The SEC and US Government should be ashamed of itself by letting Goldman Sachs off on 550 million fine over a least one known fraudulent transaction magnitude of which dwarfs this fine. This fine is the equivalent of a mere parking ticket for the company and represents a little less than 5% of Goldman's 2009 net income of 12.2 billion after payment of dividends to preferred shareholders or approximately a mere two weeks of net income.

By the SEC (thereby the US Government) using Goldman Sachs as an alleged scapegoat a few month ago and bringing charges against them when FINREG was in jeopardy, and then passing FINREG on Thursday, and announcing the same day two hours later that GS and SEC had reached a settlement speaks volume of corruption. Even before the announcement, clearly the corruption had already hit the trading floors as over 100,000 call options in GS traded prior to the announcement that some type of settlement between GS and SEC was coming.

There is not a single American (Goldman Sachs alum and current members of this company withstanding) who does not believe that what happened yesterday with GS represents a new low in fighting corrupt banks who have stolen billions from hardworking individuals with their clever schemes and their anticipatory hopes that most Americans are either too dumb to realize what just happened, don't care, feel hopeless to stop it, and if none of the three mentioned, will most likely have a short term memory and quickly forget about it.

This is a complete outrage. GS has committed the equivalent of the greatest bank robbery in the history of modern times, and gets off scot free.

They put together at least one known investment structure that was known to fail from the beginning, collected fees, bet against the own interest, collected more dollars, let the whole structure go belly up. Thereafter, they get bailed out by the government, AIG gives them additional money from its bail out money, GS uses all that money to trade with (interest free courtesy of the US government) and reports record earnings through out 2009 with its CEO Lloyd Blankfein proclaiming last year that Goldman Sachs does "God's Work". Meanwhile, tGS continues making more and more money off of the money that they made perpetuating fraudulent financial schemes, and then lending back to others at interest the very money that they stole from others, thereby making even more money and the vicious circle continues. Now GS wipes its hands clean and pays a minute fine for their financial crimes against all Americans. In furtherance, GS did not have to admit that they committed fraud.

I would not be surprised if the US Government and all Americans (except for GS) are now the laughing stock of the entire global community. This makes Bernie Maddoff look like a two bit criminal compared to what GS did and what they got away with.

America will never be the same country again because it sends the wrong message to all Americans and that is: If you play by the rules, you will get hurt financially, and if you do not play by the rules, then you not only get to hurt others, but you will get off scot free with the right amount of power and money.

Thursday, July 15, 2010 will represent one of the saddest days in American history - it is the day that will be forever remembered by Americans where they lost complete hope in their government to right the wrongs of others who brought America to the brink of financial collapse and let them get away with it and a consistent reminder of how the US stock markets are rigged against the every day man and woman.