Moral decay
Toxic culture at Goldman Sachs
First Published Mar 17 2012 01:01 am • Last Updated Mar 17 2012 01:01 am
This week, just as the S&P 500 was reaching its apogee in the long, slow recovery from the subprime mortgage meltdown, a mid-level executive resigned from Goldman Sachs. He did it in an unusual place: on the op-ed page of The New York Times.
In "Why I am leaving Goldman Sachs," Greg Smith explained that the culture of the firm has become "toxic," that the Wall Street investment bank is focused almost entirely on making money for itself rather than for its clients.
"I have always taken a lot of pride in advising my clients to do what I believe is right for them, even if it means less money for the firm," he wrote. "This view is becoming increasingly unpopular at Goldman Sachs." Elsewhere he wrote, "I truly believe that this decline in the firm’s moral fiber represents the single most serious threat to its long-run survival."
Wall Street has always played for keeps. It’s not a place for seminarians. But Smith’s indictment of Goldman is significant because all financial transactions rely on trust. Without it, business is impossible. And the moral climate that Smith describes is emblematic of too many business institutions, or perhaps institutions generally, in this country.
The pursuit of wealth to the exclusion of all else, even to the point of taking advantage of one’s clients, will kill American capitalism if it continues.
Look at Russia. Look at China. Why are many people wary of doing business in those nations? Because the rule of law and the sanctity of a contract are not the moral gold standard there. When the pursuit of gold itself becomes the only standard, you don’t have an economy. You have organized crime.
More at:
http://digg.com/newsbar/Politics/moral_decay_and_greed_is_the_pursuit_of_wealth_to_the_exclusion_of_all_elseLinkback:
https://tubagbohol.mikeligalig.com/index.php?topic=50053.0
