On Jay Leno, Obama Talks AIG, Tax Policy

A presidential appearance

Obama also visited Leno during his campaign.

Last night on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” Barack Obama became the first sitting president to make an appearance on a TV talk show. Obama sat down for an interview with Leno, and the two discussed, among other things, the AIG bonuses and the new bill to tax those bonuses at 90 percent.

Obama speaks on lack of oversight

After some initial small talk, Leno quickly turned the subject to the outrage surrounding AIG bonuses, which were handed out after the government gave the company billions in cash advances. Obama explained a bit about the history of the company and blamed the inherent lack of accountability in the system for causing AIG’s downfall.

“The problem is not just what’s happened over the last six months. The problem is what was happening for years, where people were able to take huge, excessive risks with other people’s money, putting the entire financial system at risk –- and there were no checks, there were no balances, there was nobody overseeing the process,” Obama said.

Leno worried about tax bill

Obama and Leno talked about HR 1586, which is currently being revamped in the Senate. The bill would tax any bonuses handed out at bailed out companies at 90 percent. Leno said he was worried that Congress had the power to decide to tax certain groups of people, seemingly on a whim. Obama assured him that the bill is an attempt to correct the AIG situation, not to set a precedent. ... click here to read the rest of the article titled "On Jay Leno, Obama Talks AIG, Tax Policy"