Class Envy and Goldman Sachs
April 25, 2010
One Washington Post columnist argues that class envy explains the resentment towards Goldman Sachs:
For several years I've predicted that a new wild card in American life -- the presence of economic resentment at the bottom of the top 1 percent of our income distribution -- would become a powerful force for reform. The SEC's fraud case against Goldman Sachs may be the first shot in what I think of as the revolt of the "lower upper class."
As I don't live in New York or care about social scenes, it's hard to say if he's right. Personally, I didn't know anything about Goldman Sachs until the bailouts. The more I dug, the more obvious Goldman's criminality was apparent. Crime is the title of this blog, and along with other degenerate subjects, a lifelong fascination. I've spent three years studying Goldman Sachs, and marvel at the level of sociopathy. Goldman bankers are the guys who would have been running the gas chambers in Nazi Germany - evil, but certainly worthy of study.
Had Goldman not received $13 billion in taxpayer money (that it turned around and gave to the same executives who required bailing out), I'd never have known about Goldman Sachs; nor would have made the destruction of Goldman Sachs my hobby.
The class envy angle, however, might be right. I am upset that I hadn't thought of it myself. I've used themes about fairness. What's wrong with me? Niggle the elitists by showing rubbing Goldman's success in their faces. Brilliant!
So...Rich readers: Goldman bankers are richer than you. And - unlike you - they do not deserve that money. You are special and entitled to every dime you earn. Goldman bankers do not deserve to be rich.
None of you had any lucky accidents of birth. You weren't born into good families that paid for your education. You weren't born white or male in a society that tends to treat whites and males relatively well. Everything you got is because of your hard work and diligence.
No lawyer or doctor has inflated wagers because a cartel restricts who can join the legal or medical professions. When the government requires reasonable licensing restrictions to practice law or medicine, that's the government protecting people. When the government bails out bankers to save the financial system, that's the government simply favoring bankers over doctors and lawyers!
Goldman Sachs is holding you down, forcing you to live like pikers on $250,000 a year. Arm yourselves and meet me at 200 West Street, New York, NY. You have nothing to lose but your chains!