Kenneth Lewis, the Bank of America Corp. Chief Executive seems to think so. Lewis has written to congress to express his concern, saying the legislation penalizes employees who are not responsible for responsible for creating the financial crisis the US is suffering. ‘In this environment, I am very concerned about our ability to retain some of our most valuable associates’, he went on to say.

The bill proposes to tax bonuses given to employees of banks that have received more than $5 billion in government funds, and who earns more than $250,000 a year.  In a memo to employees on Friday, he wrote that ‘many of the government’s plans depend on the private sector being willing to contract with the government. If investors or companies in the private sector believe that the rules can change quickly and indiscriminately, they will be unwilling to participate.’ This might be a reason for concern, but it hardly makes it unfair. To Mr. Lewis credit, he did decline a bonus this year, but so many of his fellow banking executives have not, and will not. Sir Fred Goodwin is a name that springs to mind, and one who fully embodies the contempt that many taxpayers around the world feel for the banking system and the people who runs it.