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The People vs. Goldman Sachs

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Re: The People vs. Goldman Sachs

#3
post #2

Is anyone else as shocked as I am that Goldman has barely had a slap on the wrist for this stuff?

Society, in general, doesn't "get" that white-collar crime like the mortgage securities fraud is the engine that powers blue collar crime.

The problem is that society in general spends far too much time and effort and money harassing blue collar criminals and keeping them locked up in a system that will never "fix" them. Society needs to make a conscious and concerted effort to prosecute white collar criminals -- to give them punishments severe enough to prevent the abuse and fraud from the top down, the abuse and fraud that leeches from the poorest "blue collars".

Raj Rajaratnam, the billionaire hedge fund manager and co-founder of Galleon Group who was convicted today "acted like the rules didn't apply to him". Probably because at this point in our history, society is starting to believe that the rules don't apply to the power suits. This is why none of these brokers have served jail / prison time.

Steal an automobile: go to jail; do not pass go. Steal somebody's house and life savings: go to swanky federal prison, stop and take a vacation in the Bahamas (where your tax shelter is) on the way.

Re: The People vs. Goldman Sachs

#7
post #2

Is anyone else as shocked as I am that Goldman has barely had a slap on the wrist for this stuff?

say what you will about Zero Hedge, but I find it to be an invaluable site. The comments are utter crap, and a lot of the stories are selectively chosen/biased in other ways, but the same is true of the Wall Street Journal and other mainstream news sources - I find it to be an extremely valuable counterpoint.

No, I am not surprised.

Re: The People vs. Goldman Sachs

#8
post #2

Is anyone else as shocked as I am that Goldman has barely had a slap on the wrist for this stuff?

No and if you are legitimately shocked, then you don't understand to what extent the government is infiltrated with Goldman Sachs-men.

Goldman Sachs' Revolving Door: http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-31727_162-20001981-10391695.html

"A CBS News analysis of the revolving door between Goldman and government reveals at least four dozen former employees, lobbyists or advisers at the highest reaches of power both in Washington and around the world. [. . .] For example, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson is a former Goldman CEO; Arthur Levitt, the head of the Securities and Exchange Commission is a now a Goldman adviser; and former House Majority Leader Dick Gephardt is now a paid lobbyist for the firm. "

They then go on to list another 49 high ranking government persons who are Goldman Sachs-men.

Goldman Sachs is only one of the vile companies that have infiltrated the government and dominate all sorts of positions and committees to directly promote their own agendas (or, in some cases, bail their own companies out with trillion dollar plans after using the media to scare-monger the entire country about impending doom if we don't let the Goldman Sachs guys in the government give the Goldman Sachs guys in the company the bailout). There are plenty of other companies, too. Monsanto has a pretty heavy representation, but the list goes on and on. Just get googling and you'll spend days learning of all the unbelievable corruptions that we've been letting go on for decades. A fun one to look up is how corporate employees within the government have used their positions to fast-track things through the FDA for companies that theyw ere employees of (or became employees of as a reward, after they left the public position). Sometimes, even directly against the advice and complaint of the FDA's own scientists. Look up stuff like the rBGH, aspartame, round-up ready monsanto corn seeds, and manipulating data and fast-tracking FDA approvals for companies officials have been cozy with.

There are plenty of other examples that I'm probably not even aware of. These are just some of the most documented and commonly covered.

Re: The People vs. Goldman Sachs

#9
post #5

Some will rob you with a six gun and some with a fountain pen. And then there's these guys who convinced two presidents they were too large to fail.

Goldman Sachs didn't have to convince anyone of anything. They already ran the treasury and the SEC.
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