Goldman Sachs, KGB?

Editor's note: I should disclaim here that I have a soft spot for Skeptical CPA because the man has been like a father to me, at least in the sense that your father tells you not to take candy from strangers and sets the example that becomes the person you grow into in your adulthood. Skeptical CPA also loves poking at Goldman Sachs when appropriate and this latest post is no exception. Proud to call the man "Pop", especially after a performance like this. Don't miss the LOLs at the end including: " have an idea for GSG, it can add the vampire squid to its stationary and people's business cards." bwhahahahaha! - JDA

Goldman Sachs, KGB?

"Hoping to defuse a politically combustible situation, Goldman officials have been mounting a soft-sell campaign that pushes the usually reticent company into the spotlight. For months, the New York firm has been working to dispel what it sees as misperceptions about itself to make its profit and bonuses go down easier, from a lobbying push in Washington to media interviews in which Goldman Chief Executive Lloyd Blankfein reminisces about his humble roots. ... Company executives also have discussed charitable contributions by the firm or by encouraging employees, according to the people familiar with the situation. Such a move could help Goldman repel any public backlash it suffers are a result of this year's bonuses, which will be decided near the end of the fourth quarter and paid out in January. ... Goldman spokesman Lucas van Praag said the charm offensive is a necessary response to supercharged rhetoric and exaggerations that have swirled around the 140-year-old company since the financial crisis erupted. [WSJ Oct 2009]

A "charm offensive" should be easy for GSG. GSG likely employs dozens of graduates of the KGB "charm school" in Nelson DeMille's The Charm School, 1988. This is a job, not for Superman, but Michael Moore (MM). MM, please make a movie of politicians meeting GSG apparachiks then slinking away with newspapers covering their faces. GSG now sprouts the prosperity gospel of say Ken Hagin, or the now-deceased Reverend Ike. "Sow a seed" of say $10 million into Washington and have it return to GSG 100 fold! The Rolling Stone article insulted GSG. GSG would not stick its blood funnel into a money pile of less than $1 billion. Does GSG really want the American public to understand its "business model"? Go Zingales! Why need Blankfein, who makes about $60 million a year, have his actions regulated by $150,000 a year civil servants? Who is he kidding?

Read the rest of the article via Skeptical CPA here.