Cosy capitalism

The British political year has begun with all sides saying they wanted 'responsible capitalism' or some nonsense of the sort. They all hate bank employees for earning so much money and huff and puff hoping people believe they will do something about it. The amount an employee is paid is of course purely a matter for the shareholders. In another context, Mr. Cameron cannot, for example, insist that Wayne Rooney is paid too much because he hasn't scored any goals recently (apologies to Mr. Rooney if he has), or that Cliff Richard is rewarding himself for failure.

In the case of the banks where the Government is the dominant shareholder, it can ban bonuses or halve salaries, but will be told that if the taxpayers are ever to get their money back they need to employ some top people. Who charge a lot.

Ensuring bonuses are paid in shares rather than cash is about as far as they can go.

A famous investment banker used to tell staff that they should start the day 'ready to bite the ass off a bear'. And that is what I like to see when investing in a company: raw aggression, so it can kick the competition into second place.

I need a return on my investment to keep me warm and mildly drunk in my old age. I don't want them musing on being nice to children.