And The UK Bankers Get Richer... Again!

On the UK Telegraph: Families £4,000 worse off

• Middle-income families will be £4,000 a year worse off by 2013 in light of the decision to scrap child benefit for higher-rate taxpayers, writes Rosie Murray-West.
  
  Calculations for The Sunday Telegraph show that a family earning £50,000 could be £4,000 a year worse off after all of the Coalition's tax and benefit changes are implemented, while the cost of living is also predicted to rise.
  
  This will mean significant belt-tightening for many families," warned Patricia Mock, a tax partner at Deloitte, who said couples with a single wage earner on £50,000 would be particularly affected. By 2013, when child benefit is cut, she calculated that a family with two children at this income level could have £3,036 less a year to spend............

Yeah.. the picture in that article... says it nicely..... SQuuuuuuuuuuuuuuueeezed!

That would be accepted if everyone is treated the same.

But no.... the bankers... they live in another planet!

On the UK Telegrapgh: City bankers expect billions in bonuses

Sigh!

• More than half of Britain's bankers are expecting their bonus cheques to rocket – in some cases by up to 70pc.
  
  Two surveys conducted by eFinancialCareers.com and Morgan McKinley show that despite a clampdown on pay by global regulators City staff are still placing orders at their local Porsche dealership in expectation of bumper cash bonuses.
  
  Last week's report by the Centre for Economics and Business Research (CEBR) suggested those in the financial sector would receive nearly £7bn in bonuses this year.
  
  Regulators have tried to force banks to curb bonuses to restrict excessive risk-taking in the wake of the global financial crisis. Current proposals being put forward by Brussels could see the biggest clampdown yet on bankers' pay – surpassing even the plans of the UK's Financial Services Authority (FSA) – which are set to include a cap that would limit the amount bankers get upfront to a maximum of 30pc.
  
  But according to a eFinancialCareers.com survey, of more than 5,000 financial professionals, 50pc of UK bankers are expecting an increased bonus this year – and 70pc expect a larger total remuneration. About 20pc believe they will net a bonus 50pc larger than their cheque last year.
  
  Despite rules attempting to cap cash payouts at all levels in the City, 51pc of respondents still believe they will be paid in fully in cash with no deferred element to their pay. And only 28pc are aware of their employer currently having a clawback policy.
  
  James Bennett, managing director at eFinancialCareers.com, said: "Despite the warnings on bonus payments from the Coalition, expectation levels in the City are running high this year which, if realised, will place bankers in the eye of a political storm once more."
  
  The Morgan McKinley survey suggests that 72pc of bankers are "more confident" about "London financial services jobs market" compared with last year .