scoobynutta555

Anyone see the itv1 programme last night about the bonuses awarded to the city workers? Unusually for itv it was quite watchable tv. Some of them were raking it in big time, magnum of Cristal anyone with a firework strapped to the side? Some interesting thoughts for and against the masses of money these people get.

bigmac

It's been going on for years. My wife used to temp in London, in the mid 80's and saw it all the time.

scoobynutta555

Yes it has been going on for years, however I don't temp in London and haven't seen a programme like it before

Interesting that the bonus was a 'relatively' new thing. First bonuses were for the Golf gti ( I assume in the 80s?) and now it's moved on to the Boxster for the newbies.

Matteeboy

£100k on a Patek Phillipe watch for his son!?!?!

That 25 year old was doing rather well being in the top 30 traders in the World!!

Amazing really - Used to live right next to the "hub" of it all in Canary Wharf almost two years ago - Seems to have taken off big time since then.

KiwiGTI

You never actually own a Patek Philippe. You merely look after it for the next generation.

Paul3446

They may have had money, but they didn't have style!

Matteeboy

Tee hee - Most smug ad line ever?!
Does that make up for the pain of spending £100k on a watch then?

Paul3446

I had to laugh at the "car enthusiast", he'd bought a Golf GTI, then Porsches, then Ferraris!

Lots of imagination there then!

I turned off shortly after that!

Matteeboy

Hmmm - It's easy to dig at them but full respect from me.

Funny how most of them seem to be "geezers" done good though.

That 25 year old had a new black Carrera S - Seemed like reasonable taste to me.

TopBanana

FFS pass the sick-bag someone.

TopBanana

They seem like fairly good choices to me.

Paul3446

Nothing wrong with the cars, but I'm sure a true car enthusiast would want something a bit different.

Matteeboy

So the fact that they are raking it in means they are not car enthusiasts?!

How about the guy that won that race series? Hardly a driving flid is he.

I blame New Labour for this envy. Everyone else seems to!

Neanderthal

iTrader: (6)

Good on them, I have no interest in doing that kind of job. They seem happy enough (except for the woman who gave it all up to write a book).

scoobian

I worked in the city for years
Coventry and newcastle

never got a bonus at all

Paul3446

And what about the bloke who's criteria was what car would look best parked outside a restaurant? Was he a car enthusiast.

You may be jealous, but I am happy with my life!

SPEN555

Did not see the program, but imagine they are paid massive bonuses and as said above has been going on for many many years.

Pi$$es me off as for every winner there is a loser and in large it is the pension schemes of everyday working people who are seeing there pensions which should be being amassed dwindle to something and nothing due to any gains being wiped out by management charges.

EddScott

I dunno. I was laid in bed last night thinking.

F40 now and again.

New GT3 RS for weekends.

Audi RS4 day to day (well its a VAG car)

When I win that is.

Paul3446

Quite ironic that a Labour government should preside over such a big increase in the gap between rich and poor.

pwhittle

Isn't it just. they'd be thoroughly ashamed of themselves if they weren't too busy being entertained by city high-flyers!

I vote for 90% tax on anything over £200k (safe in knowlege I'll never be anywhere close!)

Matteeboy

You should see the money they are throwing at random regeneration type projects down this way - Millions.

The trick is to do PR for them all - Government client = Blank cheque time of you do a half decent job.

2000TLondon

A friend of mine is a trader. He's late twenties, and started out when he was 21.... Since he was about 23, he's been on at least 100k a year, increasing quickly, since he was 27 he's been on at least a million...... Definetly changed him for the worse and a completely different bloke now......

warrenm2

Then you're a fool. This arguement is always raised by the economically illiterate. Say he earns £1m, he currently pays 40% tax on £966700 which is £387K. If you raise the tax to say 70% above 200K, he would now pay £587K. Except he wont, because he will set up an offshore trust arrangement which costs him say £50K, or maybe move to Eire, and "temporarily" work in London and avoid paying the lot. Net result - HM Treasury gets LESS money.

Look at what happened in the 70s, Rod Stewart for example moving to America, currently U2's tax affairs are registered in Holland, all to avoid paying the tax. By raising the tax rate so high you incentivise people to avoid it, and end up REDUCING tax take. Look up the Laffer Curve. By reducing taxes, you actually incentivise people to pay tax, because it is cheaper to pay tax than to employ expensive accountants to avoid it. This is what happened in the US last year, taxes were reduced and tax take ROSE. Similarly in the 80s in the UK when Thatcher cut the top rate. And Hong Kong. And post-war Germany. And the US in the 60s.

Dont forget by cutting taxes you make your country MORE competitive, a BETTER place to do business and hence HIGHER tax take

Here endeth the lesson

///\oo/\\\

PeteBrant

40% of £200,000 is a hell of a lot more than 90% of nothing - which is what would happen.

sbk1972

I say well done to them. I worked in the city for 10 years, in various investment banks, on various trade floors. Ive seen, experienced acts of wealth that would just make you laugh and stare in disbelief ! :-)

I know a number of people that were / are on £1M+, and to be honest, good luck to them. I found that the higher the salary some of these guys are on, the nicer the chap. Its the younger ones, that try to act the big time charlies, that are the arseh0les. What a man or woman earns doesnt make they a wally, its how the person acts towards others.

Also, the city is a cut throat environment. Whilst you making, earning the bank big bucks, you can pretty much do what you like. The moment that stops, then move over matey, someone else coming through.

In life there will be people on more, or less than you, what is more important is that you enjoy what you have and worry about yourself, than what other people are doing. Money doesnt make you happy, okay it solves some problems but opens up a whole new load of different situations.

Warren is 100% correct in his description of what would happen if you introduced higher taxes.

More important, paid well, city women look so damn hot ! :-) Lunchtimes, on a hot summer day, Broadgate Arena ! Ahem ! Jesus H Christ, some of those girls up there are absolutely stunning. What is amazing though, when you chat them up in the Pitcher Piano, they are from Essex's and as common as anything :-)