Parsing the PR Lies of Goldman Sachs

Jim Hightower Author, Commentator, America’s Number One Populist

Parsing the PR Lies of Goldman Sachs

CorporateSpeak is an inane language that conveys seriousness without any sincerity.

Consider this example from Goldman Sachs: “We are pleased to put these legacy matters behind us. Since the financial crisis, we have taken significant steps to strengthen our culture, reinforce our commitment to our clients and ensure our governance processes are robust.” This is Goldman’s rhetorical attempt to cleanse itself of the massive fraud it committed in selling tens of billions of dollars in worthless mortgage investments to its clients, contributing to the crash of our economy in 2008.

For its criminality, the Justice Department has now spanked Goldman Sachs with a stinging $5 billion penalty. But what lesson have the haughty banksters learned? Well, let’s parse that two-sentence Orwellian comment they issued. First, they term their crimes “legacy matters,” which means something from the past, implying that the bad was done by some previous regime. But – hello – the top executives who oversaw and profited from that criminal enterprise are still there, still in charge.

Then, the PR statement refers vaguely to a “crisis,” as though it was not one the bankers caused. Next, they refer to strengthening “our culture,” rather than calling it what it was: A corporate-wide mindset of anything-goes avarice. That culture needs to be eliminated, not strengthened, replacing it with common kindergarten ethics of fair play. Finally, they assert that we should believe that their self-governance processes are now “robust.”

Ha! “Self-governance” is Wall Street’s word for freedom to steal. And if you believe a $5 billion penalty will deter them, note that Goldman and the rest are robustly lobbying Congress to kill regulations that restrain their future criminality. Watch what they do, not what they say.

***

This has been reposted from Jim Hightower's website.

National radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the book, Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow, Jim Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be – consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks. Twice elected Texas Agriculture Commissioner, Hightower believes that the true political spectrum is not right to left but top to bottom, and he has become a leading national voice for the 80 percent of the public who no longer find themselves within shouting distance of the Washington and Wall Street powers at the top. He publishes a populist political newsletter, “The Hightower Lowdown.” He is a New York Times best-selling author, and has written seven books including, Thieves In High Places: They’ve Stolen Our Country And It’s Time To Take It Back; If the Gods Had Meant Us To Vote They Would Have Given Us Candidates; and There’s Nothing In the Middle Of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos. His newspaper column is distributed nationally by Creators Syndicate.