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New York, 3:11 AM
Mon Nov 23
12 posts in the last 24 hours
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11/22/09
11/22/09
[business.theatlantic.com]
Also, it would be refreshing if NYT, from time to time, kept us guessing as to whether their populist rage would be released, day in/day out. At least they're consistent?
11/22/09
So my question is how much money should GS have made this year without causing an uproar? I fear we are becoming a society that only embraces economic mediocrity.
#greenwithenvy?
11/22/09
I am economically brilliant, too. In fact, this is how brilliant I am. If you give me 12.9 yards of taxpayer money, plus unlimited access to taxpayer funds at 0% interest, plus the guarantee that the taxpayer will bail my ass out if I happen to blow up again, plus a Treasury secretary that goes around harassing journalists that say bad shit about me, I will a) pay myself a bonus of only $8 billion (half as much as GS) b) finance 1 billion dollars! of small business loans (twice as much as GS) and c) get every poster in this site a pony.
Therefore, I am logically vastly more brilliant than the entire GS worforce combined. I demand society's embrace. At least the pretty ones.
11/22/09
11/22/09
I'd be more annoyed if they didn't turn a massive profit with all the propping up they are receiving. When you consider other companies that are being propped up -- I'm talking about you GM -- who still managed to lose billions (and claim they are making PROGRESS!!!), I'm ok with Goldman making bonuses which will be taxed at the top rate.
11/22/09
11/22/09
I would be more sympathetic to the people grumbling about Goldman's success if they were just as loud about GM's failure. You hear very little about the $50 billion bankruptcy bailout and how GM is still in the red, seriously in the red. Goldman has at least paid back the direct money they were forced to take.
Of the two scenarios, I think Goldman is a better situation. Even though Goldman employees, based on my personal experience, are generally pricks.
11/22/09
A) GM represents a huge piece if manufacturing infrastructure. Not just the company itself, but all the little and not so little companies that supply GM.
B) If GM goes down the drain, you throw hundreds of thousands of folks out of work who promptly need gubmint services. And the impact echoes throughout the entire economy. If GS goes, it's a few thousand folks.
C) GM has the existing infrastructure to conduct R&D into more fuel efficient vehicles. This is not something you could build with venture capital from the ground up at this point.
11/22/09
2) Goldman Sachs and their ilk threw the entire world economy into chaos, because of their spectacular greed, and would have gone bankrupt without US taxpayer's help, and they chose to thank us for bailing them out by giving themselves huge bonuses after helping to throw 10% of the US workforce out of business, and making most people's houses worth less than they owe on them. In addition to giving themselves huge rewards for destroying the economy and causing so much misery, they also decided to thank the middle class by raising interest rates on their credit cards. George Bush presided over the greatest theft and the largest transfer of wealth in history, but I see your point, we should probably be advocating for bankers to get bigger bonuses so they can buy more pieces of art, and more yachts, so a few people catering to the ultra rich will still have jobs, rather than keeping Detroit from turning into a ghost town.
11/22/09
First of all, GM and their ilk were run into the ground by manufacturing a shitty product that was marketed poorly. Additionally they were run by crooks who earned salaries/bonuses that rival those on Wall Street -- especially when you consider the fact they didn't make any money. I understand we bailed them out to preserve our manufacturing base, despite the fact they are crappy manufacturers. The US should have doubled down on Ford and left GM to twist in the wind.
As for housing values, Goldman certainly played a role but hardly the only player in this field. Another player was the homeowners that bought homes that they couldn't afford. Mortgage brokers, retail banks and appraisers help round out the cast of characters.
I'm pleased that Goldman was able to pay back the money that was forced upon them and that they took the AIG bailout money and put it to good use. I'd prefer that they sock away some of that money for a rainy day vs giving out such large bonuses. However, our current corporate tax structure discourages that type of behavior.
Bottom line: I'd much rather Goldman be profitable with the bailout money they were given than following GM's example. I can comprehend people being pissed off about GS, but not if they aren't at least as pissed off at GM.
11/22/09
And, too, at a time when the American public is nervous about the future and the future of their kids, the GS folks who raked it in have pretty much assured the financial security, education and health of their children, their children's children etc. etc. etc.
However, to look on the bright side -- with GM we now have a chance to create an entirely new manufacturing infrastructure based on the state-of-the-art energy efficient technologies. This could prove truly transformative, if we don't blow it.
11/22/09
As for the union workers that would have been laid off, I truly feel for them. However, they are in a dying industry and I hope they retool their skills and get out. Or, go work for Ford or some other auto company that is doing it right.
11/20/09
11/20/09
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11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
Is this an acquisition?
11/20/09
11/20/09
11/20/09
#tips
11/20/09
11/20/09
I like it.
Glad you guys got along so well after the bounty. Guess this means no competing property short-term, eh? I'd always wondered why Mr. Nick Leeson's Trading Account didn't have a finance property, I guess it's going to stay that way.
11/20/09
11/18/09
Some say that calamari is Italian slang for mafia. Yes? Verifiable?