Why Hester should have his million (From Echo)

Why Hester should have his million

1:56pm Thursday 2nd February 2012 in News

Surely the only people qualified to decide whether RBS chief executive Stephen Hester should receive a bonus are the board of directors and the shareholders.

We are told the bonus is from “our” money, but most of “our” money went down the drain when the previous directors bought worthless investments and left us with horrendous debts. The present chief executive has reduced our debt considerably and should be rewarded for reducing the future risk to whatever is left of “our” money.

Is £1million such a large sum when related to the banking world?

Looking at the Echo local property pages, it equates to no more than a couple of houses in Thorpe Bay.

Houses like ours were under threat because of the financial calamity created by previous bankers and politicians.

Everything is relative and, in my opinion, there is some element of hypocrisy and envy in the campaign against the bonus.

As an analogy, if our neighbours earn more than us are we entitled to say they should share the difference with us, or acknowledge they probably have more marketable skills and have earned it? We have never lived in an egalitarian world and, probably, never will.

Life’s rewards usually go to those with talent, skill or energetic enterprise that makes others willing to pay for those attributes, be it footballers, film stars or even a competent and honest banker.

Steve Askham
Elmsleigh Drive
Leigh