Salary cap slap

Obama imposed a $500K cap on senior executive pay for companies that received federal bail out money.

"We don't disparage wealth. We don't begrudge anybody for achieving success. And we believe that success should be rewarded," Obama said. "But what gets people upset — and rightfully so — are executives being rewarded for failure, especially when those rewards are subsidized by U.S. taxpayers."

Top business leaders often receive annual packages worth several million dollars, so a $500,000 compensation cap is striking.

Still, the limit came too late to stop the high rollers at AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America and 356 other busted banks taht have already accepted government aid. As long as they don't come asking for more money, these CEOs may continue to collect lavish compensation packages.

Health care for kids

Obama ended a two-year odyssey for child health legislation which Dubya vetoed twice on the ground it would lead to “government-run health care for every American.”

The program, created with bipartisan support in 1997, is intended for children in families that earn too much to qualify for Medicaid, but too little to afford private health insurance.

The bill will enable states to cover more than four million uninsured children by 2013, while continuing coverage for seven million youngsters.

To pay for the program, tobacco taxes will be raised to offset the increase in spending, estimated at more than $32 billion over four and a half years.

In a major change, the bill allows states to cover certain legal immigrants — namely, children under 21 and pregnant women — as well as citizens.

Until now, legal immigrants have generally been barred from Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program for five years after they enter the United States. States will now be able to cover those immigrants without the five-year delay.