Something very unusual occurred today that is worthy of a post on this blog. Greg Smith, a high-level executive at Goldman Sachs, resigned and went public as to why he left the firm. He decided to leave one of the most successful and powerful investment banks in the world because his conscience could no longer absorb the “toxic” culture. In a New York Times article, he wrote an opinion piece Greg Smith that blasted the inside culture at Goldman Sachs. He said, “I believe I have worked here long enough to understand the trajectory of its culture, its people and its identity. And I can honestly say that the environment now is as toxic and destructive as I have ever seen it.”
Isn’t that a scary statement? After all, Goldman Sachs is one of the main culprits that benefited from the housing derivative scam that brought the United States financial system to its knees. How can such a firm become even more “toxic and destructive” after being exposed for such a legal crime against the country? And this guy isn’t some hack. He is a Stanford graduate and Rhodes Scholar. And, in his own words, “I was selected as one of 10 people (out of a firm of more than 30,000) to appear on our recruiting video, which is played on every college campus we visit around the world”. He also points out “that Over the course of my career I have had the privilege of advising two of the largest hedge funds on the planet, five of the largest asset managers in the United States, and three of the most prominent sovereign wealth funds in the Middle East and Asia. My clients have a total asset base of more than a trillion dollars.” He follows these highlight points up with “I knew it was time to leave when I realized I could no longer look students in the eye and tell them what a great place this was to work.”
Folks, honesty like this from an insider at one of the cornerstones of our fascist construct is very rare. All I can say is that this points to how corrupt and inept our leaders have become to correct the flaws in our current United States power construct. I am certain the press will be employed by the hidden powers to discredit this whistle-blower and his voice will fall like a tree in a forest, but I heard it and so did you. His statement is more powerful that anything printed after the financial collapse in regards to these legalized crooks. And these legalized crooks represent the culture that is spreading like cancer throughout our entire economic system. We must separate the government and the legislative process from these extremely powerful financial institutions or we will continue on the same destructive course. Power loses touch with the conditions of the average citizen. If government doesn’t separate itself from the fascist control, I am afraid we will have to take matters into our own hands and that will be in the form of a bloody revolution.
Contemplating The Human Direction 