Odysseus In PInstripes
by digby
If you ever wondered if it really is all about money, this should clear it up. It’s about money all right, but that isn’t enough. Not nearly enough. These people want to be loved. And they demand that everyone believe they are right:
Here’s an abbreviated version of the eight-page letter to shareholders included in Goldman Sachs’ 2009 Annual Report: Goldman didn’t bet against its own clients, did nothing wrong with respect to AIG, took steps to limit compensation for its top executives, and “embraced new realities pertaining to regulation.”
Oh, and “Goldman Sachs is grateful for the indispensable role governments played and we recognize that our firm and our shareholders benefited from it.” You are welcome! The American taxpayer is glad to be of service! Well, not actually. The American taxpayer is still steaming mad at the contradiction between the pathetic state of the economy and the fact that Goldman had a terrific year in 2009, thanks to a wide range of drastic efforts taken by the U.S. government to stabilize financial markets and keep all of Wall Street’s blue-chip financial institutions from swirling down the drain after Lehman and Bear Stearns. But if you’re looking for contrition from Goldman Sachs, you won’t find it in the company’s Annual Report.
To me, the biggest proof that these MOUs aren’t as smart as they think they are is their inability to resist the urge to strut and preen and brag publicly about how great they are at a time of great financial stress among the the public at large. It’s not enough for them to have made huge sums of money while the rest of the country is digging out from their catastrophic decisions of the last decade. They must be celebrated for having made huge sums of money while the rest of the country is digging out from their catastrophic decisions of the last decade.
It’s called hubris and it’s a fatal flaw.
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