"an industry that provides little value to society"
Whilst this is a nice popular statement to trot out in the current climate, it is simply not true, at least not in fiscal terms. Some facts:
* The financial services industry accounted for 10% of GDP in 2009
* It provides 4% of total employment in the UK (1 million jobs)
* It contributes 28% of the UK’s total exports of services
* It contributed £53.4bn in tax in 2009/10 (11% of total government receipts)
Much as everyone would like to say "sod the bankers, let them go elsewhere", the truth is doing so would likely torpedo the economy.
Source: http://217.154.230.218/NR/rdonlyres/E01CD45A-053F-4C9B-BDAA-...