The devil is in the details, which make semantics very important. Using your commutative logic everyone with a bank account in the US benefited, since all businesses also benefited, as did their banks. You admit you yourself benefited from the bailout, as did every American with a bank account? How about every American that spends money for a product or service - grocery store? mechanic? barber? Where do you draw the line between those who benefited from the bailouts and those who didn't?
That's funny, I don't remember singing. Do you have another hidden camera in my office, besides the one in your mom's bathroom?
Goldman Sachs is Bernie Madoff, Carl Icahn, AMWAY, Standard Oil, and the entire government system (state and federal) all under one roof. It's beyond even a Ponzi Scheme, it is the mafia. Throughout history, the illuminati have lied, cheated, and stolen labor (debt is future labor) from the next generation but it has never happened to this degree. Imagine that you are Goldman Sachs with an unlimited amount of funds to bid up assets, to control land, labor and capital (all factors of production), to control consumer goods and commodities and to have the power to nuke the credit markets with one click of a mouse. This ends when normal, everyday working Americans start bombing GS buildings.
The US wealth disparity has grown way out of balance this last few decades and has been one of the major attributes to the state the country finds itself in today. The markets offered a long needed rebalancing providing new fertile ground for the US to prosper. The laws of nature will force a rebalancing upon US society anyway but chances are the backlash will be harder for more people then if they would have allowed the banks to fail in '08. Speaking for myself I had all my money in gold long before the notion of banking problems got any attention so you could see why I am pissed at these bloodsuckers harming gold's otherwise unavoidable rise to the +3k$ levels in a post Wall Street world.
My Gosh where do I begin. 1. Goldman Sacs took money because they needed and their santimonious attitude today doesnt not change that fact. 2. They only paid less than half back so where the f is the other 20billion! yes they owe 20 billion and they are giving out bonuses first! 3. they were given a deal on the aig payout, and they think they were entitiled to that financial arrangement, because their arrogance has deluded them into thinking that if you have the head of the treasury as a alum of gs, the board of directors ,the head of the fed from gs and countless other alums within the bush and obama white house they should get some deals at the tax payers expense. My issue is not how they run their goofy company; they wouldnt be successful unless they had these kinds of connections.Just look at the reasons for their need for financial assistance.these guys are dumber than dumb!My issue is that they actually think its ok because to distribute bonuses to each other and not pay the government back and manipulate the markets just to make more money off their crap iinvestments. Americans should be demanding the money from all of these companies or tank the frinkin companies today if bonuses are handed out! When GS leaves another company will grow in its replacement and we will all as a country be better off.
Looks at page 4 of this thread - you felt it was important enough to type and share that you "got a buck" with the internet.
I agree with you that there is a large disparity, however, there should always be a disparity provided there will always be people that want to work more/harder/better/faster/smarter/stronger than others. Personally, I'm not a gold bug.
I am all for people and business making big money. Its the American way. However, when others have to sacrifice their jobs...their houses, then thats where I draw the line. Its utterly dispicable that Goldman would have sold mortgage derivatives and then shorted them at the same time without any type of disclaimer to their customers as to their position. They knew they were selling faulty stuff, but continued to do so and even shorted the very derivatives they sold to their customers. Seeing Goldman's employees walk away with record bonuses and Mr. Smith getting foreclosed upon is utterly dispicable.