Supertax to claw back bankers' huge bonuses
What annoys me about all this is why are the bankers receiving bonuses in the first place? Had banks not been propped up by taxpayers cash in the first place they would have gone bust. We are still in a recession. The country is now in deeper debt by bailing out the banks. Bankers do not deserve bonuses. It is easier not to give them bonuses in the first place than to try and tax them to claw some money back.
It was unprecedented when Gordon Brown scuppers prisoners' 37.5% pay rise. What's good for the goose is good for the gander!
A mixture of law, politics, autobiography and humour. Once described as "The Devilish Advocate" (Guardian), I do have the ability to provoke a response. Sometimes it comes from someone who uses a thought process, and sometimes from jerks usually associated with the knee.
Yes I agree John the banker's bonuses are scandalous as we stagger thru this recession.
ReplyDeleteHowever let's step back and have a look at the broader picture.
Who allowed this country to get in the state it is and allowed the banking sector to sucker punch us into covering their losses as well?
I think the witch hunt going on at the moment suits certain parties very much.
Quite frankly if I had my way I would have allowed all the banks to go to the wall, especially those north of the border, and instead opened up an account for everyone at the Post Office.
BB: Apparently, it has cost £850bn to bail out the banks.
ReplyDelete"Although a large % of bank losses originated in the US, the UK is far from blameless. Many UK banks pursued reckless strategies of reducing saving deposits. Northern Rock was borrowing on money markets to lend long term mortgages.
Banks were encouraging short termism and risky growth strategies. This involved exposing UK banks to the subprime mortgages in the US. Thus when US mortgage defaults started UK banks were badly affected and this affected the wider economy when banks could no longer retain normal lending practises.
The UK recession has been heightened by the sharp reversal in property prices. The UK housing boom was one of the largest and now faces a sharp correction. Falling house prices have reduced consumer spending aggravating the recession.
So the UK retains some culpability:
* Lack of regulation in finance sector
* Banks which exposed themselves to risk and mortgage default.
* A credit bubble in the UK, typified by high availability of mortgages in the boom years followed by shortage after Summer 2007".
"Who allowed this country to get in the state it is and allowed the banking sector to sucker punch us into covering their losses as well?"
Interesting link that John, I've bookmarked it for further exploration, but we all know where the buck should stop!
ReplyDelete