Saving The Cuff Links: America must rescue the bonuses at Goldman Sachs.
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Making Bail: Tracking the progress of the government's master plan.
Saving The Cuff Links
America must rescue the bonuses at Goldman Sachs.
By Michael Lewis
Posted Wednesday, September 24, 2008 - 10:41am
Anyone who caught even a sliver of yesterday's hearings in the U.S. Senate on the proposed Treasury bailout of the mortgage-backed securities market knows that the current financial crisis is far from over. Suddenly all sorts of previously unthinkable catastrophes seem possible.
The total collapse of the global financial system is one thing -- everyone at Davos in January saw that coming. But the shrinkage of the Goldman Sachs Group Inc. bonus pool is another. Whatever else the Treasury achieves it must know that if the employees of Goldman suffer any sort of pay cut, it will be judged to have failed. And our country may never recover.
Last year Goldman paid its employees $20 billion, 44 percent of the firm's revenue. Chief Executive Officer Lloyd Blankfein took home $68.5 million, and many otherwise ordinary human beings took home $10 million or more.
This inspired young people everywhere, many of whom may have privately wondered whether it was still worth their time to become investment bankers. Torn between a future in, say, the law and the manufacture of mezzanine CDOs they sucked up their courage and plunged onto Wall Street. And thank God for that: We needed the best and the brightest to get us into this mess, and we'll need the best and the brightest to get us out of it.
Therein lies the problem: If they see Goldman's salaries and bonuses declining, who among the best and the brightest will be induced to join Goldman?
(Photo of money by Stockbyte/Getty Images)
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sarcastic or sophomoric?
well in either case, it was rough. didn't you work for solly? are you upset that everyone has not gone belly up? or were you long LEH? that must have hurt.
look, Buffett the smartest finance guy in the country just printed this company as people who know how to make money honestly. and stated in that plain honest way that the Paulson plan as the one that makes sense.
are you saying that he is scared shitless and worrying that he might wind up leaving just a few measly million to charity and therefore never be viewed in his death as a great american hero?
doubt it.
you usually write intelligent and cutting stuff. this piece is neither.
cufflinks at GS is an odd lot compared to the pain that joe beergut is going to feel if they do not do this thing this week. get a grip Michael