[Congressional Record Volume 157, Number 8 (Thursday, January 20, 2011)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E84]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




           GOLDMAN SACHS: MAXIMUM PROFIT, MINIMUM CONTRITION

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                        HON. DENNIS J. KUCINICH

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                       Thursday, January 20, 2011

  Mr. KUCINICH. Mr. Speaker, Goldman Sachs, the most profitable U.S. 
securities firm in history, is on a well-publicized public relations 
(PR) campaign to improve its image.
  Goldman is hoping that this will help erase the negative appearance 
that lingers in the public's mind after it paid $550 million to settle 
a Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) fraud suit last July. Since 
then, its stock has taken a beating.
  But don't worry about Goldman. It's no secret that its strategy to 
reap billions in profits came in part by creating and selling high-risk 
mortgages in a form known as ``collateralized debt obligations.'' This, 
while tens of thousands of families in Cleveland--and millions 
elsewhere--were losing their homes to foreclosure and their communities 
to decay and neglect. It's also well-known that Goldman had no ethical 
problem placing big bets against its own investment clients.
  In 2008, Goldman took $10 billion in below-market loans from the 
Federal Reserve, only to have the audacity to claim later that it 
didn't need that money after all. But those funds helped Goldman 
weather the financial crisis that they helped create. It's easy to 
claim now that they didn't need the help back when the financial system 
was nearly in ruins. But don't be fooled: it's still the same old 
Goldman, still as cunning and ruthless as ever when it comes to the 
pursuit of profits.
  Goldman hopes its PR money will be well-spent, and that the American 
people will forget the way it profited so handsomely, even off of the 
misery of others, including its own clients.
  But many of us are paying attention, and we will remember.

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