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Brexit

'Masters of the Eurozone' - Goldman Sachs and the EU connection

22 replies

fourmummy · 21/05/2016 07:58

I'm starting a new thread on this topic because out of everything I've read, this is something that bothers me greatly and yet it's not a topic that I've heard many Remainers discuss. It's from the Independent article of the Eurozone' - Goldman Sachs and the EU connection. The Masters of the Eurozone are:

Peter Sutherland - former Attorney General of Ireland; prominent voice during Ireland's bail-out; non-executive director of Goldman Sacks International

Karel van Miert - Former EU Competition Commissioner and ex-international adviser to Goldman Sachs

Ottmar Issing - Former member of Bundesbank and the ECB; helped create the euro; adviser to Goldman Sachs

Mario Draghi - new head of the European Central bank; former managing director of Goldman Sachs International

Petros Christodoulou- Head of Greece's debt management agency; began his career at Goldman Sachs

Lucas Papademos - Greece's new prime minister; ran the Central Bank of Greece at the time of controversial derivatives deals with Goldman Sachs that enabled Greece to hide the size of its debt

Mario Monti - Italy's new prime minister; international adviser to Goldman Sachs

Antonio Borges - until this week, head of the IMF's European DEpartment; former vice-chairman of Goldman Sachs International

Thoughts?

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Drinkstoomuchcoffee · 21/05/2016 08:20

Some interchange between public and private institutions is a good thing.

Public servants have a cooling off period during which they cannot work in a similar field.

At least these relationships are not hidden.

But too much power and influence in the hands of one organisation can be dangerous. Power corrupts etc

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MrsBlackthorn · 21/05/2016 10:08

Given how big Goldmans is and how specialised the field is, it would be weirder if there weren't a number of key players in the Eurozone who worked there. You'd likely find as many had worked for HSBC or Barclays at one point.

I'm not really sure what your point is.

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fourmummy · 21/05/2016 14:46

The point is that many people are questioning its influence although the Remainers never seem to. I wondered if the Remainers might also see GS as "the Vampire Squid". This is from the article, and it's just one such sentence:

"Even before the upheaval in Italy, there was no sign of Goldman Sachs living down its nickname as "the Vampire Squid", and now that its tentacles reach to the top of the eurozone, sceptical voices are raising questions over its influence".

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Palehorse · 21/05/2016 16:33

Your link doesn't seem to work?

Also Mario monti is not prime minister of Italy, and hasn't been since 2013.

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Palehorse · 21/05/2016 16:39

I think I found the article anyway, dated to 2011… not sure how relevant itis now with regards to the current situation

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fourmummy · 21/05/2016 18:24

There are plenty of more recent articles showing GS's tentacles throughout the EU. Makes for very uncomfortable reading.

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AnnaForbes · 21/05/2016 19:03

This referendum increasingly looks like its the normal people against the bankers, corporations and elites.

The big banks represent everything that is wrong with capitalism and this is why I cant come to terms with Corbyn supporting them.

Goldman Sachs recently donated a 6 figure sum to the remain campaign. They want to keep the EU and the Euro going at all costs because they make huge amounts of money from it. Goldman secretly lent Greece 28 billion euros to allow it to balance its books and join the Euro. Goldman have since made a fortune out Greece's economy crashing and the people of Greece are paying the price. Goldman profits from human misery, they will suck the Eurozone dry.

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SpringingIntoAction · 21/05/2016 19:10

You missed:

Mark Carney - Governor of the Bank of England - ex Goldman Sachs employee

Peter Sutherland - Director-General of the World Trade Organisation and UNHCR representative , ex EU Commissioner who strongly advocates liberal immigration policies and mass unrestricted immigration into the European Union - ex non-execeutive director of Goldman Sachs

Malcolm Turnbull - Prime Minister of Australia

Robert Zoellick - ex President of the World Bank

So many EU Commissioners and other influential posts

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_former_employees_of_Goldman_Sachs

No wonder Goldman Sachs are funding the REMAN campaign.

They get exactly what they want from the EU and everyone who votes REMAIN is helping them along the way.

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AnnaForbes · 21/05/2016 19:12

Palehorse, the issues here are very current and shouldnt be dismissed.

Goldman Sachs employs seven full time lobbyists at ÂŁ500,000 pa to influence the European Commission. Big business loves the EU because they can pay to have policies and laws made which suit them, stymie any unfavourable regulations. That is not democracy, that is government agendas being set to suit big business.

And talking of agendas to suit big business, Monsanto pays lobbyists in the EC too. It aggressively promotes its gm foods in the EU and has been so successful in lobbying in USA that Obama passed the Monsanto Protection Act. This is a dreadful piece of legislation with huge ramifications for us and for our children.

www.ibtimes.com/monsanto-protection-act-5-terrifying-things-know-about-hr-933-provision-1156079

The EU is run by and for big business

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OTheHugeManatee · 21/05/2016 19:14

Mario Monti hasn't been in charge of Italy since 2013. It's worth noting though that he was installed as unelected leader of a technocratic goverment, with EU backing, to enforce an EU-approved austerity agenda following the resignation of the elected PM.

