The board of the Royal Bank of Scotland (RBS) have threatened to quit after hearing Government plans to cap their bonus payments. Chancellor Alistair Darling is to be granted the right to veto bonus payments at the bank, following which the bank sought legal advice.

The threat of a mass exodus comes as the bank is planning bonuses of £1.5 billion to staff in its investment arm for its performance in 2009. The RBS board is due to make its recommendation on bonuses early next year. The bonus pool of around £1.5 billion has to be signed off by the Government.

How can a business that has failed hold the Government to ransom over such payments? Is this not an obscene dereliction of duty? Shouldn't these people be held accountable and responsible? In any other private sector enterprise the directors if it failed, would be held legally responsible. These people have cost us (the tax payers) multi-billions already and are now demanding more! What the hell is going on? No wonder our nation is in such a mess!

Of course people need to be rewarded for doing a good job but this needs to be realistic and in line with payments in other sectors and professions. The banking industry has unanimously proved how inept and fallible it can be, so how much should we pay to reward that? Or should they possibly be made to repay some of the billions they have leeched from the system already?

When people are continually losing their jobs or being told they need to accept wage cuts or freezes to prevent such action, how are they meant to feel in the wake of this outburst? I feel confident in saying the huge number of British workers on National Minimum Wage will have very little sympathy with the fat cats who are complaining they cannot be made clinically obese!

As a nation we need to get a grip on reality. We are a small island nation who can be fairly self-sufficient, but have limited resource. We should look at more parity for workers across the board. Yes people at the top will always earn more, that is the nature of business and the driving force needed to keep the wheels in motion, however without a properly motivated and functional workforce, they have no source of income!

The British finance industry in particular has become "Top heavy" with too much resource going to those in charge. Never has so much been given by so many to so few for so little! If we are to have a fair society and protect the rights of individuals then salaries and the associated implications thereof need to be looked into very thoroughly.

There is nothing wrong with rewards commensurate to the task in hand, but when the distance between the "Have's" and the "Have not's" is widening exponentially, especially in such difficult times, it's a recipe for disaster. Everyone should be seen to be "Pulling their belt in" and doing more for the good of the economy and society as a whole. That's how to gain solidarity of feeling and drive the nation forward.

Remember Mr. Brown just whose votes you will be relying on in a few months time. There are a lot less "Fat cats" than the rest of us!