Goldman Sachs Plays at Giving Back to the Little People

Goldman Sachs announced it was giving the little folks $500 million spread over five years, because as CEO Lloyd Blankfein says, "We participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret,” and...wait for it.... “We apologize." If only all the boys sitting behind bars for sticking up a 7-11 knew all they had to do was apologize and give back a pittance of that they stole. All would be forgiven.

The Financial Times states the 500 million to be tithed to small businesses is "2.3 per cent of its estimated bonus and salary pool for 2009" and the yearly amount "is equivalent to a good trading day at Goldman. In the third quarter, the bank had 36 days in which traders made more than $100m." What would the small business person do without its Wall Street benefactors?

Last fall, Goldman was "gifted" $14 billion from the American taxpayer with the Fed and Treasury's fraudulent payment of AIG's worthless derivatives. I wonder if that's what Mr. Blankfein means by they "participated in things that were clearly wrong and have reason to regret," or maybe that's something else? But a tithe is supposed to be ten percent, so they're about billion short. Better, if they were made to payback the entire 14 billion and broke into a couple dozen pieces.