Taibbi's Goldman Sachs Takedown In Rolling Stone: Bank Has 'Unprecedented Reach And Power'

zerohedge.blogspot.com:

With a subtitle like "From tech stocks to high gas prices, Goldman Sachs has engineered every major market manipulation since the Great Depression - and they're about to do it again" run, don't walk, to your nearest kiosk and buy Matt Taibbi's latest piece in Rolling Stone magazine. One of the best comprehensive profiles of Government Sachs done to date. Speaking of GS, they sure must be busy today, now that Bernanke is about to be impeached and take the fall for all their machinations.

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Comments

[James Croteau]

Have to credit the Huff Post with bring this story to the light of day, yet on a holiday weekend, (then it disappears from the front page), with maybe a heads up to GS, so that their minions can post, “so what, its just capitalism”, as is insider trading and illegal. If we small people were lucky, maybe congress would look into this. :-)

[jason10006]

I read the whole article. I did not see how what GS did is any different than what Citigroup, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley, UBS, RBS, BNP Paribas, Credit Suisse or any of the other large investment­/universal banks have done or did. There are alums from all of those places (and for that matter from McKinsey, Bain, or hell even Harvard, Princeton, and Yale) at all the same instiutions of goverment and in the same sort of numbers. Goldman is not even the largest or the most profitable bank - in the most recent league tables (and I mean for the last 10 years) its trailed many of the afformentioned banks. Its employees, while highly paid, make less on average than some of the boutiques and than most of the large hedge funds or private equity shops.

In short, it seems weird that Matt is so laser-ly foccused on this one institution, when the behavior he is describing occured at dozens of other large firms, 5-10 of which are larger than GS in every concievable way (market cap, employees, revenues, profits, league table rankings, you name it.)

Its like they are his boogie man.

[Mikeeee]

You failed to mention that Citigroup, Bank of America/Merrill Lynch, JP Morgan, Morgan Stanley and BoA are all owners of the FED as well.

[Jannsmoor]

"For what is the crime of robbing a bank compared to the crime of owning one?" If you have been paying attention, you surely already knew Goldman was receiving most favored treatment.
There absolutely must be accountability on Wall Street. This means the "too big to fail" institutions need to be put into receivorship and dismantled. It is simply not sufficient to require they carry more reserves. Sooner or later, some politician will slip some language into a bill that lowers the reserves. It is as inevitable as the sun coming up. The only recourse is making all the large banks and AIG smaller. And banks should be clearly and irrevocably separated from financial insitutions, such as Goldman Sachs.
Additionally, owner occupied mortgages need to be taken out of the hands of the Wall Street Privateers. They should never again be allowed to gamble with the largest asset most Americans will ever own. Owner occupied mortgages should be owned by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. And the interest rates need to be lowered to 3% to save the middle class and free up capital to grow the economy.

[renatam]

Thank God for Matt Taibbi, the last and only journalist in America. Thank you, Rolling Stone, for giving him a platform.

New York Times and Wall Street Journal, shame on you both. And, if you want to know WHY I won't buy either paper - as a born/bred Manhattan resident - it is because I am now getting my news from Rolling Stone or The National Enquirer.

[James Croteau]

Yes, is not it very strange that the only reporting is coming from comedy shows, and music rags. Guess it shows what is meant when its said that only a very few OWN the media, these days. Have to credit the Huff Post with bringing this story to the light of day. Matt Taibbi was on the Ed Show, but it was poor coverage of the subject. I have seen nothing anywhere else. If we are lucky maybe Aljazeera will pick up on the story with a special report, I would say PBS, but they have been comprised, it seems.

I think everyone knew that the markets were being manipulated, we just could not name names. I guess I was one of the lucky ones, not because I was a insider or knew anything, but because I decided to leave the states after the 04’ election, and decided that it would be a good idea to liquidate my holdings.

As I sit here, it does seem that the light on change is dimming. I think, Obama was right about one thing, this was the last chance, just sorry for all you believers. Its really bad when your hopes get dashed at such a young age.

[TRichards]

Well, there's also Seymour Hersh and Tom Ricks out there doing some very good work. And, I'm sure there are more -- just FAR too few. It isn't the fault just of the reporters but of the fact that newspapers are hurting. As for TV news, the news departments are now set up as profit centers. It's cheaper to close down news bureaus and simply to have attractive news readers regurgitating what others are saying.

