Goldman received multiple bailouts from Washington to pay for its outstanding derivatives debts. They also received an indirect bailout through AIG to pay for its counterparty agreements with GS. These guys made a huge fortune based on government aid while the rest of the American public was left holding the bag with their debts.

According to Bloomberg (http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601103& ;sid=aXubc5mGCXig) Goldman Sachs current record earnings from their free or low cost capital injections, courtesy of the American taxpayer, allowed management to decide that a 33 percent increase in compensation and benefits was apropos. On an annualized basis, that comes out to over $773,000 per employee at GS.

I've said it before and I'll say it again, these are the perils of bailing out failed firms. Way too many moral hazards involved.

This should tell all of us who our government really represents. Looking at the roster of Clinton, Bush and Obama Administration alums, you'll find connections to Goldman Sachs all over the place. Frankly the connections are so strong that I believe it would represent a conflict of interest for the White House to push for bailouts for firms like GS.

The dirty little secret in Washington is that bailout monies have been handed out to politically connected firms and banks deemed, by certain subjective criteria, to be "systemically important" or too big to fail. Other commercial banks (mainly small to medium sized banks) that stayed out of the ARM and derivative mania are left out in the cold; all of these collapses due to the failure of the economy at large. The small banks were collateral damage caused by the big banks actions. The nice part about it all is that the banking regulators hold up the big banks that created the mess as paragons of excellence while all the other small banks, who do more lending in the real economy, end up ostracized and shut down. All while firms like Goldman, who created the crisis, get record profits on the taxpayers back.

Community banks do the majority of their lending to small to moderate sized businesses that provide the bulk of our countries jobs. Goldman Sachs, Citigroup and the other big players no longer follow that business model. Instead they fool around in paper instruments that have driven this country into debt. They're like parasites, destroying whatever remains of our productive economy. Our economic policies are absolutely destructive and insane from top to bottom. Our entire financial system, from our government, to the regulatory bureaucracy, to Wall Street, is completely corrupt. Political influence is the big banks main currency.

These are strong words, but it's the truth, and we must address it if we want to get out of this mess.

So Goldman Sachs earns more record profits on the backs of the American taxpayer while the rest of the economy stays in the doldrums. The government made massive investments on our behalf in the investment banks, but we are not seeing any of the returns. Instead the gains are being consolidated in the banks balance sheets. This sounds like a Ponzi scheme of epic proportions, much worse than anything Bernie Madoff did.

My experience with Goldman is in New York City. I used to work in the financial services industry and I must say, Goldman stands out. Of all the firms I've met, Goldman is the only one I honestly like. This is a superb organization. It possesses talented and very personable employees who provide very good service firm-wide. If you only care about numbers and performance, Goldman can provide that. If you're interested in a little more, such as a good relationship, I think Goldman can deliver that too. I think of myself as a very critical and at times cynical person but I say here, kudos to Goldman.