrage, we learned this week that even as they petitioned for taxpayer assistance, Wall Street firms shamefully paid out nearly $20 billion in bonuses for 2008. While I’m committed to doing what it takes to maintain the flow of credit, the American people will not excuse or tolerate such arrogance and greed. The road to recovery demands that we all act responsibly, from Main Street to Washington to Wall Street.”

What the bonus story confirms is that Wall St. didn’t deserve a bailout. It is outrageous that the same people who ran their companies into the ground, and came hat in hand to the government, showed such little respect to the American people. While thousands are still losing their jobs and homes, these clowns are paying themselves big bonuses. It is wrong and irresponsible, and the government should either pull their funding, or ask for our money back.

The flip side of the coin is that this kind of thing will happen when a piece of legislation is rushed through the Congress. There was a lot of talk during the initial debate last fall about protecting the American taxpayer, but Congress neglected to provide the most common sense protections to prevent taxpayer money from being spent on this like jets, office remodeling, and bonuses. Obama inherited a fine mess, and some may criticism him for trying to shame these crooks, I think he ought to turn up the heat even higher.