Do you think bankers deserve big bonuses?

Despite the US economy experiencing its worst year in 30 years, Goldman Sachs are likely to announce pay and bonuses for its bankers of $19 billion (£11.4 billion). In Britain, 5000 bankers are in line to collect more than £1m each despite millions of people being out of work as a result of the recession.

Goldman Sachs have enjoyed a fantastic year and their three leading executives will receive multi-million dollar payouts after not taking bonuses last year due to the business making a loss between October and December of that year.

The bonus culture has been attacked in both the USA and UK as a reason for the near collapse of the financial system as bankers took reckless risks. Bonuses are particularly sensitive for banks who took government money to bail them out during the worst of the crisis, Goldman Sachs being one of them.

An arguement continues in London as to whether staff in the invest part of RBS should receive bonuses worth £1.5 billion, when the RBS is 70% owned by the state after a taxpayer bailout.