WASHINGTON— President Barack Obama, declaring "we want our money back," said banks have a responsibility to make taxpayers whole for the financial-sector bailout and should pay a proposed tax by rolling back big bonuses. Mr. Obama, formally unveiling the plan at the White House Thursday, said his goal was not to punish banks, but to prevent them from a behavior of excess, including new employee bonuses he called "obscene." The plan marks the latest in a slew of proposed fees, penalties and constraints the White House envisions slapping on Wall Street during the cleanup of the U.S. financial crisis, and marks a new stage in the White House's populist assault on the finance industry. If approved by Congress, the new tax—which the White House calls a "financial crisis responsibility fee"—would force about 50 banks, insurance companies and large broker-dealers to collectively pay the federal government roughly $90 billion over 10 years. Of the 50, about 35 would be U.S. companies and 10 to 15 would be U.[Read more...]