The investigation by the Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations into Goldman Sachs' practices leading into the recession are just another politcal ploy by politicians to gain momentum during an election year.
Led by Chairman Carl Levin, democratic senator from Michigan, the subcommittee has failed to make any gain over 10-plus hours of hearings. Senator Levin has even resorted to profanity and other unprofessional statements such as, "you shouldn't be selling crap."
Sen. Levin has continuously interrupted the Goldman Sachs representatives. He has rambled on about one thing and finished the statement with a question regarding something completely different. Often leaving Goldman CEO Lloyd Blankfein with a baffled look.
Chairman Levin refers to one example of Goldman receiving money owed to them by AIG. Blankfein explains the situation as AIG was prepared to default on a loan from Goldman. He continues to note that the loan was insured and Goldman would have received the money whether AIG defaulted or not. The United States government did not want AIG to default and therefore gave them a tax-payer funded handout to repay Goldman.
Techinally, Goldman Sachs received tax-payer money by-way of AIG. Goldman never requested that money because they would have been paid either way. Sen. Levin attempts to place blame on Goldman Sachs, even though he and his fellow elected officials were the ones that gave AIG the money.
If you believe the Senate hearings are a means of getting a finance reform bill passed in Congress, then you are right.
A subcommittee full of senators lacking expertise into the field they are investigating does no one any good. Unless you are a senator on that subcommittee and you need someone to place the blame on.
Remember the words tax-payer, bailouts and scape-goats. The government loves saying the first two and loves applying the third to Wall Street.
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