Quote from TGregg:
GSC is very closely aligned with the government. In some ways, they are a training agency - a lot of the financial folks working for the feds came from GSC. It's a two way street though. GSC has occasionally done things not in it's best interest to help out the government.
Listen to some libtard scream about Haliburton and Bush/Cheney (you might have to find old posts, not sure if this is still in style). GSC is more tightly coupled with the feds than those claims. And not just the republicans and not just the democrats. GSC is fully integrated with both major parties.
I think that is correct. You will find that there is also quite a bit of hiring back and forth between the CIA and the highest levels of Wall Street.
However, the government should not have the power to sanction securities fraud or insider trading through regulatory inaction even on behalf of an institution that it works closely with. Goldman has enough advantages in terms of the talent and connections it has without being given a license to steal from investors at large.
If the government wants to direct money at a problem, it can tax or it can borrow to get the money. Ripping off investors is not a proper option. If the recent rally was in fact spurred by the Fed buying stocks through the IBs as ZH reported, the IBs have no doubt made billions off the backs of ordinary investors who bailed out in fear earlier this year. It is yet another case of the powerful exploiting the weak.
Fascism is a welding of corporate interests and the government, and this fits the definition.