美总统奥巴马近日宣布，对于接受政府援助的企业，其高层主管年薪最高不得超过50万美元。奥巴马在接受CNN采访时表示，“人们会认为这是一项合理的提议，并且会承担起责任，这也是我们在总体上恢复金融体系的可行方法。” 此项新规则的出台，主要基于人们对接受援助的机构使用纳税人救助资金的方式表现的不满和抗议。据一月份的报告显示，在2008年共有184亿美元用来支付华尔街高级主管的奖金分红。对已经得到政府援助的公司，在新的规则下必须调整自己来满足规则的要求，并且对如何使用援助资金要进行严格监管和控制。

    US President Barack Obama kicked off a campaign to rein in corporate compensation yesterday with rules limiting executive pay to $500,000 a year for companies getting taxpayer bailout funds in the future.

    Obama, who sharply criticized Wall Street chiefs for accepting billions of dollars in bonuses last year while the economy fizzled, had promised compensation reform as part of a package of stricter regulations on the financial industry.

    The restrictions were a first step in a broad effort to overhaul compensation practices and are likely to be popular with average Americans, potentially diverting attention from Tuesday's high profile withdrawal of former Senator Tom Daschle's nomination to lead Obama's healthcare reform initiatives.

    An Obama administration official said the new rules would require companies that get exceptional government funds - such as financial giant Citigroup and insurer AIG have in the past - to abide by the cap.

    Additional compensation must be limited to restricted stock that does not vest until government money is paid back with interest.

    Companies that have previously received bailout money would have to agree to stricter oversight and prove that they have followed already established restrictions on executive compensation, which are widely seen as being too lax.

    The White House aims to hold banking executives accountable for the money they receive from government coffers with the new rules, which were presented as being in the interest of shareholders and taxpayers alike.

    "This is a reasonable approach," Obama said when describing the restrictions in an interview with CNN on Tuesday.

    "It's not a government takeover. Private enterprise will still be taking place, but people will be accountable and responsible and that's what we have to restore in the financial system in general."

    His announcement set in motion a long-term process to rein in high salaries on Wall Street, including steps to require all public financial institutions to disclose compensation arrangements and prove that they are compatible with sound risk management.