[sever]

This situation makes me so mad my teeth hurt, but I don't think Goldman is at fault. They were no better or worse than other i-banks, interspersing themselves into the money flow, probably sucking out more value than they were creating -- I think so. The fault is with the government for bailing them out. They should be bankrupt, shareholders wiped out, company carved up and sold off, making room for better companies. Instead the government decided to give them billions (which they paid out as bonuses to themselves). It was ludicrous, the government gave them 100 cents on the dollar for AIG. Why 100, why not 120, why not 200, it would have made just as much sense.

[vlod]

"Goldman vigorously disputes that it could not have survived if the government hadn't paid it in full"

Maybe you missed the part in the article where they said they could have survived without the money.

Also the TARP money was pretty much forced on them http://goo.gl/N7SP (businessinsider.com)

[stretchwithme]

they would have survived, but they certainly would have had a big loss without that 12 or 14 billion payoff from AIG.