President Barack Obama is calling for legislation to more tightly regulate the U.S. financial industry. The president said Wednesday that he wants to prevent more situations like that at the giant insurance company, American International Group, or AIG, where top executives were paid huge bonuses while taxpayers' money keeps the company afloat.
美国总统奥巴马呼吁国会对金融产业实行更严格的监管。总统星期三表示，他希望制止美国国际集团的现象再次发生。这家保险业巨头靠纳税人的钱才得以苟延残喘，但是却向高层主管发放巨额奖金。
President Obama called the AIG bonuses "outrageous," and said they are a symptom of an "outrageous" corporate culture.
奥巴马总统把美国国际集团发放奖金称为“毫无廉耻”，他说这是“无耻的”公司文化的象征。
"A situation where excess greed, excess compensation, excess risk-taking have all made us vulnerable and left us 'holding the bag' [left to suffer the consequences]," he said.
奥巴马说：“过度贪婪、过度发放薪酬以及过度冒险的局面造成了我们经济的疲软，而且让我们来承担后果。”
As he prepared to board a helicopter to start his trip to California, Mr. Obama acknowledged the public anger at corporate executives who accept large salaries and bonuses despite their companies' financial troubles.
奥巴马总统在准备乘坐直升机前往加利福尼亚州时承认，公众对于造成公司金融危机但却领取巨额薪酬的公司主管们感到气愤。
"I do not want to quell anger," he said. "I think people are right to be angry. I am angry. What I want us to do, though, is channel our anger in a constructive way."
奥巴马说：“我不打算压制这种愤怒。我认为人们有权感到愤怒。我本人就很生气。但是我希望我们以一种建设性的方式发泄我们的愤怒。”
The president said he and his economic advisers are talking with top lawmakers about creating a new regulatory agency that would give the government more oversight over companies like AIG.
总统表示，他和他的经济顾问们正在同国会领袖讨论建立一个新的监管机构，能够让政府更严格地监督像美国国际集团这样的公司。
"And it is appropriate for us to have some regulatory mechanisms in place to ensure that we never have a situation where the government has to step in or you have got taxpayers who are having to foot the bill for other people's mistakes," said Mr. Obama.
奥巴马说：“我们要建立适当的管理机制，确保政府不得不干预，或者纳税人不得不为别人的错误买单的局面不再发生。”
Mr. Obama called for legislation from Capitol Hill that would set up an authority that would protect creditors, depositors and consumers.
奥巴马总统呼吁国会通过立法成立一个权力机构来保护债权人、存款人和消费者。
While the president says no one in his administration approved the AIG bonuses, he said it is his responsibility to see that the problem is fixed.
尽管奥巴马总统说在他的政府中没有任何人批准美国国际集团发放奖金，但是他表示自己有责任确保这个问题得到解决。
"The buck stops with me," he said. "My goal is to make sure that we never put ourselves in this kind of position again."
奥巴马说：“这件事我会完全负责。我的目标是确保我们今后不再让自己陷入这种境地。”
The president also defended his Treasury Secretary, Timothy Geithner, who is being sharply criticized in Congress and elsewhere for his handling of the situation at AIG.
奥巴马总统对他的财政部长盖特纳进行了辩护。在国会和其他方面，很多人都强烈批评盖特纳对于美国国际集团的情况处理不当。
"There has never been a Secretary of the Treasury, except maybe Alexander Hamilton, right after the Revolutionary War, who has had to deal with the multiplicity of issues that Secretary Geithner is having to deal with, all at the same time. He is doing so with intelligence and diligence," he said. "Nobody is working harder than this guy."
奥巴马说：“还从来没有一位财政部长，或许除了革命战争之后的财长亚历山大·汉密尔顿之外，必须像盖特纳这样要在同一时间处理如此繁多的问题。他在用智慧和勤奋来处理这些问题。没人比这家伙工作得更加辛苦了。”
As Mr. Obama spoke outside the White House, AIG's Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Edward Liddy, was testifying before a House of Representatives financial services subcommittee.
就在奥巴马总统在白宫外面发表讲话的时候，美国国际集团的董事长兼首席执行官爱德华·利迪正在国会众议院的金融服务小组委员会作证，回答国会议员们的质询。 |