Dutch <http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/P2pFoundation/~3/xXF-BHKcS0Q/08> twitter-based anti-bonus campaign sets an example for the world
via michel bauwens p2p foundation feed Excerpted <http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/mar/27/dutch-bankers-bonuses-axed-b y-people-power> from the Guardian: “A growing Dutch political storm could end with a blanket ban on bonuses to financiers who work for institutions bailed out by the taxpayer. ING customers mobilised on Twitter and other social networks to protest at bonuses paid to bosses at the bank, one of the biggest in the country. The threat of direct action raised the spectre of a partial run on ING, terrifying the Dutch establishment. Fred Polhout, union organiser at the bank, says: “People were outraged. We heard about the bloated sums being paid again in the City and in New York; but suddenly the issue exploded on our own front door.” Compared with the packages awarded to bankers in the US and UK, the Dutch bonuses were small potatoes. Jan Hommen, ING’s chief executive, was due to receive a £1m bonus – a pittance when you consider that Stephen Hester, head of state-controlled RBS in the UK, is in line for up to £7.7m, Bob Diamond of Barclays is to collect as much as £6.5m, and some senior bankers at Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan are looking at windfalls of about £40m each. “Perhaps we are so upset because we are a small country that prefers to set an example, rather than follow others,” suggests Polhout. So severe was the public reaction to Hommen’s bonus that within days he had agreed to waive the award and told other ING directors to do the same. Now the Netherlands is going through a painful period of introspection and soul-searching. Politicians have voted to implement a 100% retrospective tax on all bonuses paid to executives at institutions that received state aid as a result of the financial crisis. In other words, no banker should get a bonus until the debt is cleared, and they should return payments made since 2008. ING was thrown a €10bn (£8.7bn) lifeline to stop it going under, while ABN Amro was nationalised. Numerous other Dutch financial firms received capital support, including Aegon, SNS Reaal and ASR Nederland. On the streets of Amsterdam, there is little sympathy for the bankers. Emma Rohl, who works at an English bookshop in the city centre, says: “They shouldn’t get bonuses at all. Why should people be paid vast sums for going into work and doing their jobs? It’s utterly ridiculous.” Erick Koenig at a nearby restaurant says: “We rescued the banks from their own follies, and now they expect to be paid extra. I think they should work for free for at least five years.” <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/P2pFoundation?a=xXF-BHKcS0Q:WmpLczSmu9g:7Q7 2WNTAKBA> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/P2pFoundation?a=xXF-BHKcS0Q:WmpLczSmu9g:D7D qB2pKExk> <http://feeds.feedburner.com/~ff/P2pFoundation?a=xXF-BHKcS0Q:WmpLczSmu9g:2mJ PEYqXBVI>
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