You and I are now partial owners of Goldman Sachs and a slew of other banks/financial players. As a taxpayer, I don’t like seeing my money go to bonus someone like Sprayregen. He wanted to work at Goldman for the riches but doesn’t want to contribute through the tough times. As a taxpayer, I say good riddance to him.

As an owner of Goldman, I have to be troubled by the loss of talent. When we talk about the bonus issue, we do so in the abstract. The Times ran this story for the same reason I posted it but they’re constrained by some of the tenets of their trade. They cannot make guesses about Sprayregen’s personal motives.

One of the purposes of an outlet like this is to make explicit what is usually read between the lines. So I wrote the post above hoping to generate some debate about the bonus issue. I would sincerely like my stake in GS to pay off but I resent the callow greed of someone like Sprayregen–hey, maybe he really does miss the practice of law but most likely he just realized Goldmine Sachs may never be that again.

So, do you give a rat’s behind about your investment? Because a version of Sprayregen’s story is playing out a few hundred times over the next few weeks, months and years. And you might want to have thought it through.

QED

The Big Picture is full of so much more content these days that I have less tolerance for almost-meaningless posts. And, yes, I know I don’t have to read The Big Picture anymore, but I WANT TO READ IT. The past couple years have been enjoyable, educational, and profitable. But lack of editorial restraint (or focus?) by contributors is killing the goose…

Thanks,
AP

P.S. Is it just me, or did the quality of reader comments actually go down after BR required us to register?