On good old Goldman Sachs' coming record profit!

[AllentownJake]

Well, if news reports are to be believed Goldman Sachs will be reporting at least a $2 billion profit! Reading the articles on the coming profit how did a company that had to beg the tax payers for relief less than 8 months ago turn around so fast.

Goldman was traditionally an investment bank. They provided capital to business ideas and made a profit off of investing in said businesses. Well since we are dealing with the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression this should be great news! Goldman must have made some great investments in businesses and people will be going back to work!

Not really. In reality Goldman's derivative desk made some smart bets. The $2 billion is in reality gambling winnings. Well not really gambling. Goldman has some pretty savvy analyst. More akin to the MIT Black Jack card counting team.

Why does this matter? Well Goldman was given $10 billion from the American people and were asked to use it to fix them self up and do the business they used to do (invest in businesses and make a profit when they succeed). What did they do...well they took the money made some smart bets and paid back the taxpayer with the bets. Wonderful. We financed the re-opening of the casino that got us into this mess!

I'm happy we were paid back...really I am. However the entire point of TARP has been subverted. Shouldn't be a surprise. These guys gambling is what got us into the mess and since no one got their hand slapped well...why stop the gambling. I mean gambling is more fun and easier than actually investing in businesses.

Why is this awful? Well because now that Goldman has a profit these other banks need to make a profit again too! What is a bank to do. Well follow the leader.

Look for our commodities to have all sorts of fun games to be played with by the banksters as more Americans are struggling to find work.

In closing. When you allow criminal sociopathic behavior to go unpunished or at the very least not made more illegal in the future, you can't act surprised when the sociopathic behavior continues. That goes for war crimes or banking.

Special thanks to Timothy Geithner our wonderful Treasury Secretary and Ben Bernake for being enormous failures and dumbasses...or complicit. Either or. They are fucktards.

Oh and extra special thanks to the US congress of the 1990s who decided the New Deal was old fashion and human nature has some how changed in 70 years. Special Fuck you to those guys with the exception of 8 Senators who were Patriots.

[redqueen]

1. Could this have anything to do with it?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=389x6057091

[AllentownJake]

2. Seeing they have announced $18 billion dollars worth of bonus payments

Yes I would say that they are cheating is a very strong possibility.

You don't dump $18 billion on your employees if you are investing in the future.

[snappyturtle]

3. (cough) did you say $18 BILLION? nt

[AllentownJake]

4. I believe I did

Startling, too, is how much of its revenue Goldman is expected to share with its employees. Analysts estimate that the bank will set aside enough money to pay a total of $18 billion in compensation and benefits this year to its 28,000 employees, or more than $600,000 an employee. Top producers stand to earn millions.

http://www.nytimes.com/2009/07/13/business/13goldman.html?_r=2&partner=rss&emc=rss

[snappyturtle]

5. Thanks for answering. I thought it was a typo...milllions not BILLIONS!

Obscene...that's all I can say.

[AllentownJake]

6. Yes it is obscene

However, remember our Democratic President took 1,000,000 dollars from Goldman's employees in campaign donations :evilfrown:

[snappyturtle]

9. I didn't know that either! Well, it's one big ol' quid pro quo! All the Presidents men

have taken good care of those special donors.

[AllentownJake]

10. Second biggest donor after the University of California

Citibank is number six. JP Morgan is number 7

http://www.opensecrets.org/pres08/contrib.php?cycle=2008&cid=N00009638

Number 5 industry group supporting his campaign.

[snappyturtle]

14. Thanks! nt

[inna]

12. Holy_Shit. 18 BILLION.

:wow:


thanks for the link.

[AllentownJake]

16. Yep and they got a low interest Government loan 8 months ago for half that amount

Gotta love it!

[amandabeech]

7. That last paragraph of yours is the wisest thing that I've read around here

in a long, long time.

Thanks for posting.

[AllentownJake]

8. The sociopathic behavior or the New Deal?

and thank you for reading.

[amandabeech]

13. Your observation that human nature hasn't changed much in the 70 years since

the New Deal.

I'm a great fan of your posts in general, btw. Keep 'em coming.

[AllentownJake]

15. Thank you

I don't understand why people think we have changed that much in 100 years that the same behavior that caused the first Great Depression won't cause a second :shrug:

[amandabeech]

18. I doubt that human nature has changed all that much since we started walking upright.

I agree with you. I don't understand why people continually think that the past has nothing to do with today or the future, or that people aren't pretty much the same as they've always been.

Even allegedly smart people, like Larry Summers, fall for that crap.

Then they screw up royally.

Remember back in '99 when everyone said that the business cycle wouldn't happen again and that history had ended? At least Fukuyama (or whatever his name is) recanted. The MBAs, management consultants and main stream economists haven't apologized yet. I'm not holding my breath.

[AllentownJake]

19. Larry Summers

Sigh,

He knew what the hell he was doing. He's from Wall St. Geithner isn't that dumb either. Either is Bernake or Greenspan.

The problem is they sell progressives like Clinton and Obama and turn them into part of the system. Promise them a short gain and re-election.

The MBAs know what they are doing as well. They find ways to justify it.

[amandabeech]

20. They also give progressives like Clinton and Obama lots of money.

I think that has helped the sales job.

I also think that Clinton was something of a social climber and as an adult child of an alcoholic, inflicted with the pleaser disease.

Obama may have spent too much time in the U. of Chicago faculty lounge for his own good.

[inna]

11. "with the exception of 8 Senators who were Patriots."

could anyone list those Senators? that would be very helpful and educational. i bet Paul Wellstone was one of those.

[AllentownJake]

17. Here you go

http://www.senate.gov/legislative/LIS/roll_call_lists/roll_call_vote_cfm.cfm?congress=106&session=1&vote=00354

Dorgan (D-ND), Nay
Boxer (D-CA), Nay
Bryan (D-NV), Nay
Harkin (D-IA), Nay
Feingold (D-WI), Nay
Mikulski (D-MD), Nay
Wellstone (D-MN), Nay
Shelby (R-AL), Nay

McCain (R-AZ), Not Voting

[inna]

24. TYVM! :) very informative and useful thread. nt

[TexasObserver]

21. Jake, this is the kind of thread I recommend.

[AllentownJake]

23. Someone un-reced it

Which is why I was curious on why? I thought I was pretty spot on.

[Ignis]

22. Spot on. K&R for some better regulation over these 'holes.

:patriot: