Wednesday, November 26, 2008

A sense of responsibility: Obama

http://www.channelnewsasia.com/stories/afp_world/view/392333/1/.html

WASHINGTON: President-elect Barack Obama has chastised US auto executives for being "tone deaf" for flying on corporate jets to Washington to beg for bailout money, and said he believed bank executives should forgo their end-of-year bonuses.

In the advanced excerpt of an interview to be broadcast Wednesday and released by ABC News late Tuesday, the president elect focused on responsibility.

Bank executives forgoing bonuses is "an example of taking responsibility," Obama said.

"If you are already worth tens of millions of dollars, and you are having to lay off workers, the least you can do is say, 'I'm willing to make some sacrifice as well', because I recognize that there are people who are a lot less well off, who are going through some pretty tough times ," Obama told ABC News.

As for the incident in which the heads of Ford, Chrysler and General Motors flew their private jets to Washington last week to ask Congress for bailout money, Obama said: "I thought maybe they're a little tone deaf to what's happening in America right now."

He described it as "a chronic problem, not just for the auto industry ... (but) for the captains of industry generally.

"When people are pulling down hundred million dollar bonuses on Wall Street, and taking enormous risks with other people's money, that indicates a sense that you don't have any perspective on what's happening to ordinary Americans," Obama said.

And when the "auto makers are getting paid far more than their counterparts at Toyota, or at Honda, and yet they're losing money a lot faster than Japanese auto makers are, that tells me that they're not seeing what's going on out there."

Obama said he hoped his presidency will help "usher in ... a return to an ethic of responsibility. That if you're placed in a position of power, then you've got responsibilities to your workers. You've got a responsibility to your community. Your shareholders."

He added: "And that's true ... for members of Congress, that's true for the president, that's true for cabinet members, that's true for parents.

"I want all of us to start thinking a little bit more, not just about what's good for me, but let's start thinking about what's good for our children, what's good for our country. The more we do that, the better off we're going to be," he said.

10 comments:

Anonymous said...

MAS is also tone deaf and also poor eyesight.

Anonymous said...

The difference here is that there are no Singapore Obama to tell MAS that. Maybe "Obama to be" Tan Kin Lian only. Or maybe not to be.

To quote Shakespeare:

"To be or not to be, that's the question"

SGDividends said...

Wow...Obama seems to be a good president. Why didn't we hear from George Bush chastising people?

Anyway i think MAS is alright. Its the financial instituitions that deserve to be blamed. I feel we should not be so dependent on the government and think that we should be protected by the government.

Why are we complaining on why we are not protected? The solution is simple. If a company has not be good...boycott it and use another, instead of just hoping that people will protect us.

Our own protection is our own responsibility and its action, not words that will make a difference.

My 2 cents worth.

hongjun said...

My Obama is a role model.

Anonymous said...

And when the "Leader are getting paid far more than their counterparts at USA, or at UK, and yet …

CC said...

From the FI point of view, the design, marketing and selling of the toxic notes was ingenious. Don't tell the true risks, tell customers in a way so that they'll buy. They sold like hot cakes!

Unless our leaders are blind or deaf, they must know in their heart this is very wrong and the FIs must also bear the reponsibility.
Our leaders were wise in many past decisions. But in this, they have let us down greatly. Where is the outrage?


CC

Anonymous said...

In any system of GOVERNING, when you create a machinery that suck in too much cash/wealth or income, people managing the wealth and income can turn 'over the board', what they call Greedy. They play big, they want ROyal treatment as they do their 'SHOPPING'. Same as listed companies, when they are flush with profit, without returning profit or reserve to shareholders, everyday, they find ways to spend to acquire and to flush out cash for indirect personal gain...one way or another..
I had a thousand stories to tell.
Over taxing beloved people is a SIN. Time to reduce and give back
Let all people enjoy rather than a few top guns enjoying.
Let less people suffer and struggle to live. Whole life, one conJob by a Reputable Banks can destroy all the thrifty and saving hard working people.
The only win win way out for all isvery simple.
Consider this a write off.
ALl cases , for real spin off investors, create a CDOs bond, say 250 mil, equally subscribe by banks proportionally. The bond is payable within 20 years, transferable and yield no interests. Bank will have to fork out their yearly profit over 20 years period from their future profit to maintain their banking licence. or any future class action from FIs..
Unless these issuances are completely no reference to US or L.Bros, or a local conJob.

Why waste time, why stress out the 17000 ppl and another 1000 people thinking how to defend them. It is a waste of national resource. We got better things to do.
Reputation will take 100 years to repair. The blogging will keep the wild fires burn ...

WTF

Anonymous said...

http://biz.yahoo.com/ap/081126/chrysler_cerberus.html

read this and you realise many systems in american corporate..same in many asean country, to play on media, to cook on turnover, account and ...

Having train many smart business grduate, US now becomes the biggest con-country , they cheat for personal gain, welath from others..It is all strategies...how to rob people money. It takes years to plan out.

WHy are we human so....?
simple...Material world...Gambling world...

The third worldWar is not military, it is Economic Con- and wealth suckers...

Unless world leaders are getting smarter like french president, a nation wealth could end up ZERO...
and start all over again.

Conplacency kills.

Learn to be humble leaders, and always listen to minority view before rushing for a decisions. There are many people being offerred hidden incentives and kickback, so secret that it will never be discovered. They sell their talents and they sell the nation interests for their self gain.
Don't forget, looking up on Angmo is not a great things anymore.

We should look out for more HONEST people.

Everlearning said...

On the surface, Obama chastised the wrongdoers and uttered a moving speech that probably won the hearts of many.

Here, "we" cherished these wrongdoers(rare talents) by having them in high position. What a contrast!

Anonymous said...

US President Obama is demonstrating responsibility. Unfortunately, all that we have seen finger pointing, apparently responsible authority keeping low profile and sidelining. Blame those FIs so that the people would forget MAS. Just like how those FIs misled by printing on product brochures showinbg on the reference entities such as DBS, OCBC, UOB, SingTel, BAC, and Citigroup.The real dangers from the 100-150 underlying assets were thus overshadowed and completely camoflaged.

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