Sir Fred Goodwin - Scapegoat, isn't he?

I have never seen such a blatant display of Scapegoatism from the Labour Party. Gordon Brown today has labelled Sir Fred Goodwin's £700,000 a year pension. As if to say, this pension is to blame for the credit crunch. I think that is ridiculous. The American and British governments are to blame, as they blatantly encouraged borrowing and lending, yet they decide to blame it all on one man because he is getting a large pension. I'm not very political, so I may have got some facts wrong, but all I can see is the Labour Party trying to blame one person for their errors, similar to that of Stalin and the Kulaks. And it is so easy to convince people that Goodwin is out of order, as many people (who are obviously brainwashed by the media), think that this man is basically the devil now as he has such a large annual pension. What about David Beckham's weekly wage for example, he gets Goodwin's annual pension fee in under a month. I may be wrong here, but all I can see is just a blatant attempt to blame the country's financial problems on one man. Anyone else agree/disagree?

Yes, I agree that the government are trying to take the heat off themselves but I also think that handing a man £700,000 a year for failing at his job is ridiculous.

Yes, but it would have been written in a contract long before all this.

Well he's definitely being used as a scapegoat, yes. But I think you've misunderstood a bit of it - they're not trying to blame it all on him. He was head of a bank which has made an astronommmmmmic loss (£24.1bn, IIRC), and that's why he's being attacked.

For what it's worth, I fully support him.

There was something drawn up from what I can gather from reports, but RBS did not have to pay him that amount, they had the option to pay it, which obviously thay took.

Quote: Ned1984 @ February 27 2009, 7:09 PM GMT

There was something drawn up from what I can gather from reports, but RBS did not have to pay him that amount, they had the option to pay it, which obviously thay took.

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Just to note, this pension fund has been built up over many years at different employers. It's not purely RBS. I believe that they have awarded him some other cash which wasn't legally required, but he has waived other entitlements which he had, so it's all pretty fair and balanced IMO.

Gordon Brown has a lot to answer for, but the blame for the financial crisis can be spread across much of the political and financial elite in Britain and abroad, though of course there are plenty of honourable exceptions - being wise in hindsight is often a case of realising you should have listened to those with foresight. Those who come out of this with credit are politicians who bucked the trend, such as the Lib Dems' Vince Cable, banks with responsible lending policies, such as Lloyds (before they blew it by merging with HBOS), governments who had the sense not to deregulate their financial institutions, and doubtless some fund managers who did the best for their investors by taking the long term view rather than chasing the highest return.

I do not think the Government is using Sir Fred as a scapegoat - frankly they would have been much happier if this outrageous pension settlement and their part in it had never come to light. Begging him to give it back just makes them look absurd. But however you look at it, Sir Fred has amassed a personal fortune on the back of pursuing a policy of reckless greed that has resulted in the ruin of investors and employees, and a bail out by the taxpayer that our grandchildren will still be paying for - so I say lynch the bastard.

A bail out which was not a necessity, mind.

It's interesting to note that Gordon Brown automatically gets a £70K for the rest of his life as soon as he leaves office. With the economy going tits-up on his watch, is he going to give some of it back? I think not!

Quote: Rosco @ February 27 2009, 9:56 PM GMT

It's interesting to note that Gordon Brown automatically gets a £70K for the rest of his life as soon as he leaves office. With the economy going tits-up on his watch, is he going to give some of it back? I think not!

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Very good point!

That's it, bloody politicians, hypocrites the lot of them and people wonder why I have a poster of Che Guevara up on my wall.

Because you're a fan of south America's Hitler?

No comment Goebells, I mean Aaron.

Quote: Rosco @ February 27 2009, 9:56 PM GMT

It's interesting to note that Gordon Brown automatically gets a £70K for the rest of his life as soon as he leaves office. With the economy going tits-up on his watch, is he going to give some of it back? I think not!

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I bet the PM covered that base prior to lambasting Sir Fred.
There should be no reward for bad performance but as Aaron says, Sir Fred's fund has been accumulated over many successful years. Still a mind-boggling amount though.

Quote: Jack Massey @ February 27 2009, 10:33 PM GMT

and people wonder why I have a poster of Che Guevara up on my wall.

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Because you obviously adore men in uniform (para-military or otherwise). One of the reasons you probably like Dad's Army.

"Is Jack Massey gay?"

"Don't tell him Pike!!"