Goldman Sachs: It's Time to Put Country Before Company
I love the America where women like Maria Guerra, a janitor from Chicago, who worked hard her whole life -- paid her taxes, saved her money -- could not only purchase a home for herself but also could lend her brother money and co-sign his loan so he too could buy a home for his family.
Unfortunately, something has happened to the America we all love.
After our economy collapsed, Maria's brother was laid off and a few weeks ago his unemployment benefits ran out. The bank refused to rework the loan, he now faces foreclosure, and Maria is worried she may face the same fate.
Sadly, for Maria and the 14,000 other hardworking, taxpaying Americans who will lose their home today, the American dream has become an American nightmare.
Where were Goldman Sachs CEO Lloyd Blankfein and the rest of the masters of the universe when Maria's family needed help?
Out to lunch and out of touch -- that's where. They were off gorging themselves on billions of dollars in bonuses made possible by Maria and the rest of the hardworking Americans who contributed our tax dollars to rescue Goldman Sachs and the economy.
That's not the America we want and it's not the America we need.
It's time for those of us who love America to stand up and take action to end this nightmare created by Wall Street and the big banks.
That's why I joined thousands of Americans in Chicago last month to launch a national campaign to start holding Wall Street accountable for their obsession with greed.
And that's why I'm joining hundreds of taxpayers outside of Goldman Sachs' Washington, D.C. headquarters today.
We're taking to the streets because it seems as if companies like Goldman Sachs love their company more than their country. Goldman Sachs seems to salute no flag but their own corporate logo.
And in the name of maximizing profits, and their huge bonuses, they will foreclose on our homes and take jobs from our families while short selling America without a second thought.
And it just seems to be getting worse. Goldman Sachs has become so callous and so greedy that they just issued a report on health care reform recommending that the best thing for insurance companies is no reform at all.
Does Goldman Sachs understand what nothing meant to Charlie Lang from Connecticut whose mother was diagnosed with lung cancer?
The doctors told Charlie and his mother that they wanted to remove her tumor so that she would have a chance of surviving.
But after the insurance company refused to pay for the operation and the family could not raise the money, Charlie's mother died.
I want to ask Lloyd Blankfein: Is the wealth of your company more important than Charlie's mom and the health of our country?
Is this really the "God's work" that you claim you are carrying out?
It's not God's work to kick families out into the street.
It's not God's work to leave people without health insurance.
It is not God's work to put greed over human need and use other people's money to pay yourselves huge bonuses.
When we converge on Goldman Sachs' office today, we will demand that Goldman place their expected $23 billion in bonus money into a fund to help Americans keep their homes in this time of need. We will ask Goldman to put country over company and to truly be their brothers' and sisters' keeper.
Those 23 billion dollars could prevent every single expected foreclosure in America in 2010. That would truly be God's work -- and the American way.
That is the America we want. And we mustn't give up until that is the America that we get.
Will you join me?
Difficult times need wise men to tell difficult truths. And, for many years, Buffett has done just that. So it was deeply distressing to listen to him last week joining in the economic victory lap the Obama administration is taking.
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I am so sick of smart greedy people. Sometimes god gives out all mashed potatoes and no peas (meaning all brains, no compassion). I am particularly disgusted by the doing gods work comment. I'm not religious, as I think a lot of college grads are not, and I find it really hard to believe that these folks are religious either. They are playing to the lowest common denominator.
What's disturbing is the scenario that could loom upon us in the USA (and the whole world.) Arianna Huffpost on the economy is right on. Middle class America is in big trouble. Gas at close to 3 bucks a gal is a killer. Inflation in an bad economy can eat the guts out of nation. You don't think people will stand in "bread lines" do you? Our mentality is close to the breaking point.. we have more drug dealers, bank robbers, thievery, domestic terrorism, pedophilia, child abuse, rape, murder by familial members or just random acts. We have in this once wonderful nation of ours a "Columbine mentality"!Americans just want a job..make a living, take the kids on a vacation, afford a college education. Our polititions (both sides) have given away "lunch pail" America. Whats a kid from Toledo, Ohio or,Paducah, Ky going to do with no jobs...maybe rob a bank, deal drugs, take to drink? Warren Buffet? I have nothing against him, but if he thinks we are coming out of the wolfy woods..he's mistaken. And oh yes, how about that crazy war we are fighting that costs trillions..can America win another war? We havent since WW2. And how about getting of off Arab Oil..arent we fighting those guys as we speak! How many "Hassans" are out there?
