WASHINGTON, September 19 (RIA Novosti) - The U.S. president said on Saturday G20 countries have made "real progress" toward "breaking the back of the global economic crisis" since their last summit in April.
In his weekly radio and Internet address five days before a summit of the world's 20 developed and developing nations in Pittsburg, Barack Obama also pledged to continue working with world leaders to build on the progress already made, and promised to clamp down on "fat executive bonuses."
"Because of the steps taken by our nation and all nations, we can now say that we have stopped our economic freefall. But we also know that stopping the bleeding isn't nearly enough," Obama said.
"We cannot allow the thirst for reckless schemes that produce quick profits and fat executive bonuses to override the security of our entire financial system and leave taxpayers on the hook for cleaning up the mess," he said.
Acknowledging the United States' share of responsibility for the outbreak of the crisis, Obama also said: "...As the world's largest economy, we must lead, not just by word, but by example, understanding that in the 21st century, financial crises know no borders."
Obama said the September 24-25 summit would discuss more steps required to safeguard the global financial system and close gaps in regulation across the world which nurtured "reckless risk and irresponsibility" leading to the crisis.
He again called on Congress to back his proposal to set up a Consumer Financial Protection Agency, which would lead efforts to establish clear mortgage and lending rules and prevent a new crisis.
"Not surprisingly, lobbyists for big Wall Street banks are hard at work trying to stop reforms that would hold them accountable and they want to keep things just the way they are. But we cannot let politics as usual triumph so business as usual can reign. We cannot let the narrow interests of a few come before the interests of all of us," Obama said
