At the time that the AIG bonuses were made public, the Obama administration announced a new policy that would capture pay st$500000 for CEOs of companies receiving federal bailout money. In announcing the policy, President Obama said,"We all need to take responsibility. And this includes executives at major financial firms who turned to the American people, hat in hand,when they were in trouble, even as they paid themselves their customary lavish bonuses... that's the height of irresponsibility.That's shameful.And that's exactly the kind of disregard for the costs and consequences of their actions that brought about this crisis: a culture of narrow self-interest and short-term gain at the expense of everything else.