

The People vs. Goldman Sachs - winanga
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/news/the-people-vs-goldman-sachs-20110511

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emanuer
Goldman Sachs is amazing. I follow articles about them since a few years and I
must say, the ingenuity with which they act is inspiring, scary, terrifying...

Another evil master piece of them may have been the food market.
[http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/27/how_goldman...](http://www.foreignpolicy.com/articles/2011/04/27/how_goldman_sachs_created_the_food_crisis?page=full)

The same dynamics behind the foot price bubble may cause the current surge in
gas-prices <http://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=2315894>

Also the Author of the article (Taibbi) wrote a book about the bubble:
[http://www.amazon.com/Griftopia-Machines-Vampire-Breaking-
Am...](http://www.amazon.com/Griftopia-Machines-Vampire-Breaking-
America/dp/0385529953)

All the information I have is obviously very biased towards blaming Goldman
Sachs, yet if their involvement in the extreme price hikes in foot, oil,
housing markets is only half as bad as it seems, they are the single biggest
source for the worlds macroeconomic problems.

This is very disturbing to me, as I see myself as a strong advocate of the
free market hypothesis. I guess if Goldman's involvement turned out to be as
bad as I fear, it can be explained by them finding holes in the regulation
where they were the only dominant player. They were able to act (as in the
foot market) with no one challenging their doings. No regulation, no
competition meaning they were able to game the system as they pleased.

Somehow I hope all this information about Goldman's involvement is correct,
because it would give clear directions on how to fix the macroeconomic
problems the world (not just America) faces. It would clearly show how to
adjust the legal system, enforcement.

~~~
jimbokun
"This is very disturbing to me, as I see myself as a strong advocate of the
free market hypothesis."

I always thought the free market hypothesis assumed the free and open flow of
accurate information.

Goldman simply lied and conned billions out of their customers and the United
States tax payers. They are a criminal enterprise whose ring leaders must be
put behind bars if the rule of law means anything.

Free enterprise has nothing to do with it.

~~~
djnliung
The point is that the "free flow of accurate information" is a fantasy and it
seems that liars are rewarded by the market, increasingly so in markets with
less regulation.

If "simply" lying is all it takes to steal billions (and not be punished for
it), then the free market is stunningly ill equipped to deal with reality and
is just a charade to allow a few wealthy people to rob the rest of society.

~~~
jimbokun
The legal system is supposed to deal with the "simply lying" part.

Ever notice how over the top SEC filings are in detailing every single thing
that could possibly go wrong? That is because corporations can be sued for
keeping information from their shareholders, and they want to play it safe.

So yes, a free market without a legal system to punish frauds and cons is
stunningly ill equipped, indeed.

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johng
Is anyone else as shocked as I am that Goldman has barely had a slap on the
wrist for this stuff?

~~~
socillion
say what you will about Zero Hedge, but I find it to be an invaluable site.
The comments are utter crap, and a lot of the stories are selectively
chosen/biased in other ways, but the same is true of the Wall Street Journal
and other mainstream news sources - I find it to be an extremely valuable
counterpoint.

No, I am not surprised.

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jerrya
Some will rob you with a six gun and some with a fountain pen.

And then there's these guys who convinced two presidents they were too large
to fail.

~~~
pstack
Goldman Sachs didn't have to convince anyone of anything. They already ran the
treasury and the SEC.

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eschulte
<http://www.justice.gov/contact-us.html>

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sharadgopal
Somewhat unrelated but the documentary 'Inside Job' provides a brilliant
insight into the financial mess that unfolded in the past years.

<http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1645089/>

