13.01.2011

Bank on us

Robbie Rix says some extra online donations would come in very handy right now

So Stephen Hester of RBS is in line for £2.5 million bonus, Eric Daniels of Lloyds is looking at £2 million and good old Bob Diamond of Barclays has “not yet decided” whether to accept whatever sum comes his way.

Last year some 2,800 bankers received £1 million or more as a bonus - on top of the millions they received in their regular salaries and expenses, but David Cameron regretfully explains that it would be undesirable to “micromanage” their income. We just have to accept that ‘the system’ depends on their role in keeping the economy moving, don’t we?

Well, I know for a fact that readers of this paper don’t share Cameron’s appreciation of the bankers. Just like I know that most of them won’t see the kind of money the likes of Hester, Daniels and Diamond pocket each year in the whole of their working life. But that doesn’t stop them giving financial support to the Weekly Worker - in the shape of a rather more mundane £10 or £20, of course.

Last week CM and FR both added £10 to their subscriptions, while GJ sent me a fantastic £50 cheque and IR contributed a comparatively modest £7. I also received a total of £107 in standing orders, plus the £5 each that EJ and JL donated via PayPal. Mind you, we had 12,954 online visitors last week, so I only wish rather more than two would consider showing their support for the paper they are so keen to read - Thursday and Friday is when most people drop by our website and the total gradually falls as the week wears on.

Some extra online donations would come in very handy right now - our January total stand at only £359 and our £1,250 target seems a long way away. Anyone want to offer us a bonus?