The recent indignity suffered by Home Secretary Jacqui Smith over her husband’s viewing of two “adult” films, which she then submitted as part of her parliamentary expenses claim got me thinking again about the slightly older furore over Sir Fred Goodwin and his humungus pension, and the ongoing hysteria over bankers’ bonuses. I posted a couple of weeks ago on why I thought it unlikely that Harriet Harman’s threat to take government action to recover Sir Fred’s pension would be successful. In the meantime Congress in the USA has got itself worked up into a lather over bankers’ bonuses and is considering a 90% rate of tax on all executives (from those institutions receiving state bail outs, particularly AIG) receiving compensation packages in excess of $250,000.