![]() Is it legitimate to talk about Goldman as a Jewish firm? That's a different question. (Just as Jews are more than welcome at "gentile" firms like Morgan Stanley). At this point Goldman is a publicly traded stock that anybody may own, and probably most of its employees are not Jewish. It was founded because Jews were excluded from other firms. Goldman and Sachs, who founded the firm in the nineteenth century, were Jewish, as have been most of its partners since then, almost all of its leaders, and its current CEO (Lloyd Blankfein). Is it legitimate to think of Goldman as a Jewish firm? Messrs. And its profits and executive bonuses revealed, at the least, a lack of sensitivity at a time when millions are losing their jobs.Įven if Goldman did nothing in particular wrong, its status as one of only two remaining huge investment banks on Wall Street (the other is Morgan Stanley) might make it a legitimate focus, especially given its reputation, even before the crisis, for ruthlessness. ![]() Throughout the crisis, it enjoyed an implicit government guarantee on the grounds of being "too big to fail." The government bailed out one of Goldman's biggest borrowers-the insurance company AIG-saving Goldman billions in losses. But the firm engaged in complex transactions that amounted to betting against its clients. It borrowed only ten billion dollars from the Federal government, even that under duress, and paid it back as soon as possible, with interest. It was never so reckless that it risked going under. Unfortunately for Goldman, it is not obviously blameless in the crisis. Similarly, if you believe that anything Goldman did wrong was done wrong by lots of others, the question of "Why pick on Goldman" arises, as does the same obvious answer. Furthermore, they would raise the legitimate question of "Why pick on Goldman?" and the possibility that anti-Semitism is part of the explanation. If you believe that Goldman has done nothing wrong, then any criticisms of Goldman or use of the firm as a symbol of the crisis are obviously unfair to Goldman. When, if ever, are such accusations fair? Commentators including Rush Limbaugh and Maureen Dowd have been so accused. Because Goldman is thought of as a "Jewish" firm, and because it dominates the financial industry, criticism of Goldman, or of bankers generally, is often accused of being anti-Semitic. Goldman Sachs, the huge and hugely profitable investment bank, has become a symbol of the financial excesses that helped to bring on the current recession. (These "How to Think About" articles are intended to help you to think through issues in the news about which you may be undecided. This article is from the archive of our partner.
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