Bankers Outrage !

Anger is in the air. The public are up in arms. Musicians are threatening not pay their taxes. There is even a Facebook group that has been set up. (Things must be getting serious.) Put simply, public servants in a nationalised company are getting paid bonuses, in a recession, when everyone is feeling the pinch. All for doing less badly over the last twelve months than the previous twelve.

That’s right, greedy bankers are greedily giving themselves wads of cash and the chances are we will have to pay for it. At the time of writing the Facebook group NoBonus4RBS has over 16,500 members, which has grown by over 10,000 in 24 hours. Will the Government step-in and stop the bonuses? Will the country demand an end to the financial madness and have all the banks nationalised? Will the banks become more politically and PR savvy?

Neither of these scenarios is very likely, not in the short term. There is a case to be put (rather galling by the banks themselves and others of their ilk) that it is in our interest for the bonuses to be paid. Then the banks can keep talented staff, stay competitive, and pay back the money they owe to the tax payer.

What is really galling is they may be right, but do the banks have to be so bloody arrogant about it? It’s at this point that it’s best your author admits they were once employed in the banking industry. And like most of those in this sector didn’t get to see anywhere near the lavish sums quoted to be bestowed upon the privileged few.

This being the UK, revolution is not on the agenda. Bankers need not fear the guillotine. Not that I would advocate such a thing. No, much more likely is some compromise and fudge, if anything, which may not be such a bad thing in the end.

Heap as much abuse as you like, or even set up yet another Facebook group in protest. But with the bankers getting those bonuses, and the rest of us being saddled with the bill, it’s hard not to conclude that the most prudent thing would be for the prospective job seeker to try and find a career in banking. Then try and join the elite few, and engineer a situation where such lavish bonuses are heaped upon oneself. Payment of bonuses whether the economy is doing well or badly, are hardly a disincentive.