Why are there so many talking heads opining on cable news? It's cheaper to pay windbags to opine than to have reporters spending the time it takes to uncover something beneath the headlines. Matt Taibbi and Seymour Hirsch get the time. Too few others get the backing.

[RobertHenryEller]

On second thought, there is something very specific we can all do right now:

1. Read the Taibbi piece to understand why I'm advocating point 2.

2. Lobby your Congresspeople and Senators to block Cap and Trade, and to pass a carbon tax instead.

If we can do this, we can put a big dent in Goldman Sachs next taxpayer funded windfall.

Again, please read the Taibbi piece, and lobby for a carbon tax. It's the selfishly sane thing to do.

[RobertHenryEller]

Read Matt Taibbi's piece in Rolling Stone, or find it on the internet.

Simply, if you haven't read this piece, you are not informed about how financial crises are created, and who profits from them.

Unless, that is, you are a current or former Goldman Sachs employee.

After reading it, you should ask yourself only one question: What are we going to do about this?

I don't know how, but we've got to change the rules for Wall Street.

And I don't recommend we wait for President Obama to do it.

As he said himself, "We (not "He") are the ones we've been waiting for."

[cavegal]

I have just been called every name in the book over on the comments section pertaining to the House passing the climate bill when I pointed out Goldman Sachs influence. It is so refreshing to see comments by people who are not blinded by ideology for a change. I too am extremely concerned about who wrote the parts of the legislation pertaining to cap & trade carbon in the bill. Especially since Matt Taibbi pointed out that Goldman Sachs spent over $3 million lobbying specifically for cap & trade to be included. It's like trying to talk to people brainwashed in a cult.

[sosi]

read the original article: http://forums.somethingawful.com/showthread.php?threadid=3159732
think up a solution: http://www.goldmansachs666.com

[DHubbard]

GO MATT!!!!!!! I just read the SEC requested to see a movie about this (see article link) called Stock Shock. Finally!!...taking some proactive action! http://satwaves.com/blog/2009/06/26/sec-investigating-illegal-naked-short-selling/

[Henry Bales]

Let's keep all of America and it's Citizens awake on this issue. Stay awake and be inform.

[nomorefed]

GS and bank of amerika are part o fthe new world order

he's right: http://makeitbrief.com/avupq why aren't our voices being heard by Washington?

[outnow]

There are two types of capitalism: the "good capitalism" and the "bad capitalism." In "good capitalism" Goldman Sacks would not be possible.

The same thing may be said of socialism. There is "good socialism" and "bad socialism."

Why can't we secure the benefits of both "good capitalism" and "good socialism" without the drawbacks? The reality is that lines must be drawn and an equitable system created and maintained.

Instead, we have let the guys at Goldman Sacks figure it all out for us but for their benefit, not ours. Unless you still believe that all this "prosperity" is "trickling down" on us from their beneficence, we need to overthrow these financial tyrants and restore democracy. Democracy and capitalism are two different concepts. That the most capitalistic PREDATORS would be in control highlights the real contradictions about capitalism - it consumes real democracy at a point. We have long since reached that point.

[amantell]

This article got me thinking about one of the ongoing popular complaints about the conduct of numerous executives over the past year; how no matter what bad things were taking place in the market, how many investors lost their money, or how many businesses went under or people lost their jobs, high level executives persisted in the same behavior as if the market was flourishing. Going by Taibbi's logic, the top level executives at Goldman were doing great and had plenty of reasons to celebrate. They manipulated the market, the government, and investors to profit even when the company was supposedly being devastated by a crash for which it was in part responsible. Taibbi is probably my favorite journalist these days. He's certainly the reason I pick up Rolling Stone. This article is a good read for anybody interested in how perniciously at least one big investment firm contributed to the recession.

[althusius]

Matt Taibbi says Goldman Sachs will use Cap and Trade as its latest scheme to swindle the American public.

[ErnestineBass]

Yep.

Goldman Sachs makes its money by moving paper, so for them this bill is a dream come true.

[dinglebe]

Goldman Sachs is the number one criminal enterprise in America. The Mafia, Russian Mafia, drug cartels, Bush family, what have you, are not anywhere close.