Lord Griffiths, a Conservative peer and vice-chairman of investment Goldman Sachs, spoke out in favour of big bonuses on friday. “We have to accept that inequality is a way of achieving greater opportunity and prosperity for all”, he said.
Inequality is directly linked to crime, teenage pregnancy, educational performance, alcohol addiction, stress, obesity, drug use, and mental illness.[It is the root cause to all social problems.] Inequality is a way of achieving greater social breakdown, as Richard Wilkinson and Kate Pickett ably showed in their book The Spirit Level.
Goldman Sachs is currently planning the biggest bonus payout in its history. As one of the few banks that has done well out of the recession, it has a grand $16.7 billion to toss around. But, whether or not it took public bailout money (it didn’t take any UK cash, but $10bn from the US), and no matter how well it performs, it is contributing to our unequal society.
Goldman Sachs may bring plenty of money into the economy. They claim they add £2 billion to the public coffers through tax, but even as they swell the economy, the vast salaries and bonuses undo that work in a hundred little ways, by widening the gap between the rich and the poor.
Lord Griffiths really needs to read The Spirit Level.
– from makewealthhistory.org