It's interesting to watch the Washington crowd bash Wall Street as the villain of the financial meltdown of 2008, especially when you consider how hypocritical it all is.
After all, they watered down the audit the Federal Reserve bill, until rendered but a token of responsibility. They wish not to investigate Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac either. Congress does, however, have hearings set to grill Goldman Sachs (which is nothing but a political stunt to gain support for the financial regulation bill that Goldman fully supports).
To appreciate why this is all nothing more than cheap political theater, all we have to do is take a look at the cozy relationship between Goldman Sachs and the White House. Oh, and by the way ... Crony Capitalism Is NOT Capitalism!
We previously looked at Goldman's deep ties to the White House in The White (Goldman Sachs) House. Today, we'll look at yet more good reasons to believe The U.S. Treasury IS a wholly owned subsidiary of Goldman Sachs.
Important to note too, Goldman's relationship to the White House is not unique to the Obama administration. This has been going on for a long, long time. The Democratic and Republican parties are not as different as everyone likes to believe. They're both happy to screw us over.
Here you will find, I believe, the most comprehensive list of people-groups yet available to show how Obama’s administration has really become the Goldman Sachs administration.
OBAMA, BARACK.
[H]e has taken boatloads of their money (an investment repaid many times) and he calls Robert Rubin, the former head of Goldman Sachs "my friend Bob" ... As early as the Spring of 2006, Senator Barack Obama was intimately involved with Bob Rubin and Goldman Sachs through his involvement with the Hamilton Project.
Fittingly, Senator Obama was chosen by Rubin and the Hamilton Project to give the inaugural address of the Hamilton Project in April, 2006 ... Little wonder then, that Goldman and Rubin heavily funded Obama as a Senator (his biggest campaign contributor) and as a presidential candidate. Goldman Sachs employees (and they were not the floor cleaners) contributed $994,795 to Obama’s presidential bid, almost four times the amount they gave to his Republican opponent ...
BIDEN, JOE.
Is it any wonder that between his service as "Senator Credit Card", his efforts to limit busing for desegregation, and his five draft deferments at the height of the Vietnam War that Joe Biden is attached to one of Goldman’s tentacles? Goldman has been a major campaign contributor to Biden and according to OpenSecrets ...
And guess who was the keynote speaker at the Hamilton Project 2010 kickoff event a few days ago (April 20th, 2010) Tuesday morning at the Renaissance Mayflower Hotel? That’s right: Vice President Joe Biden spoke at Goldman Sachs/Robert Rubin’s Rosemary’s Baby.
ALTMAN, ROGER.
Altman may not hold down a desk job in the Obama administration–he’s too big a fish for that just as is Robert Rubin–but he is one of those power brokers with all encompassing contacts within the Democratic Party. Altman is a Hamilton Project member ... as well as having served as Assistant Secretary of the Treasury under none other than Mr. Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin.
BRAINARD, LAEL.
Brainard is the United States Under Secretary of the Treasury for International Affairs in the administration of President Barack Obama. She is an associate and protege of Mr. Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin ... who had trouble with income tax rules and regulations, thus joining quite a lengthy list of Goldies who ape the law.
BUFFETT, WARREN.
Speaking of big fish, Warren doesn’t need to work for the US government or for Goldman. But he’s invested billions in Goldman expecting even greater returns. Obama has also admitted in the debates to "pal’in around" with the Sage of Omaha and Buffett is one of Obama’s fundraisers and economic advisers.
CLINTON, HILLARY.
Although Barack Obama was the overwhelming favorite of Goldman Sachs to be president in 2008, for he could serve as their Trojan Horse, they were smart enough to hedge their bets, so to speak and back Hillary too ... And of course, it was Hillary’s hubby Bill Clinton who chose ex-Goldman chief Robert Rubin to serve in his White House. Bill, Hillary and Bob Rubin are Washington, D.C. kissing cousins.
CRAIG, GREGORY.
Craig served as Obama’s White House Counsel and after resigning, has taken on a position as Goldman Sach’s chief lawyer in defending against its SEC suit. A former Goldie, Robert Hormats, sits at the top of SEC’s enforcement group too. What a hoot!
DONILON, THOMAS.
Thomas Donilon is Deputy National Security Adviser to Barack Obama (despite having a career that is mostly involved with domestic politics). Donilon was a lawyer at O’Melveny and Myers and made almost $4 million representing meltdown clients including Penny Pritzker (of Chicago) and Goldman.
DUDLEY, BILL.
Joined Goldman in 1986; partner and managing director until 2007. Federal Reserve Bank of New York President since January 2009 (replacing none other than Timothy Geithner, his Goldman compadre).
ELMENDORF, DOUGLAS.
Elmendorf became Obama’s Director of the Congressional Budget Office in January 2009. Elmendorf previously was the Director of the Hamilton Project; it’s third.
Note too that the first 3 Directors of the Hamilton Project ALL serve in the Obama administration ...
EMANUEL, RAHM.
Rahm, of course, is Obama’s Chief of Staff, the very first person Obama selected to be in his administration. Rahm has lengthy and fruitful ties to Goldman, and vice versa. Rahm took in about $75,000 from Goldman Sachs as a Congressman and was on a $3,000 a month retainer from Goldman while he worked as Bill Clinton’s chief fund raiser.FARRELL, DIANA.
