EU institutions (Parliament, Commission and Council) have just struck a deal which will cap bankers' bonuses at an amount equal to their annual salary, throughout the EU. The UK government opposes this - it wants bankers' bonuses of twice or three times annual salary or more to continue - but is in the minority. What do you think? Do you support the EU or the UK govt?
Bonuses are fine IF your making a profit ! And IF it's not the Taxpayers money How can you pay a bonus and then publish massive losses ?
Pete, You are trying to stir up a storm with this one. OK I'll start............Give them the same bonus as a Nurse, Prison Officer, Police officer, Teacher etc. As far as the UK and EU parliaments go what gives them the moral right to say any bonus for bankers is valid whilst everybody else must be just grateful they've got a job. El Toro, I'm with you on this one.:frown:
Again, you have avoided answering the question. Which do you prefer, the EU agreement or the UK position?
You're a bad, bad man, Pete :biggrin: A rock and a hard place. Support the EU (unthinkable!) or support the bankers (unthinkable!)? LOL
Dont support. All that will happen is they will get far higher base salaries, which they get whether they hit their 'quota' or not, which costs the tax payer in the eg above, and then a smaller bonus on top that if a % of salary, which remember is inflated, may push rewards even high in the whole. Seems to me its he triggers that need to be explored rather than the rewards themselves And the nurse etc argument doesnt stack. Most public sector still get great additional benefits, such as pensions, and the stresses involved, while high depending on the role, are chalk and cheese apart. A 'banker' as used in this context (ie not in the retail environment) can be responsible for generating millions or billions, or losing, which has a direct impact on businesses and jobs. Added to that, those at the top often spend 14hrs a day, every day, working in some form.
What do you mean, "Don't support" Bradders? Is it the EU or the UK govt which you don't support? That's the choice in the real world.
So you mean you support the UK govt position - bankers' bonuses of multiples of annual salary should continue. Is that what you're saying, just so we're completely clear?
What do you need to be clearer about? Where do you sit on this issue, for the EU control or the UK position of free trade and generation and creation of talent?
I think it is not the governments business to determine salaries in the private sector. However I think the banks role is critical to the success or otherwise of the economy and that makes it a special case. Generating 'profits' by shifting other peoples money about is too easy and large incentives for doing so has created much of the problem facing us today. Separate off the 'casino' banks, prevent them getting too big to fail, let them fail if they screw up and allow them to pay what they want. The 'highstreet' banks should be more tightly regulated to protect the publics money and bonuses should be capped. So that is yes, and no.
Interesting to note that you still are avoiding setting out clearly what your position is. When I ask you to be clear, you just respond "What do you need to be clearer about?" Most amusing. Are you a politician by any chance?
I don't support the cap - unless it is for institutions that are over 50% publicly owned. Then I do support the cap I believe government has a part to play in regulation of many things, but the salaries/bonuses of private individuals is not one of these things. It seems an unacceptable way of dealing with something that is in itself unacceptable. I do agree with some form of capping of the bonuses but I think there needs to be another mechanism for that, not directly involving legislation. "What other mechanism?", you'll ask me. It would be, for me, some species of "voting with my feet" and using a bank with some form of policy (or history) of restricting bonuses - alternatively, I may simply use the tried-and-trusted method of complaining on the internet forums I belong to :biggrin: Edit: Just seen John's reply, concerning the "special case" represented by the banks. I have some sympathy with that view but I was asked a yes/no question and had to plumb for one answer :smile:
I've changed my mine; Mr R was right, and I want a room at Spaggy's too....and still no view from you...erm politician per chance?
At Loz...maybe if shareholders, ie those who hold the pensions rather than the big pension companies, got involved maybe they could exert the contol you are looking for
First you say it is not the govt's business to determine salaries [by which presumably you mean remuneration including bonuses, the issue at hand] in the private sector, but then you end up saying the govt should do precisely that. So your response to the question seems to be that you support the EU decision, against the UK govt position. Is that correct? So are you frightened to say so in clear terms? Why?