They can claim as Cain did that they are not their brother's keeper. But they have surely bludgeoned the economy to death.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/131257-derivatives-gambling-at-public-expense
http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-folks-goldman-sachs-was-not-secretly-short-housing-during-the-bubble-2009-11
http://seekingalpha.com/article/173784-special-inspector-aig-counterparty-volunteered-to-take-haircut-geithner-refused?source=hp_wc
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/dealbook-dialogue-lynn-stout/
Andy, if I could walk, I'd stand with you! Unfortunately, I'm one of those disabled who live on a government "handout." (lame joke!) But despite the deeply cynical nature I've developed over the last several decades of Republican/Big Business oligarchy, I see in you the hope for the reanimation of the American spirit!
A strong and vital America must be based on an engaged and empowered working class. We ARE the majority! The American worker needs to start from ground zero as our grandparents did and reform the labor movement. A strong citizenry, supported by a strong job market, is the only way to control the rapacious thievery of the business and political classes. And this is the only group that will be able to control the selfishness and greed of the political system by demanding reform, restrictions and the rule of law where there is no rule of morality!
We must demand absolute restrictions on American jobs being outsourced. We must demand parity in trade agreements. We must demand a renewed class of INVESTIGATIVE reporters and give pudints their rightful place in our society - as entertainment. We must demand the end of the privatization of our military. We must demand the end of the interminable wars which have drained our economy and destroyed our young people, and enriched the cruelest, most un-American members of our society. .
"We will ask Goldman to put country over company and to truly be their brothers' and sisters' keeper" good luck with that. Goldman's job is to make money, within the framework of government regulations. If they see a hole, they will take it. The don't consider "Charlie's mom and the health of our country?" That's not thier job, that job belongs to your government. A job they have turned thier back on for 50 years. You can't change Goldman, but you can change your government. Work on what is possible.
"Workers of the world, unite, it's not just a slogan anymore. It's the way we're going to have to do our work."
One eye on you, one eye on Goldman...oh man, who's watching the crooks in DC?
You are barking up the wrong tree....... This theft of taxpayer money was engineered by the Government.
Greed is not going to go away just because you campaign against it.
The Goldman crooks helped themselves to the money the Government gave them.
Most people would have done that and will do that in the future unless human nature changes and people start behaving irrationally for some reason.
Yep, greed will never go away but the campaign needs to be for enforced laws and regulations.
All things in business come with conditions.
The condition should be any company that has more foreign workers or investment pay higher taxes.
The condition should be any company reinvesting in American businesses and keeping a certain minimum percentage of job growth should get lower taxes.
Bush/Cheney and Republicans with the "trickle down" economy didn't work. The greed gone wild swept them up into just taking and keeping the money.
These corporations cry "labor" costs too much, "we can't afford labor". What a lie!
They post these unbelievable profits and don't invest even the smallest percentage in new job creation.
They keep it so the few at the top can have another yacht, another luxury car, another mansion, another vacation, another piece of jewelry and this unabashed greed needs to be put in check.
I for one don't care what they do or how much they make but it needs to be enforced that if they don't provide a certain percentage of job creation in relation to their profit they will keep doing it.
The government with Bush and Republican deregulation did give the money and now we need to do something to put the unadulterated greed in check even though I know it won't go away.
The Government is basically taking our money at gun point and giving it to wall street. How is regulation going to change that ? They are all on the same side....
You aren't under the impression that we have a Government that represents the people's interests, are you ?
Goldman Sachs is the last company to deserve your hate. Keep in mind all the employees of that company that left their jobs (and had to sell their shares) in order to enter government service: Robert Rubin, Hank Paulson, Jon Corzine, are the most well known but there are dozens of others. But this is not the reason they are worthy of defense here.
