"Even if it smacks of Papal Indulgence," writes the Harvard MBA of Goldman's Philanthropy

Georgia Levenson Keohane  in Center for Effective Philanthropy:

So what is Lloyd Blankfein to do, when his primary responsibility is to Goldman’s profitability?  Indeed, this is the job Goldman’s shareholders hired him to do and the reason we entrusted him with taxpayer dollars to begin with. 

First, even if it smacks of papal indulgence, Blankfein must rise to the charitable occasion.  This means more conspicuous and top-down philanthropy, setting a standard within his firm and the industry which acknowledges that taxpayer-enabled market dominance confers an obligation to make up Wall Street’s charitable slack. 

A Papal Indulgence was a get of hell free card sold by a corrupt Pope, often to a wicked King. What this has to  do with Blankfein and double bottom line businesses saving capitalism from itself beats me. Which of these guys is the Pope and which the King or King maker? The sparsio of the Roman Emperors and later the Popes might be closer to it. Goldman does not need a get of hell pass from Congress, they already have that. They need to win over the ordinary people by flinging candy and nuts from their limos. More Robinhood, right?

Comments

[tm]

The message architects at Blank's PR firm must be in overdrive trying to figure out how any "more conspicuous and top-down philanthropy," is not going to mean, precisely, a whole lot more shit-eating, aw-shucks we ain't so bad, bogusly self-serving humble pie methodology whose sole imaginable purpose is to grease the skids back to business as usual for Goldman.

[Jon Husband]

.. Goldman’s profitability? Indeed, this is the job Goldman’s shareholders hired him to do and the reason we entrusted him with taxpayer dollars to begin with.

The river card ?

Isn't this a little (or a lot) like Cheney confessing to war crimes ?

Private sector shareholders hire Blankfein to obtain their quarterly and annual profits. His fee is the bonus. So what if what it takes to do so is taxpayers' venture capital ?

They never had a stake in the game anyway .. forgot to sign the paperwork .. oops, oh well .. maybe next time

[Jon Husband]

damn .. open tag

[Phil Cubeta]

Closed the tag for you, John. Thanks.

[Phil Cubeta]

Costume for the Predator's Ball? tiny.cc/vsomd