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I don't think it's very puzzling that a large, profitable institution can get dragged through the mud. There's a very simple reason: Many people don't accept

by ejames 17y ago

I don't think it's very puzzling that a large, profitable institution can get dragged through the mud. There's a very simple reason: Many people don't accept that "being profitable" and "being worthy of admiration" are the same thing, or that Goldman's success as a business proves that they're a socially positive force. The Mafia was a successful, profitable large institution for a long time. People still thought they were crooks, because, well, they were. You can argue that Goldman Sachs is not comprised of a bunch of lying con men who made all of their money by cheating it from gullible rich old ladies. But "look how much money they made!" isn't a convincing reason in that argument. Maybe they're just very good at lying, cheating, and bribing their way to wealth! The people at the top of the pyramid scheme actually do make money, after all; it's everyone at the bottom who loses out.

cynicalkane 17y ago
OK, but Goldman doesn't make money by pushing dope or breaking peoples' kneecaps. To reiterate: "The only people forced to trade with Goldman were taxpayers financing the bailouts, and you know what happened to them? They got all their money back plus twenty-three percent interest."
- jbooth 17y ago
  No, but they do make a ton of money by frontrunning trades, a practice which is only legal because Congress is too dysfunctional to pass a law against it.
- chaostheory 17y ago
  No, but they do it by putting a lot of their alumni into the US Dept of Treasury, which somehow miraculously gets them sweetheart deals from the gov. It's hard to admire a company that readily takes welfare handouts from the government, while at the same time asking for hands off when it comes to taxes and regulations, especially when mixed shady practices. GS is made of a lot of clever individuals, that's not questioned. Reputable and admirable? That's another story. Almost forgot, the banks haven't really paid up.: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/10-ways-say-no-banks-have-not-paid-back-their-debt-taxpayer http://www.zerohedge.com/article/10-ways-say-no-banks-have-n... There's another article that shows that the Fed Reserve opened up new loans to the banks to replace the 'paid up' TARP loans.

by ejames 17y ago

cynicalkane 17y ago

OK, but Goldman doesn't make money by pushing dope or breaking peoples' kneecaps. To reiterate: "The only people forced to trade with Goldman were taxpayers financing the bailouts, and you know what happened to them? They got all their money back plus twenty-three percent interest."

jbooth 17y ago
No, but they do make a ton of money by frontrunning trades, a practice which is only legal because Congress is too dysfunctional to pass a law against it.
chaostheory 17y ago
No, but they do it by putting a lot of their alumni into the US Dept of Treasury, which somehow miraculously gets them sweetheart deals from the gov. It's hard to admire a company that readily takes welfare handouts from the government, while at the same time asking for hands off when it comes to taxes and regulations, especially when mixed shady practices. GS is made of a lot of clever individuals, that's not questioned. Reputable and admirable? That's another story. Almost forgot, the banks haven't really paid up.: http://www.zerohedge.com/article/10-ways-say-no-banks-have-not-paid-back-their-debt-taxpayer http://www.zerohedge.com/article/10-ways-say-no-banks-have-n... There's another article that shows that the Fed Reserve opened up new loans to the banks to replace the 'paid up' TARP loans.