They were probably the only firm to not engage in the negligent pursuit of mindless leveraged profits on top of subprime borrowers. This is why they survived. If you want to throw blame, look at Countrywide (now owned by Bank of America), look at Merrill Lynch (also owned by Bof A), Bear Stearns (now owned by JP Morgan), Lehman (bankrupt), Fannie and Freddie (owned now by the government, Citigroup (ditto).
These banks stole money from you and your families and then brought the whole system to its knees, costing the taxpapers potentially trillions. Why bash the one company that avoided the mess?
If I chose to be deeply cynical(!), I would argue that Goldman has only proven to be the best at taking advantage of a deeply flawed system. Let us not vilify that company--it serves little purpose now. Let's concentrate our efforts, instead, on reinstating REAL regulation on the Financial Services Industry. There should be, in my opinion, twelve Federal Tax brackets instead of the current six, with a top rate of 48% at $900K. Some have suggested that 48% is too low. My motivation for suggesting that figure, however, was a sense of FAIRNESS, as opposed to the GREED so central to the creation of this crisis.
I could have swore Goldman got $20 billion as well and would have went bankrupt without it? If not, why did we give it to them?
And why wouldn't people like Paulson leave their job to work for the government where they can set up the ground work for this catastrophe in the making so all their friends get rich before it come crumbling down? He's in there to beg for tax payer money when it happens. Won't they get ten fold in return once they go back to their company with all the loop holes they personally placed in the policies?
Hell, they just gave themselves a nice 700 billion dollar bonus.
Goldman was never at any risk of going bankrupt. They were very easily raising equity capital even as the banking system froze - they had a ton of liquidity, with or without taxpayer money.
Trying to understand why Paulson would work for years masterminding some giant conspiracy just to make his friends rich (not him mind you - Paulson's $700mn personal fortune was all out of the banking sector managed by a blind trust) by giving them a high interest loan while their share prices tank due to a collapse of the banking system. It is too much ask for conspiracy stories to make just a little bit of sense?
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/goldman/
They deserve what they are getting.
Yeah, right. Golden Slacks simply walked away first and gamed the system. Nothing to see here. Move along.
http://seekingalpha.com/article/131257-derivatives-gambling-at-public-expense
http://www.businessinsider.com/sorry-folks-goldman-sachs-was-not-secretly-short-housing-during-the-bubble-2009-11
http://seekingalpha.com/article/173784-special-inspector-aig-counterparty-volunteered-to-take-haircut-geithner-refused?source=hp_wc
http://dealbook.blogs.nytimes.com/2009/10/07/dealbook-dialogue-lynn-stout/
As Thomas Jefferson said: "Merchants have no country. The mere spot they stand on does not constitute so strong an attachment as that from which they draw their gains."
Lotsa luck, Andy. I wholeheartedly support your effort and intent, but I'm afraid both are wasted -- especially on Government Sachs. Blankfein was being truthful when he said GS was "doing God's work" -- he just neglected to mention exactly which "god" he was referring to. MONEY is Blankfein's and GS's/Wall Street's "god", GREED is their religion, and rapine capitalism is their liturgy. They're completely immune to any other morality or moral suasion from any source.
Worshippers at the altar of MONEY have been identified from biblical times -- maybe even before -- as the incarnation of psychopathic evil. Ain't gonna change THAT, so society's best hope is to turn them into social and economic pariahs. They are far more dangerous criminals than drug dealers, and should be dealt with accordingly.
Andy stern:Goldman Sachs: Its Time To Country Before Company! They are putting their Country first the Country of Israel.Find out how much money they send and business they do in that Country and you have your answer
Mary, I really doubt that Goldman Sachs is sending money to Israel. Its ok to be hateful but try to back it up with the facts.
Sadly, it is all too true....
You didn't give a lot of notice here. If you do this again, maybe post the plan a few days in advance?
You da' man Andy
Wrong. It's past time.
Why wait until the morning of the protest to post this?
Shouldn't the protest have been publicized weeks ago?
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