Friday, November 20, 2009

Being Goldman Sachs X

In response to Lloyd C. Blankfein, Chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs, that he was doing "God's work," Andy Stern says two words, "get real." Mr. Stern breaks it down very simply in a post on the Huffington Post:

The reality is, Goldman Sachs continues to profit off the home foreclosure of families who are struggling to make ends meet.

The reality is, Lloyd Blankfein and his fellow executives continue rewarding themselves for their bad behavior - paying out $16.7 billion in compensation and bonuses in the first nine months of 2009 alone.

The reality is, Wall Street firms like Goldman Sachs continue to engage in the same risky behaviors the drove us to financial collapse.

So, when Lloyd Blankfein issues his press release saying Goldman Sachs has suddenly seen the light - they're suddenly making a commitment to small businesses with a $500 million donation over the next five years - my response is simple: get real.
Do read the entire article. It's worth it. The question remains what are we going to do about it? I am a big proponent of clawbacks.

2 comments:

zorro said...

Here's two views on the economic crisis.
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/opinion/20brooks.html?em

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/20/opinion/20krugman.html?em

Judith Ellis said...

Thanks, Zorro. I'll read them and perhaps get back with a comment or two. I appreciate your reading and research.