U.S. President George W. Bush visits traders on
the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE)
January 31, 2007 in New York City. Bush visited
the city to give a speech on the economy.
Photograph by : Spencer Platt/Getty Images
President Bush speaks at Wall Street, visits New
York Stock Exchange
URL SOURCE:
NEW YORK (CP) - U.S. President George W. Bush
visited Wall Street on Wednesday, taking aim at
lavish salaries and bonuses for corporate
executives and issuing a sharp warning for
corporate boards to "step up to their
responsibilities" and tie compensation packages
to performance.
Bush, who was introduced by New York Mayor
Michael Bloomberg, delivered his "State of the
Economy" speech from the financial centre of the
world, aimed at bringing his economic message
out of the shadows of the Iraq war. For the
second day in a row he focused on the economy,
the government reported faster-than-expected
growth of 3.5 per cent in the final quarter of
last year.
Bush spoke to an audience of business leaders at
the venerable Federal Hall - a symbol of both
America's democracy and its economic resilience.
The hall, which dates to 1842, is now a museum
that helped provide emergency shelter when
terrorists destroyed the World Trade Center,
just a few blocks away.
And he spoke about tax cuts enacted by his
government, noting that economic growth in the
U.S. has burgeoned to the point where it
outstrips Canada's whole economy.
"There's a lot of political debate about these
tax cuts. But here are some of the facts: Since
we enacted major tax relief into law in 2003,
our economy has created nearly 7.2 million new
jobs," Bush said in a prepared speech.
" Our economy has expanded by more than 13 per
cent. That expansion is roughly the size of the
entire Canadian economy. This economic growth
has led to record tax revenues, which has helped
us cut the deficit in half three years ahead of
schedule."
" One fact should be clear when you look at the
statistics: The fastest way to kill a recovery
would be to raise taxes on the people who
created it. Now is not the time for the federal
government to be raising taxes on the American
people."
Later, he stopped along Broad Street to shake
hands with New York police officers and then
ducked inside the New York Stock Exchange. The
surprise visit caused a frenzy on the already
chaotic trading floor. It was so crowded that
traders standing just five feet from Bush had a
better view of him on television screens.
The New York Stock Exchange faced an uproar over
former CEO Richard Grasso's $187.5 million
severance package. Former New York Attorney
General Eliot Spitzer, now governor, sued
members of the NYSE board over the package given
to Grasso when he quit as chairman in 2003.
Bush's words on pay were met with complete
silence from the business crowd he addressed.
The annual salary of the president is $400,000.
© The Canadian Press 2007
================
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