The most brazen disdain for democracy in modern times
Bumper banker bonuses are back. And what is it really, if not grand-scale theft – from treasuries, customers and taxpayers. There will be a tidal wave of rage. -There will be no wave of rage from the American taxpayers. You can steal their shirts right off their bodies without a murmur. Over the next two weeks the executives of the leading British and American banks will announce that some £50bn is to be taken from accumulated profit and handed over, not to shareholders or taxpayers, but to themselves. It will be the most outrageous contempt of democratic authority in modern times. The sums will be breathtaking, starting with Friday's predicted payout of £18bn at the American bank, JP Morgan Chase. This is almost exactly what it cost the US taxpayer to rescue the bank a year ago. A similar sum is predicted at Goldman Sachs. This is happening at the heart of the western economy that has just endured its worst crash for 30 years, almost entirely through the doings of these banks and executives.