Take some blame, Washington - Senator Carl Levin grilled some Goldman Sachs bigwigs today but Bethany McLean notes that our federal government
deserves some condemnation for lax oversight. It's worth noting that McLean is the author of the definitive book on the Enron crisis (which I
eventually finished).
4 comments:
The real villains were the ones asking the questions. Fannie and Freddie were the epicenter of the meltdown. The arrogance and hypocrisy of Congress was on full display today. They wag their fingers and accuse others of misdemeanors while ignoring their own felonies. Then they wonder why their approval ratings are close to zero.
Vike,
So you agree with the MSM article saying that federal regulators deserve blame for not sticking their mitts into the free market? Interesting.
Goldman Sachs worked within the rules they paid lots and lots of money to lobby for (exercising their 'free speech' rights) to create an investment instrument that was designed to fail so they could bet against it and move money from the hands of chumps into their own coffers.
G-S has risen to the top of the heap because they are more ruthless than other banks. They aren't worrying about whether or not what they are doing is morally repulsive. They are worrying about making money. They are fabulously successful at it, too.
The results of their efforts are that they are now very rich and very powerful and, thanks to their resulting bonus free speech rights, will be protected by elected officials from both parties, while true believers in the two political parties have earnest discussions about how 'their' team has the moral upper hand.
Nigel, I just think the SEC should spend less time looking at online porn.
Also, I was bragging that I finished the Enron book.
Speaking of porn, look how Dr. Fabuluous Fabenstein described his own creation, the CDO:
"...When I think that I had some input into the creation of this product (which by the way is a product of pure intellectual masturbation,..."
G-S may be taking a run at making him the fall guy. He's a perfect target to capture the public's impotent rage and from G-S's perspective he's utterly expendable and replaceable.
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