Yes they try to, however:
ALL MANAGED MARKETS COLLAPSE
COMMUNIST MARKETS COLLAPSE SOONER
CAPITALIST MARKETS COLLAPSE LATER
Communist and capitalist markets, while fundamentally different, are both managed markets"though for different ends and in very different ways. Communist markets are managed by governments setting production goals and price controls. Capital markets are managed by central banks issuing credit in the form of debt, thereby indebting producers, savers, and governments with unsustainable levels of debt"which is where we are today.

Darryl Robert Schoon
www.survivethecrisis.com
www.drschoon.com

Goldman Sachs has done very well during this downturn in the economy because they ARE the federal reserve and they've succeeded in safeguarding their own interests while Americans' real income in relation to inflation continues to sink. Every decision the fed makes, Goldman Sucks is one step ahead of. Unbelievable intuition or market manipulation: you be the judge.

I originally posted this comment to Henry Blodgett's blog:

"If you read Ben Stein's columns with any regularity, you'll notice that he often recommends variable annuities. These are expensive (high commission) investment products put together by insurance companies and typically sold by life insurance agents or financial planners. What Mr. Stein never discloses is that he is a spokesperson for the National Retirement Planning Coalition and its National Retirement Planning Week, from whom he presumably gets a fee. This coalition includes insurance companies that push variable annuities. I don't think Goldman Sachs people will lose any sleep over what Ben Stein has to say. It's too bad that around age 63, Mr. Stein has to behave in such a sleazy fashion. Buying a variable annuity instead of a lower cost alternative is similar to taking out a subprime loan when you could have qualified for a regular mortgage at a lower interest rate. In his November 9 column on Yahoo, Mr. Stein manages to slip in another pitch for variable annuities and to be very supportive of America's military. What does the 82nd Airborne have to do with investing or retirement?"

I second TechnoGirl's recommendation. Go back to game shows, Ben.

What they going to do loan out money that might not actually be there?

Ben? Did you just figure this out?

Looks like more slay the messenger when anyone
postulates anything but the Bush Co. rosy attitude about everything. The fed will step in to prevent such a scenario, the problem is
that the inflationary consequences are not mentioned by Mr. Stein. Bottom line, George
bush and Allen Greenspan F'd us, and now we get to see the carnage first hand.

No Ben, Goldman Sachs doesn't rule the world , just the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury.

Buckle your seat belts people, this is going to be a bumpy ride.

Ben Stein?
The extremist right wing bag of wind, Ben Stein ?
The BushCo sock puppet, Ben Stein?
That Ben Stein?

I guess a perk of being a right wing toady is a piece in the New Your Times but personally if that bag of wind told me the sun was going to come up tomorrow I'd prepare to sleep in.

Go back to game shows, Ben you were better at that.