Saturday, November 14, 2009

Goldman Sachs and the War on the Working Class

Goldman Sachs (GS) continues to consolidate power on several fronts, by pushing working-class people out of their homes, and by sending a 29 year-old former executive to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) as another major player in the US government.

In 2006 GS sold $2 Billion in bonds to European investors through a Cayman Islands shell corporation, Altius III Funding Ltd. The bonds were bundled real estate and student loans made to appear as safe investments. Shell corporations such as Altius have been used to avoid taxes and oversight. From 2006 to 2007, GS sold more than $57 Billion in high-risk mortgage-based securities packaged as low risk bonds. The corporation, however, was left holding billions more in mortgage loans.1

With billions in toxic real estate investments remaining, another GS subsidiary, MTGLQ, is now removing people from their homes without negotiating substantively with homeowners.2

On October 16th, Former GS executive Adam Storch, a former Vice President at GS has been appointed Chief Operating Officer of the SEC's Enforcement Division. Former GS CEO Henry Paulson was the US Treasury Secretary from 2006 to 2008 when the US economy began its dramatic downturn.3


1. http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2009/11/goldman_sachs_left_foreign_inv.html
2. http://www.miamiherald.com/news/nation/story/1311587.html
3. http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/16/adam-storch-sec-hires-exg_n_323526.html