"God's Work"

When Lloyd C. Blankfein, CEO of Goldman Sachs, does what he calls "Gods Work" he is a cheerful worker, I imagine. Not counting any psychic reward, in 2008 he earned approximately $8,012.00 per hour (60 hr. week), according to published reports! I, for one, appreciate what he does as a successful investment banker. During the current very painful recession we've all had many opportunities to observe how important the banking system is to the world of business and the American economy. But $2.08 million a month, $25,000,000 a year (actually $25,800,000 but who wants to count the small stuff?) That kind of compensation is literally the work of the devil because of it's almost certain corrosive effect on the recipient.

Early in my modest Wall Street career, I commuted from New Jersy to New York City by train, travelling aboard especially fitted out "club" cars that were positively luxurious by the standards of the long defunct Lackawanna Railroad. It was fascinating listening to my elders joking and joshing privately about the topics of the day as we zipped through Newark, studiously ignoring the riot smoke and turmoil often visible from the windows. Some of my co-commuters had been delivered to the station by limo to save time, of course. And to save more time, they usually ate in absolute splendor either at the NY Stock Exchange or a private club where they were recognized and known. They were marvellously insulated from the struggles of the outside world until at last the weekend arrived and they could retreat to even more exclusive country clubs for 48 hours where they were able to drink (Terry, the bartrender, knew their individual preferences by heart) and play cards until they were ready to join their ladies for dinner. Some, of course, preferrd to fly to Nantucket or the Vineyard, instead. Most weren't making more than a paltry million or two, chicken feed to Mr. Blankfein. Surely he must be doing something infintely more important now then they were then, but I'm not convinced.

I don't know Mr. Blankfein personally; he may well be saintly, but I'm pretty sure he was smiling, at least inwardly, when he referred to doing "God's work." After all, is it really God's work to sell complex financial instruments even to sophisticated investors and then work against them? It's okay to hedge against losses, but to use your company's money to work aggressively to make money on your customer's losses is a clear conflict of interest, a big N0-N0 on Wall Street.

No wonder average Americans are so angry. They are just beginning to realize, as am I, that Caveat Emptor applies to them far beyond what they thought was the case. They know they've been plundered by credit card companies who bought and paid for special privileges to do so and now they see that their "friend at the Chase" has been actively gouging them, too. So many laws and breaks have been given to businesses of all sizes, supposedly to encourage commerce, that it's hard to keep track of all the small nicks and scratches that plague Joe Sixpack and what's left of the middle class. Households need full time controllers these days just to see that each family gets what it's billed for, that services are performed/turned off when they are supposed to, that rebates and bonus points actually materialize, and so on. "It's a jungle out there," as one famous housewife allegedly remarked to her muscle bound husband. It's also very dangerous when the public becomes as bitter, cynical and volatile as it is today, not only about banks and Wall Street, but almost all our other institutions: the church with it's deviant priests and weeping evangelists (not to mention crackpots like Pat Robertson), congressmen and senators behaving disgracefully, sports stars cheating, the Supreme Court, the Red Cross, you name it. How easily we could desend from here into the unthinkable. No wonder blowhard talk show hosts are actually running the GOP. And people are angry when a decent leader tries even to begin to transform things. What a mess, dear Brutus!