SNAP ANALYSIS: Obama seeks to reassure Americans with pay limit

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - President Barack Obama's order to limit pay for executives at companies getting taxpayer bailout money aims to reassure Americans that their tax dollars are not being used to fatten bank accounts.

Wall Street's reputation among the American public is extremely poor, with financiers blamed for a housing mess that is a major reason the U.S. economy is sinking.

* Obama's decision to limit executive pay to $500,000 a year at companies receiving federal funding came in response to a New York Times report last week that employees at financial companies in New York collected an estimated $18.4 billion in bonuses last year. "In order to restore our financial system, we've got to restore trust. And in order to restore trust, we've got to make certain that taxpayer funds are not subsidizing excessive compensation packages on Wall Street," Obama said as he unveiled the plan.

* There have been other examples that companies receiving bailouts have not been frugal with the public's money:

- It was disclosed last week that Citigroup, the beneficiary of some $50 billion in taxpayer bailout money, was on the cusp of buying a $50 million corporate jet, only to cancel the deal under pressure from Washington.

- Wells Fargo & Co. (WFC.N), which received $25 billion from the government bailout program, had a plan for 40 insurance employees to spend several days at a Las Vegas conference, but decided not to do so to avoid a public outcry.

* Americans are experiencing bailout fatigue, as they watch their government dole out billions of dollars to save companies that are at least in part to blame for the current economic calamity, but do not seem to show a sense of remorse.

* Obama needs the trust of the American people to keep pursuing a bailout of companies and banks and keep the economy from completely disintegrating. His vow to get tough on executive pay attempts to give Americans some measure of confidence that the U.S. government is acting in their best interest.

(Reporting by Steve Holland)