If I was Lloyd Blankfein and you told me that I could pockets hundreds of millions of dollars in compensation, play a key role in a scam that cost millions of people their jobs, sent the economy into one of the worst economic tailspins in a half century, escape any personal jail time for that scam, not have to admit any wrongdoing and, then, pay a measly $500 million fine out of the corporate treasury, I'd say, "where can I sign up?". And that's the deal Goldman is cutting.
This just being reported:
Goldman Sachs has agreed to pay $550 million to the Securities and Exchange Commission to settle charges of securities fraud linked to mortgage investments sold to investors, a person briefed on the matter told The New York Times’s Edward Wyatt.
Under the terms of the deal, Goldman will pay $300 million in fines to the S.E.C., with the rest serving as restitution, this person said. Goldman will not admit wrongdoing.
It's also ironic that the deal being cut comes on the same day of the passage of what I believe is a weak financial "reform" bill. Not only were key parts of consumer protection gutted and a strong so-called Volcker rule eliminated. The game remains the same.
Remember, even back in "the good 'ole" says of Wall Street, we, the people suffered. Nothing in this bill will stop Wall Street from continuing to be the financial engine behind the unwinding of the American Dream. Wall Street will continue to finance leveraged buyouts and corporate takeovers which are based heavily on debt--which has resulted in the shedding of millions of good-paying jobs and will continue to create the same sick dynamic in the financial system whereby the "health of a company" is measured by its stock price, not by how well the workers are doing.
The robbery of America continues.
UPDATE: Just to clarify. My view that this is a slap on the wrist is largely because there is no jail time. It is true this is a civil matter. But, the fact is we will not be able to change the behavior of the corporate leaders on many issues--on health and safety in the workplace, for example--until they start spending serious time in prison.