(Newser)
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Lloyd Blankfein took his sweet time acknowledging his firm's role in almost toppling the financial system, and the New York Times editorial board stewed until today, when the paper's audience is largest. The Goldman Sachs CEO said in a speech this week, "We participated in things that were clearly wrong and we have reasons to regret" and may have added "we apologize"—different sources, including different Times reporters, captured different wording. Trouble is, the editorial notes, he didn't say for what or to whom.
In Goldman's view, "taxpayer dollars have not helped to generate its post-crash profits, and anger over bonuses is jealousy over the good fortune of others," the editors write. "That is absurd." In fact, they fume, "Wall Street, with Goldman as a leader and with regulators in thrall, helped to inflate and profited from a credit bubble that burst and cost tens of millions of Americans their jobs, incomes, savings and home equity." Their solution: a tax-deductible donation to the Bureau of the Public Debt. Lloyd, if you're still reading, click the source link at right to get the address.