From U.S. News and World Report, on why we should cheer Goldman’s big earnings:
And it’s hardly Goldman’s fault that it has benefited from programs meant to … benefit the financial sector. …
<snip>
Goldman and a few other AIG trading partners got a sweetheart deal on that bailout, but once again, the government was offering it. So why would Goldman turn it down?
But Goldman is also skillful at playing politics — something its rivals aren’t nearly as good at. Recall that last fall, at a closed meeting between Treasury Secretary Hank Paulson (formerly Goldman’s CEO), Tim Geithner (then at the New York Fed), and a handful of others to decide on the fate of giant insurer AIG, Goldman’s cheif executive, Lloyd Blankfein, was at the table. The decision to bail out AIG resulted in a $13 billion giveaway to Goldman because Goldman was an AIG counterparty. Indeed, Goldman executives and alumni have played crucial roles in guiding the Wall Street bailout from the start.
Emphasis added.
So, shorter U.S. News and World Report: Sure, Goldman hooked itself up.
But you should have done something about it at the time, and you didn’t!
Because, you know, you couldn’t.
