There goes civilisation...

I don't think anyone here is upset about the amount of money you may or may not make CG. I think it was the impression a lot of us got that you felt your earnings (both personal, and for your employer) legitimized a style of living which, to a lot of us, is steeped in ethical quagmires. At least, that's when I got vocal in this debate.

This may not be at all what you believe, but it was the impression I, and clearly some other people on the forum, got.

No, bankers' earnings do not "legitimize" a style of living that is ethically abhorrent to a lot of you. The earnings "enable" them to carry on those lifestyles.

A large part of the debate on this thread surrounds whether or not those lifestyles are, in fact, ethically abhorrent. The only reason I started harping on about taxes is because so many people assume that bankers are leeches and contribute absolutely nothing to society. Taxes may be mandatory, but that does not negate the fact that they have been contributed.

The UK government may not spend those taxes in a way that you like, but that's up to you, as voters, to change. I can't, because I'm not British.