James Hallett
Big banker's 'sorry' simply insufficient
Published on Wed, Dec 2, 2009 by James HallettRead More Hallett
In the movie "Wall Street," Gordon Gecko (played by Michael Douglas) utters the (in)famous statement, "Greed is good!"
More recently Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfein found himself staunchly defending Goldman's outsized profits, enormous paychecks and obscene bonuses. He claimed his Wall Street firm was justified in spending $16.7 billion to pay its employees this year because Goldman is "doing God's work."
Really?
After coming under scathing criticism for this outrageous claim, Blankfein and Goldman re-emerged at a recent conference in New York with a slightly different approach. This time, Blankfein said Goldman made mistakes over the past year and that it was sorry.
"We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret," he said. "We apologize." How nice.
From plea to profit
Approximately one year ago, Goldman was pleading for the American taxpayers to rescue it from the brink of collapse. Goldman did not want to become the next Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers (ironically, its two chief investment banking competitors). The TARP program rescued Goldman. Now, barely a year later Goldman enjoys historical profits and pays billions of dollars in record bonuses.
In my youth, Rolling Stone magazine filled a journalism niche. However, the magazine and Pulitzer Prize were never mentioned in the same sentence. That is not the case now. Oddly enough, Rolling Stone deserves high praise for the best investigative journalism regarding Wall Street in general and Goldman Sachs in particular. Matt Taibbi authors "The Great American Bubble Machine," which first appeared in Rolling Stone (issue 1082-83).
'Vampire squid'
I encourage you to read the report in which Taibbi calls Goldman "the world's most powerful investment bank ... a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money."
I am not suggesting Goldman is the only "bad guy." Nevertheless, Goldman is the biggest and appears to have benefited the most. In fact, Goldman continues to benefit at the expense of its competitors (virtually no one else left standing) and of the U.S. taxpayers.
What can you do? If you
feel that an apology is not enough, then I suggest you write your elected officials (representatives, senators and the White House) and urge them to enact meaningful reforms that curb financial abuses. Restore sanity to the markets. Hold the perpetrators accountable. An apology alone is insufficient. The ill-gotten gains must be returned.
Perhaps then we can get on with truly "doing God's work."
James D. Hallett, Hallett & Associates, P.S., is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC and only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded from registration requirements.
More recently Goldman Sachs' CEO Lloyd Blankfein found himself staunchly defending Goldman's outsized profits, enormous paychecks and obscene bonuses. He claimed his Wall Street firm was justified in spending $16.7 billion to pay its employees this year because Goldman is "doing God's work."
Really?
After coming under scathing criticism for this outrageous claim, Blankfein and Goldman re-emerged at a recent conference in New York with a slightly different approach. This time, Blankfein said Goldman made mistakes over the past year and that it was sorry.
"We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret," he said. "We apologize." How nice.
From plea to profit
Approximately one year ago, Goldman was pleading for the American taxpayers to rescue it from the brink of collapse. Goldman did not want to become the next Bear Stearns or Lehman Brothers (ironically, its two chief investment banking competitors). The TARP program rescued Goldman. Now, barely a year later Goldman enjoys historical profits and pays billions of dollars in record bonuses.
In my youth, Rolling Stone magazine filled a journalism niche. However, the magazine and Pulitzer Prize were never mentioned in the same sentence. That is not the case now. Oddly enough, Rolling Stone deserves high praise for the best investigative journalism regarding Wall Street in general and Goldman Sachs in particular. Matt Taibbi authors "The Great American Bubble Machine," which first appeared in Rolling Stone (issue 1082-83).
'Vampire squid'
I encourage you to read the report in which Taibbi calls Goldman "the world's most powerful investment bank ... a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money."
I am not suggesting Goldman is the only "bad guy." Nevertheless, Goldman is the biggest and appears to have benefited the most. In fact, Goldman continues to benefit at the expense of its competitors (virtually no one else left standing) and of the U.S. taxpayers.
What can you do? If you
feel that an apology is not enough, then I suggest you write your elected officials (representatives, senators and the White House) and urge them to enact meaningful reforms that curb financial abuses. Restore sanity to the markets. Hold the perpetrators accountable. An apology alone is insufficient. The ill-gotten gains must be returned.
Perhaps then we can get on with truly "doing God's work."
James D. Hallett, Hallett & Associates, P.S., is registered as an investment advisor with the SEC and only transacts business in states where it is properly registered or excluded from registration requirements.
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