Diana Farrell is Deputy Director of the National Economic Council (since January, 2009) in the administration of President Barack Obama. She formerly worked for two years at Goldman Sachs in New York according to Whorunsgov.com.
FRIEDMAN, STEPHEN.
Chairman of Obama’s Foreign Intelligence Advisory Board ... Friedman worked for much of his career with Goldman Sachs, holding numerous executive roles ...
FROHMAN, MICHAEL.
Robert Rubin’s Chief of Staff while Rubin served as Secretary of the Treasury and an Obama “head hunter” ...
FUDGE, ANNE.
Obama just appointed Fudge to his budget deficit reduction committee ... sits, according to the Washington Post, as a Trustee of the Brookings Institution within which the Hamilton Project is embedded.
GALLOGLY, MARK.
Gallogly sits on the Hamilton Project’s advisory council [and] currently a member of President Barack Obama’s President’s Economic Recovery Advisory Board.
GEITHNER, TIMOTHY.
He’s one of the most documented of all people within the Obama administration ... named head of the New York Fed by none other George W. Bush, again perhaps underscoring Gore Vidal’s observation that American is run by one corporate party and it has two wings: Republican and Democratic.
While at the head of the New York Fed, Geithner prior to the crisis not only failed to see storm clouds on the horizon, he also in 2008 ordered the bailed out AIG not to disclose its sweetheart payments to big banks including, you guessed it, Goldman Sachs ...
GENSLER, GARY.
Gensler was a Goldman Sachs partner who is Obama’s Commodity Futures Trading Commission head.
GREENSTONE, MICHAEL.
Greenstone is the 4th Director of the Hamilton Project. Just as attorney Craig went from advising Obama to defending Goldman Sachs against the SEC complaint, Greenstone has used the revolving door to go from went an economic adviser position to Obama to one of the Goldman Sachs outlets ...
HAMILTON PROJECT, THE.
The pro-corporatist think group funded by Goldman Sachs and Robert Rubin and cleverly hidden in the Brookings Institution as their Rosemary’s Baby/Trojan Horse ...
It might also help to recall that the name "Hamilton Project" is significant. Recall that Alexander Hamilton, after whom the institute was named, had as his most famous dictum that "the people are a great beast." Hamilton espoused a powerful state bank and centralized government and presidency.
HORMATS, ROBERT.
The top economics official at Obama’s State Department, Hormats spent the prior 27 years at Goldman Sachs, including as the Vice Chairman of Goldman’s international arm.
KASHKARI, NEEL.
Former Vice President of Goldman Sachs in San Francisco where he where he led Goldman’s Information Technology Security Investment Banking practice. Kashkari served under Treasury Secretary Paulson and was kept on by Obama after his inauguration for a limited period to work on TARP oversight.
KORNBLUH, KAREN.
Sometimes called "Obama’s brain" ... was Deputy Chief of Staff to Mr. Goldman Sachs, Robert Rubin.
LEW, JACOB (AKA "JACK") J.
MINDICH, ERIC.
Eric Mindich, while not officially serving in the Obama administration, is a strong Obama supporter with extensive ties to the President ... Mindich is a hedge fund manager and sits on the Advisory Council of the Hamilton Project and ... was the youngest ever partner with Goldman Sachs at the age of 27.
ORSZAG, PETER.
Obama’s Budget Director was the founding director of the Hamilton Project, funded by Goldman Sachs and Robert Rubin.
PATTERSON, MARK.
former lobbyist for Goldman Sachs who serves under Timothy Geithner as his top deputy and overseer of TARP bailout funds, $10 billion of which went to Goldman.
RATTNER, STEVE.
Ratner is the shady billionaire financier who Obama appointed as his “car czar” and who resigned after it was revealed that his company, the Quadrangle Group, was apparently involved in “pay to play” for a billion dollars or so of New York State pension funds, and was under possible indictment by the New York AG and the SEC, also sits on the Advisory Council of the Goldman funded Hamilton Project.
REISCHAUER, ROBERT D.
RIVLIN, ALICE.
RUBIN, JAMES.
Son of Robert Rubin ...
RUBIN, ROBERT.
Mr. Goldman Sachs and co-funder, along with Goldman, of the Hamilton Project. Served as the 70th U.S. Sect. of the Treasury under Bill Clinton and spent 26 years at Goldman Sachs becoming its Co-Chairman from 1990-1992.
SPERLING, GENE.
Prior to advising Timothy Geithner on bailouts, Sperling was paid the paltry sum of $887,727 by Goldman Sachs for one year of consulting work. Sperling, another acolyte of Robert Rubin’s ...
STORCH, ADAM.
Storch worked for Goldman Sachs for 5 years reaching the position of Vice President in the Business Intelligence Group. He is Obama’s Managing Executive of the Security and Exchange Commission’s Division of Enforcement.
SUMMERS, LARRY.
Obama’s chief economic adviser and head of the National Economic Counsel. Summers’s boss at Goldman was non other than Robert Rubin, former co-Chairman of Goldman and also former head of Citicorp.
A ton of work and research was clearly put into this list, and the details are quite extensive. So make sure to click over and read through the whole thing: A List of Goldman Sachs People in the Obama Government: Names Attached to the Giant Squid’s Tentacles. You'll be glad you did!
"We the people" need to stop fighting with each other over the partisan nonsense fool's game, because it's nothing but a distraction from the truth ... We're now ruled by a one-party technocracy, that's happy to screw us all.
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