Goldman Sachs and US demise

November 25, 2009 by Infowars Ireland

By Hossein Askari and Noureddine Krichene
Asia Times Online

I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.

Famous words, but uttered by whom and when? No, not some socialist or communist. It was none other than president Thomas Jefferson. The year was 1802. We forget these words at our own peril.

On November 17, the “leader of the pack”, aka Goldman Sachs, apologized. Its chief honcho, Lloyd Blankfein said: “Certainly, our industry is responsible for things. We’re a leader in our industry, and we participated in things that were clearly wrong and we have reasons to regret and apologize for.”

To show remorse, Goldman Sachs will contribute US$100 million per year for five years to help small business. Wow! How generous! They only add insult to injury. After destroying millions of families, businesses and lives all over America and the world, they will contribute $100 million a year for five whole years. What are we supposed to say? Thank you?

Let’s look at the record and suggest a more appropriate remedy. Goldman was as responsible as any financial institution in bringing down the entire US economy, even threatening its own existence. It needed a government bailout and guarantees to survive; a fact it now denies.

Today, after pocketing the government’s helping hand, it is as arrogant as ever. Goldman received a $10 billion loan (which it has since paid back). It received $12.9 billion from AIG; let’s not forget that the government paid AIG, and AIG then turned around and paid Goldman 100 cents on every dollar. Which bankrupt company has ever gotten such a deal? Shouldn’t this alone be the subject of an investigation by the Justice Department? How could the Federal Reserve and the US Treasury possibly agree to this? Are they businessmen and businesswomen who guard America’s national interests or are they simply collaborating with Wall Street?

This year alone, Goldman has put aside $16.7 billion for 2009 bonuses. Compare that to the $100 million it is so generously earmarking for the millions of lives it has destroyed. Is this a measure of public-private justice? And the US taxpayer is still on the line to guarantee Goldman Sachs because it is too big too fail!

Along with loose Fed monetary policy and inadequate lax supervision and regulation, banks and bankers have been right up there as leading causes of the worst financial crisis to hit the world since the Great Depression. Instead of exhibiting remorse, bankers are looking for new ways to extract another pound of flesh from ordinary Americans. Banks, not just Goldman Sachs, are again making record profits and plan to pay record bonuses to bankers for their “good work”.

Even after reporting record profits, some institutions want to delay the repayment of their federal bailouts to avoid dilution in their stock value; indeed, banks are putting up a fight to resist regulation calling for disclosure of overdraft fees that can amount to an annualized interest rate exceeding 3,500%. Read more…