by Pam Martens and Russ Martens
Wall Street on Parade
Yesterday, the nonprofit Wall Street watchdog, Better Markets, released an in-depth and scathing analysis of the past 20 years at Goldman Sachs. A bold headline summed it up as follows: “$874 Billion in Bailouts, 36 Major Legal Actions,
$9.8 Billion in Fines and Settlements with Billions More Coming.” One key takeaway from this crime spree, write the authors, is this:
“Goldman Sachs has amazed a RAP sheet showing that the financial crash of 2008 did little if anything to slow the pace of illegal activity that was well underway in the years leading up to the crash. Goldman Sachs was heavily engaged in illegal activity before the crash; they reached new heights of lawlessness in connection with the crash; and they continued to violate the law in the post-crash era….”
Senator Bernie Sanders has repeatedly stated that the business model of Wall Street is fraud. We’ve refined that to the business model of Wall Street is monetizing fraud. And based on this latest report, Goldman Sachs takes the top prize for its panoply of innovations in monetizing fraud.