You must be certain of the Devil

Goldman Sachs: Pathological pursuit of profit

Goldman Sachs posts record profits- 3.4 billion... as the working world sinks further into economic collapse.
Matt Taibbi and Glenn Greenwald lay out an ugly story of Corporate greed and culture of manipulation at Sachs.

Are you willing to go down the financial rabbit hole?

But if you read the mainstream media it mostly sounds like Capitalism is resurgent and Sach are masters of the money universe: see CNN, Marketwatch, NYTimes...

As usual the MSM missed the real point. Many papers build there stories by using APs talking points.
One small exception is the LA times which notes briefly:
"The blowout earnings are likely to generate renewed focus on Goldman, which accepted money from the federal government's bailout program last year."

The company repaid the government earlier this year, but it also benefited from the government's bailout of troubled insurer American International Group Inc. AIG guaranteed billions of dollars of Goldman's derivatives trades, and Goldman would have suffered sizable losses if AIG had defaulted on its obligations."

And what is outlook for the economy and for the rest of us? Most reports are flat to bad, and according to this article at Alternet.org, potentially much worse:
"Already there are rumblings and signs that the U.S. dollar is about to lose its status as the global reserve currency. When that happens, imports of energy and other necessities will become more expensive. The U.S.’s massive trade deficits will not be sustained into the future. China, the OPEC countries, and others that have been buying massive amounts of U.S. government bonds with their dollar earnings, are indicating that their appetite has been sated. Bilateral and multilateral trade agreements are being made that bypass the use of the dollar for international trade.

One thing is clear -- we cannot rely upon the government to act in the best interests of the people. Already, President Obama has moved to give the Federal Reserve even more power to control the people's credit and financial resources."

This article also proposes an idea I've not heard of before... not sure if it's realistic or not but according to Thomas Greco:
"Fortunately there is a way out. The primary purpose of money is to facilitate the exchange of goods and services in the markets. But it is possible to mediate the exchange process without using political money as the payment medium, and without borrowing from banks.
There is plenty of precedent for this sort of cashless trading.

The past four decades have seen the emergence of a new industry comprised of commercial trade exchanges, sometimes called "barter" exchanges, that act as "third part record keepers" enabling the same sort of direct credit clearing for thousands of businesses in cities around the world. Efforts at the grassroots by social entrepreneurs to localize exchange and finance have been similarly widespread in many communities over the past twenty-five years.

Measures to properly reform the money and banking system by political means have about as much chance as the proverbial snowball in hell. However, what is possible, and what seems to be gaining traction to transcend the dominant system, is the materialization of voluntary, private initiatives that enable the cashless exchange of goods and services. As these systems continue to improve, proliferate, and scale up, they will provide a pathway toward a sustainable economy, greater local control, and a better quality of life for all."

Greco has written a book too: The End of Money and the Future of Civilization
which sounds intriguing... if unlikely.

Goldman Sachs Ivory (glass) tower

Bottom line:
"Goldman's shareholders and employees are set to make billions, and the rest of us are on the losing end."
Joshua Holland, at AlterNet explains.

Know where you money is going. Take a look there at the masters of the corporate universe:
Goldman Sachs executives:

Lloyd C. Blankfein
Chairman of the Board and Chief Executive Officer

Gary D. Cohn
President and Chief Operating Officer

John S. Weinberg
Vice Chairman

J. Michael Evans
Vice Chairman

Michael S. Sherwood
Vice Chairman

David A. Viniar
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer

Gregory K. Palm
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Corporation

Esta E. Stecher
Executive Vice President, General Counsel and Secretary of the Corporation

Alan M. Cohen
Executive Vice President and Global Head of Compliance

Want a good last laugh (which is on all of us)? Read their "business principles."