Tell Goldman to Stuff It

If we had an independent Treasury Secretary (by that, I mean one not in bed with the leaders of the industry he is tasked with overseeing), he would have called up Lloyd Blankfein and told him to shelve his plan to pay back the TARP funds. Something along the lines of this:

TG: "Uh, Mr. Blankfein, sir, I need to talk to you about something, sir . . . "

LB: "Yes, Timmy, what is it now?"

TG: "Well, Mr. Blankfein, you see, these plans you have to sell some stock and pay back the TARP funds so you don't have to operate with Government oversight . . . we, uh, don't think that's such a great idea right now."

LB: < Silence >

TG: "I know you are upset, Mr. Blankfein, but you see, there are some people who kind of want to sort things out before we start letting Goldman, and others, off the hook and allowing them to operate without Treasury oversight."

LB: < Silence, followed by a low growling noise >

TG: "You see, some people are asking questions about the $13 BILLION in bets with AIG that Goldman made and that Treasury's bailout of AIG made good, at 100 cents on the dollar."

TG: "Some folks in Congress want more information about that, and other bets that Goldman made, where Goldman was made whole by the bailouts. You see, there are some people who feel, and I'm not saying I'm one of them, Mr. Blankfein, sir, but some people kind of, sort of, a little bit, feel that Goldman may have . . . gamed the U.S. Treasury a bit in all this and, you see, Mr. Blankfein, sir, they, that is to say, these other people - not me - want to hold hearings on this and dig a little deeper into how this all transpired. There are even some people who are asking questions about the < GULP > compensation scheme at Goldman."

LB: "WHAT THE F*!@ ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT TIM? The compensation system at Goldman is a sacred cow, not to be touched. We are worth every penny we are paid over here at Goldman Sachs."

TG: "Yes, Mr. Blankfein, I understand that. But, you see, the U.S. Taxpayer has, in effect, paid your bonuses this year, because of the way they made whole your bets with AIG, and others, and did not force Goldman to take a haircut on some of those bets that Goldman made with a firm that was ultimately not capable of making good on them. So, I am afraid, you will have to hold off on paying the TARP funds back just yet. Sorry."

LB: < GRRRRRRRR . . . . CLICK!>