Goldman ..

I also generally cba watching a youtube, and especially not 4+ of them. Turns my brain right off, or is a sign that I'm too old maybe...

But I also have beef with Goldman-Sachs, and there's been some interesting movements around them lately, so apparently some worm has turned that Fox are gunning for them now.

Goldman Sachs, due to its institutional culture of 'long-term greedy' and public service, has come into a position alleged to be one of conflict of interest, that some might call regulatory capture, or more crudely for the conspiranoid a banksters government.

This revolving-door trend has led to the company being known as 'Government Sachs', or 'Goldman Mac', and it is alleged that the implementation of the bailouts has directly benefited the company, such as letting Lehman and Bear Stearns, direct competitors.

So we have key members of the government, who are ex or current Goldman staff, enacting policies which directly benefit their former company, as is argued by Mr Stearns in the videos, that Paulson should have recused himself, instead gaining a waiver to make it 'ethical'.

Rolling Stone recently published an article by Matt Tabibi, attracting a lot of interest and criticism, which alleges that Goldman has engineered and profiteered off every bubble since the Great Depression.

The formula is relatively simple: Goldman positions itself in the middle of a speculative bubble, selling investments they know are crap. Then they hoover up vast sums from the middle and lower floors of society with the aid of a crippled and corrupt state that allows it to rewrite the rules in exchange for the relative pennies the bank throws at political patronage. Finally, when it all goes bust, leaving millions of ordinary citizens broke and starving, they begin the entire process over again, riding in to rescue us all by lending us back our own money at interest, selling themselves as men above greed, just a bunch of really smart guys keeping the wheels greased. They've been pulling this same stunt over and over since the 1920s

While the point might be excessive, lets contrast it with a Seeking Alpha contributor, who claims the reason is quite natural and innocent, that Goldman

has become the dartboard photo of every conspiracy theorist who has been pained by the financial collapse of the past 24 months.

I guess they’re the easy target because the company flat out gets the smartest, most Machiavellian young people on the planet to join its ranks, and it’s been that way not just for years, but for decades.

Think about that from a purely Darwinian perspective for a moment, and then ask yourself if it’s really a mystery why they consistently find ex-colleagues in high profile positions within the government, regulatory agencies, and even heading up competitors (or former competitors).(emphasis in original)

So, assuming a vague power law distribution, and that Goldman concentrates the elite of the elite, then its quite natural that top-level positions will tend to be occupied by them, and doesn't necessarily indicate foul play or favoritism. The cream floats to the top, and they constitute the creme de la creme. Which doesn't address any of the conflict of interest or old-boys accusations.

The Seeking Alpha can be read against itself, in my opinion. I'm sure certain CT-heads ears prick up when they hear 'smartest, most Machiavellian'...'most sociopathic' anyone? But Conspiracy Theory is recursive; if all the media from Fox to Rolling Stone to the show Leverage (Season 2 Ep 1, watch it and try telling me it's not) is telling us Goldman is going down, and they are being hit on an industrial sabotage basis, then who is the *REAL* Omnipotent Lizzard Joos?


Any thoughts?

I cannot believe that people, on the "Conspiracy Theories" forum of all places, are attempting to normalise the relationship between Goldman Sachs and the US Federal Government.

Maybe you guys should start more "moon landing" threads.