Goldman Sachs is happy to help women progress—as long as they aren’t employees.

By Aman Singh, Vault.com

Goldman Sachs has received yet another subpoena – this one from the Manhattan District Attorney’s Office, which is investigating causes of the recent financial crisis and has asked Goldman to turn over information related to its mortgage and derivatives business prior to the crisis.

But yesterday evening, at a glittering reception in New York City, Goldman was the star of the show.

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Is Goldman Sachs the best ‘scam’ ever?

By Joe Sibilia

Former Reagan Budget Director David Stockman, the architect of ‘trickle down economics’ (the theory that a few guys could make a ton of money and some of it would trickle down to the thirsty masses like drops of water on a hot day), called Goldman Sachs the ‘best scam in economic history’ on a PBS News hour special.

It seems Stockman took offense that Goldman could become a ‘banking holding company’ on a Sunday, borrow fed funds at just about zero interest rate on Monday and buy Treasuries Tuesday at 3% – 4% (with the same money they borrowed) and pocket the spread. He was further incensed that they would take money from the Federal Government (basically, you and me), watch what their clients were buying (or selling) and in split milliseconds in advance of their clients, ‘trade their own account’ and pocket the spread. America the Beautiful.

If a guy like Stockman thinks this is a ‘scam’, we must be making some headway. If your only objective is to make money, without concern for anyone or anything else, you’ll figure out a way. If that means manipulating the rules – fine. If that means taking taxpayer money – fine. If that means profiting from your own customers (at their disadvantage) – fine. People want brands that pay equal attention to business and social concerns and those that do, will thrive today and in the future. I don’t see any social concern being served in the Goldman example when almost 75% of their profits comes from ‘trading’.

What the Goldman Sachs Scam demonstrates is the imperative need to begin formalizing the process of measuring social, economic and governance activities of business (the U.S. SEC is dipping their toes in the conversation, but hasn’t formalized anything yet – even though many other countries are). Goldman’s activities would have been different if the ‘values’ and ‘rules’ were a little different. I want to form another ‘bank holding company’, get money from the taxpayers and just let the dollars flow through the U.S. Treasury, use technology to advance trade on what my clients are doing and make more money. Why does Goldman Sachs have exclusive rights to this scam? Is Goldman Sachs a scam or are they ‘playing the system’ for their own advantage?

About Joe Sibilia

As a visionary of the socially responsible business movement, Joe Sibilia is founder and CEO of Meadowbrook Lane Capital (MBLC), described by the Wall Street Journal as a “socially responsible investment bank” specializing in turning values into valuation.

He is also the CEO of CSRwire.com, the social responsibility newswire service that distributes and archives corporate social responsibility/sustainability news to journalists, analysts, investors, activists, academics, public relations and investor relations professionals worldwide.

Joe also founded the Gasoline Alley Foundation, a 501(c) 3 corporation that has incubated forty-three small businesses since 1985 and teaches inner city and/or underprivileged persons to be successful entrepreneurs using socially responsible/sustainable business practices while revitalizing inner city neighborhoods.

Through MLBC, Joe has worked with a number of Socially Responsible Companies and has been widely recognized for his work in attempting to take Ben & Jerry’s Homemade Ice Cream private, while creating a private stock exchange for CSR companies.  MBLC successfully preserved many of the founders’ social initiatives, and advancing the connection between good corporate citizenship and increased share value.

His long range plan for CSRwire is to establish a “platform for innovative revenue sharing applications advancing the ‘Movement’ towards a more economically just and environmentally sustainable society and away from single bottom line capitalism.”

READERS: What’s your Talkback to the question: Is Goldman Sachs the best ‘scam’ ever? Let us know, and we’ll respond.