Many of you have already heard of Greg Smith's stinging critique of his former employer, Goldman Sachs. The quotation for today amplifies Mr. Smith's critique of Goldman Sachs and expounds on the perverseness of Wall Street, historically and contemporarily.
Reminder: Goldman Sachs is a Wall Street mega-bank that received government assistance during the early days of this Little Depression; when the Wall Street banks were collapsing under the cumulative weight of their financial "engineering."
The articles cited under "related information" offer Mr. Smith's original op-ed and subsequent responses to his op-ed. The opinion articles are listed in date-ordered sequence.
Reminder: Goldman Sachs is a Wall Street mega-bank that received government assistance during the early days of this Little Depression; when the Wall Street banks were collapsing under the cumulative weight of their financial "engineering."
The problem [with Wall Street] isn’t excessive greed. If you took the greed out of Wall Street all you’d have left is pavement. The problem is endemic abuse of power and trust. When bubbles are forming, all but the most sophisticated investors can be easily duped into thinking they’ll get rich by putting their money into the hands of brand-named investment bankers.
Moreover, finance has become so complex that investors don’t even know when they’re being taken for a ride, and so can’t possibly hold a brand-name bank responsible for their losses – or for gains that are a fraction of what they might otherwise have been.
Robert ReichRobert Reich is Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and has served in three national administrations. He has written thirteen books, including The Work of Nations, Locked in the Cabinet, Supercapitalism, and his most recent book, Aftershock. His "Marketplace" commentaries can be found on publicradio.com and iTunes. He is also Common Cause's board chairman.
The articles cited under "related information" offer Mr. Smith's original op-ed and subsequent responses to his op-ed. The opinion articles are listed in date-ordered sequence.
Reich, Robert. "If You Took the Greed Out of Wall Street, All You’d Have Left Is Pavement: Why Greg Smith’s Critique is Way Too Narrow." Robert Reich.org 15 March, 2012.
Related information:
Smith, Greg. "Why I Am Leaving Goldman Sachs." The New York Times 14 March, 2012: online edition.
"Yes, Mr. Smith, Goldman Sachs Is All About Making Money: View." Editors. Bloomberg.com 14 March, 2012: online edition.
Nocera, Joe. "The Good, Bad and Ugly of Capitalism." The New York Times 16 March, 2012: online edition.
The video:
No comments:
Post a Comment