Goldman Takes Offensive on Pay
Okay, this is really interesting. In the good old days, the captains of finance fought bonus wars behind closed doors. We called them “ax fights.” But in the wake of 2008, Wall Street’s compensation is public policy. The Wall Street Journal reports that Goldman is taking the PR battle over pay to shareholders:
Wall Street firm Goldman Sachs Group Inc.—known for its outsize profits and unapologetically handsome pay packages to go with them—has begun meeting with major investors in an effort to ward off an investor backlash over its record compensation pool.
As a way to further the discussion, Acrimoney presents Part 1 of Max Keiser’s clear and unambiguous take on Goldman Sachs. Keiser’s rant may lack Matt Taibbi’s eloquence. The post about a “great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money” is a tough act to follow. But Keiser wields an intensity all his own.
How do you feel about Goldman’s pay?
Do you believe the organization is justified in taking the offensive on pay? Or is the pay just offensive? Did Taibbi get it all wrong with the “vampire squid” thing? Is Goldman more of a gluttonous and voracious pig that’s been whipped into a feeding frenzy—wallowing at the table of bacchanalian greed, gorging on an unintended trough from bailout billions, and stuffing its face on a one-way ride toward a massive case of gout?
You make the call.
The New York Times describes my novels as “money porn,” “a red-hot franchise,” and “glittery thrillers about fiscal malfeasance.” Through fiction I explore the dark side of money and the motivations of those who have it, want more, and will steamroll anybody who gets in their way.
Here’s a link to Goldman’s position on the debate: http://www2.goldmansachs.com/our-firm/press/viewpoint/viewpoint-articles/comp-practices-doc.pdf.
The bonuses will not matter. The market is manipulated by GS and others. It is obvious that our stock market is controlled by GS and others at 9:31a.m. when the DOW has dropped 100 points. Then at 3:15 it goes up or down “taking profits” with some BS line that the markets were in “fear” bla, bla, bla. We are learning slowly. It is sickening to place one’s hard earned money in the market, diversified, with help from investment companies (so we are lead to believe) and then one’s life is ruined by people like GS and their greed. What’s worse is that now the US government is advised and controlled by GS and only a few newscasters dare to tell the public. Greed by the billions only breeds greed at all levels of life.
Dave,
Thanks for your comment. There was nothing scarier last year than the “3:30 Derby” which ran every day during Sept and Oct. The market had huge swings + or – 400 points in the last half hour. In all honesty I don’t blame Goldman or any of the other usual suspects for those swings. In many cases the Exchange Traded Funds, which have huge assets under management, were forced to rebalance. It created a snowball effect up or down…and boom….
I am extremely curious about the credit default swaps between Goldman and AIG, and my sense is that the cancellations by the government resulted in Goldman’s windfall. I hope we gain more visibility into this story in the weeks to come.
Norb
Norb