Lloyd Blankfein, a Wall Street baron who has garnered a multimillion-dollar personal fortune as CEO of Goldman Sachs, says he does “God’s work.”
Whoa – that would be one very mean god! Blankfein actually is an un-godly angel for avarice who turned the once-proud investment house into a casino of greed that was a central player in Wall Street’s crash of our economy. But don’t take my word for it. Blankfein has now been burned by one of his own – a top Goldman Sachs executive who got so fed up with the “toxic and destructive” culture fostered by Blankfein that he has resigned and gone public with the banking giant’s internal ugliness.
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Greg Smith, a 12-year veteran with Goldman and head of one of its major divisions, penned a March 14 New York Times op-ed piece declaring: “It makes me ill how callously [Goldman bankers] talk about ripping their clients off.” Forget about the quaint notion that banks are meant to serve the public good, Smith confirms that his outfit no longer serves the good of its own customers, instead focusing laser-like on enriching the bankers themselves.
Rather than helping clients, he writes, “It’s purely about how we can make the most possible money off of them.” He points out that this crass selfishness all comes from the top, noting that it’s now common to hear Goldman’s managing directors privately deride their own clients as “muppets” – stupid people who’re easily manipulated. The ruling ethic is “show me the money” – by hook or crook, says Smith, if you haul in enough gold for Goldman “(and are not currently an ax murderer) you will be promoted into a position of influence.”
Remember, these are the people you and I were forced to bail out, yet far from showing even a modicum of humility, their narcissism is now so extreme and pervasive that it’s even causing bankers to gag!
“Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs,” www.nytimes.com, March 14, 2012.
“Goldman exec quits, calling firm ‘toxic,'” www.cnn.com, March 14, 2012.
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