I wish I could claim to have been surprised when I read over the weekend that staff at the Rural Payments Agency had been paid almost £2m in bonuses since 2005. I was angry, of course, that a body so consistently inefficient since its inception should have received anything other than severe censure. But the fact that they got extra payments, supposedly on merit as interpreted by government, says more about that government than it does the individuals who benefited.
The Sunday papers were also full of information about even bigger bonuses being paid to bankers. These are the people who we, the taxpayers, at the whim of government and without our permission, were bailed out just moths ago. And now, having not repaid a penny, they are awarding themselves obscene rewards because the economy has taken a modest upturn.
Will that apparent improvement last? Who knows? And if it doesn't will they repay their bonuses? Not on you life. The brass kneck of such people defies belief. Is it any wonder they are vilified by most of us?
I offer some free public relations advice to the bankers and RPA personnel which they should heed if they ever wish to regain the respect of the rest of society.
Take your bonuses if you must. But if you have any conscience at all, donate at least half of what you get to those poor earthquake victims in Haiti. Such an action might help you sleep at night.