Best Ways To Invest:: Do God's Work - Just Like Goldman Sachs
Looking for the best ways to invest? Lots of people pursue a strategy called "socially responsible" investing. It's a kind of investing discipline that stays away from companies whose business offends the social and/or religious sensibility of the investor.
An example would be company that sells contraceptive or abortion products, or one that manufactures weapons or tobacco products.
Generally, the companies chosen aren't necessarily supporting any particular social or religious agenda. They simply don't do things that oppose that agenda. You're not looking for companies that do God's work.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a company that does God's work, and still manages to turn a profit, look no further than Goldman Sachs. What? How can I say that?
Well, they're always turning fantastic profits - even in the midst of the current recession. How do they do it? A combination of smart people, hard work, great networking and - well, some solid contacts in government. Not that those contacts helped them through the recent financial crisis. How would you know? Just ask anyone from Goldman.
After all, smart and hard-working as they are, they hardly need those government contacts. It's mere coincidence that former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson was Treasury Secretary during the worst of the financial crisis in 2008 and happened to call the current CEO of Goldman, Lloyd Blankfein - what was it? - oh 25 times or so right in the midst of the crisis.
And - what's this I see - Paulson's not the only Goldman guy who's wound up in positions of extraordinary influence after they "retired"? There was Robert Rubin (treasury secretary under Clinton), William Dudley and Stephen Friedman (current and former chairman of the New York Federal Reserve), Mark Patterson (chief of staff to treasury secretary Timothy Geithner), Joshua Bolten (chief of staff under President Bush)...and the list goes on.
And it was mere coincidence that part of the AIG bailout money went directly to paying off a debt that AIG owed Goldman - in full. And it was mere coincidence that that Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail, while AIG wasn't, thereby removing one major competitor to Goldman's investment banking business. And it wasn't coincidence...well you get the picture. It's all about smart people and hard work, right?
Now if you believe all this is mere coincidence, you might also believe Lloyd Blankfein's recent public comment that Goldman is "doing God's work." As for me, I thought the comment so ridiculous, I wondered if he really had said it. So I checked the source of the quote. It came from an exclusive interview he granted to the Sunday London Times - a fairly respectable newpaper. And sure enough, he did say it. Not only that, but he explained exactly how he and Goldman assisted the hand of the Almighty:
"We help companies grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It's a virtuous cycle...We have a social purpose."
How about the fact that Goldman had to borrow money from the government (i.e., our money - you know, those people that have jobs because of Goldman's socially responsible activities), Blankfein points out that, oh, they paid that money back. Don't you feel better.
What about all that money that we paid to prop up AIG - over $100 billion - so that goldman could collect the debt AIG owed them? Oh, they didn't really need that money (at least $10 billion!). If they had lost it, it wouldn't created any serious problems.
But you've got to hand it to them; they know how to make money. They made a bundle this year. So much that they're giving out around $20 billion in bonuses to all those smart, hard-working Goldmanites. Yep, they sure know the best ways to invest.
Now listen. I can understand if you're tempted to be critical (or worse) after Blankfein's arguably patronizing, self-aggrandizing and yes, arrogant remarks. But you clearly don't understand just how important Goldman Sachs is to all our lives. They're right at the center of our whole financial system.
And don't give me any lip about how a financial system that enriches banks like Goldman Sachs isn't worth saving - that we should have just let the whole thing go in 2008 and started again with what was left, whether or not that included Goldman. Blankfein let's us know in no uncertain terms: "If the financial system goes down, our business is going down and, trust me, yours and everyone else's is going down, too."
Well, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I was going to say thank God for Goldman. But maybe God should be thanking Goldman for doing His work.
An example would be company that sells contraceptive or abortion products, or one that manufactures weapons or tobacco products.
Generally, the companies chosen aren't necessarily supporting any particular social or religious agenda. They simply don't do things that oppose that agenda. You're not looking for companies that do God's work.
On the other hand, if you are looking for a company that does God's work, and still manages to turn a profit, look no further than Goldman Sachs. What? How can I say that?
Well, they're always turning fantastic profits - even in the midst of the current recession. How do they do it? A combination of smart people, hard work, great networking and - well, some solid contacts in government. Not that those contacts helped them through the recent financial crisis. How would you know? Just ask anyone from Goldman.
After all, smart and hard-working as they are, they hardly need those government contacts. It's mere coincidence that former Goldman CEO Henry Paulson was Treasury Secretary during the worst of the financial crisis in 2008 and happened to call the current CEO of Goldman, Lloyd Blankfein - what was it? - oh 25 times or so right in the midst of the crisis.
And - what's this I see - Paulson's not the only Goldman guy who's wound up in positions of extraordinary influence after they "retired"? There was Robert Rubin (treasury secretary under Clinton), William Dudley and Stephen Friedman (current and former chairman of the New York Federal Reserve), Mark Patterson (chief of staff to treasury secretary Timothy Geithner), Joshua Bolten (chief of staff under President Bush)...and the list goes on.
And it was mere coincidence that part of the AIG bailout money went directly to paying off a debt that AIG owed Goldman - in full. And it was mere coincidence that that Lehman Brothers was allowed to fail, while AIG wasn't, thereby removing one major competitor to Goldman's investment banking business. And it wasn't coincidence...well you get the picture. It's all about smart people and hard work, right?
Now if you believe all this is mere coincidence, you might also believe Lloyd Blankfein's recent public comment that Goldman is "doing God's work." As for me, I thought the comment so ridiculous, I wondered if he really had said it. So I checked the source of the quote. It came from an exclusive interview he granted to the Sunday London Times - a fairly respectable newpaper. And sure enough, he did say it. Not only that, but he explained exactly how he and Goldman assisted the hand of the Almighty:
"We help companies grow by helping them to raise capital. Companies that grow create wealth. This, in turn, allows people to have jobs that create more growth and more wealth. It's a virtuous cycle...We have a social purpose."
How about the fact that Goldman had to borrow money from the government (i.e., our money - you know, those people that have jobs because of Goldman's socially responsible activities), Blankfein points out that, oh, they paid that money back. Don't you feel better.
What about all that money that we paid to prop up AIG - over $100 billion - so that goldman could collect the debt AIG owed them? Oh, they didn't really need that money (at least $10 billion!). If they had lost it, it wouldn't created any serious problems.
But you've got to hand it to them; they know how to make money. They made a bundle this year. So much that they're giving out around $20 billion in bonuses to all those smart, hard-working Goldmanites. Yep, they sure know the best ways to invest.
Now listen. I can understand if you're tempted to be critical (or worse) after Blankfein's arguably patronizing, self-aggrandizing and yes, arrogant remarks. But you clearly don't understand just how important Goldman Sachs is to all our lives. They're right at the center of our whole financial system.
And don't give me any lip about how a financial system that enriches banks like Goldman Sachs isn't worth saving - that we should have just let the whole thing go in 2008 and started again with what was left, whether or not that included Goldman. Blankfein let's us know in no uncertain terms: "If the financial system goes down, our business is going down and, trust me, yours and everyone else's is going down, too."
Well, with Thanksgiving right around the corner, I was going to say thank God for Goldman. But maybe God should be thanking Goldman for doing His work.
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