Iain Duncan Smith Quotes
Look, I've always said from the word go many years ago that I felt the whole bonus culture, they need to think very carefully about being detached from the rest of the British public.
Smith, Iain Duncan. Interview. BBC News, BBC, 2013.
That has been the average perception well into the 21st century.
High level financial industry executives were earnings millions of dollars even if the company did poorly. In many cases annual bonuses were paid even after the firm lost money and in some cases after the firm had to be sold to stave off bankruptcy. The worst thing in 2009 and 2010 was when some of the banks paid million dollar and more bonuses while the company was getting bailout money from the taxpayers to prevent their bankruptcy.
Simon had been America’s youngest newspaper publisher before he went into politics. He wrote for newspapers throughout his life. This was his last column.
The huge salaries paid to CEO’s in the early 21st century became a major political issue during the George W. Bush administration in the wake of the Corporate scandals like Enron and the failure of the Government to prevent these frauds. The tax deductibility of the huge salaries also attracted political attention at a time when Bush policies had created the largest deficits in the history of the world.
Sir George Iain Duncan Smith, often referred to by his initials IDS, is a British politician who served as Leader of the Conservative Party and Leader of the Opposition from 2001 to 2003. He was later Secretary of State for Work and Pensions from 2010 to 2016. He has been Member of Parliament (MP) for Chingford and Woodford Green, formerly Chingford, since 1992.