I find the Goldman Sachs connections throughout the EU worrying but unsurprising. The extent of their donations to the Remain campaign are also unsurprising. The continued existence of the EU is very much in the interests of GS, as it represents a kind of post-democratic government by bureaucrats that responds well to the needs and prompts of bankers and less well to the objections of ordinary people.

What does surprise me is the insistence of many Remain supporters, in the face of this, that the EU represents a sort of benign protection against the venal rapacity of pro-market politicians. In fact it represents a sort of seamless merging of political bureaucracy with corporate bureaucracy to ensure that markets, far from being free, are in fact tightly controlled to ensure Goldman Sachs the right people always walk away unscathed and, if push comes to shove, the resulting debts can be socialised and made the taxpayers' problem.

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SpringingIntoAction · 21/05/2016 19:46

Spot on OHugeMantee

How the average Labour voter can possibly think the Goldman Sachs supported-EU will protect workers rights is quite beyond me.
I can understand Cameron, Osborne or even Blair plugging the EU and getting a set on the GS board, but the average REMAIN voter is just being fooled.

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Limer · 21/05/2016 23:26

The average REMAIN voter is blissfully unaware of any of this - they trust that the EU leaders are presiding over their empire with the best interests of its citizens at heart. They couldn't be more wrong - the powers behind the throne of the EU don't care one jot for the citizens (other than maximising the numbers as a workforce to be exploited).

The sooner the EU disintegrates the better. It's bound to happen, the Euro's already doomed. We need to jump ship now while we've got the chance.

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SpringingIntoAction · 21/05/2016 23:59

The sooner the EU disintegrates the better. It's bound to happen, the Euro's already doomed. We need to jump ship now while we've got the chance.

You're right Limer. the probing investigative journalists are nowhere to be seen when it comes to the EU. It's a n absolute disgrace, Vested interest now trumps democracy. The referendum will seal that

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AnnaForbes · 22/05/2016 00:41

Lots of footage is being posted on Twitter tonight. There are riots in many EU countries right now and none being reported by the BBC.

I'm on my phone so can't link, will try to tomorrow. The EU is imploding.

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fourmummy · 22/05/2016 07:18

You are all correct, of course. I had seen the Wiki entry, which is scary in itself. I had been reading about the famous quote about GS:

The first thing you need to know about Goldman Sachs is that it's everywhere. The world's most powerful investment bank is a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money (journalist Matt Taibbi, 2009).

and it occurred to me that I hadn't seen any Remainers discuss its influence in the EU. I still haven't.

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fourmummy · 22/05/2016 08:54

OTheHugeManatee That is a brilliant post.

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MrsBlackthorn · 22/05/2016 12:24

ÂŁ6m is pocket change to Goldmans - and a hell of a lot cheaper for them than moving its operations from the UK to Ireland and Germany.

Ireland has already approached two UK banks about moving their operations there in the event of Brexit.

Of course big business doesn't have the interests of the little guy at heart. But just because those interests interact doesn't mean there is a conspiracy theory at play - banks bottom lines will suffer if, as is predicted, our debt-heavy economy has another house price crash. That affects the profits of Goldmans et all - but the average Joe will suffer too.

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Shakeeba · 22/05/2016 15:22

Goldman Sachs is not just a very successful bank. It has a permanent presence in the White House and has had with the last several administrations. They are embedded there now regardless who the president is.

GS is one of the drivers of the US of Europe, and eventually will push ahead with creating other so-called trade blocs/allegiances throughout the world. Theirs is a plan for a One World Government.

Their intention is to control politicians, the courts, educational institutions, the food, natural resources, the foreign policies, the economies and the money of most nations. And, as they control the major media, that is why this aspect of GS is not spoken of more often.

They and the global elite want to restore the world to totalitarian rule, but on a global scale; don't forget - democracy as we know it is only about 250 yrs old.

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Shakeeba · 22/05/2016 15:32

MrsBlackthorn The EU is anti-democratic. Did you know
EU is run by bureaucrats who have power without accountability? Which part of that do you like?

In the UK, after 4 yrs is up you can vote someone else in. In the EU you cannot.

Did you know that legislative power is not with EU Parliament but with EU officials who debate laws in secret; no one is allowed to hear or read their debates, then it is presented to the MEPs.

When you have a mo, take a look at this. It is divided into chapters. //www.brexitthemovie.com/

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AnnaForbes · 22/05/2016 18:31

Alistair Darling was recently joined Morgan Stanley's board of directors. the EU is a perfect example of crony capitalism.

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SpringingIntoAction · 22/05/2016 18:41

Remind me - how long ago was it that banks were the big bogey men that bankrupted Britain and meant our grandchildren would be paying for the bailout we we forced into?

What short memories we have.

I fully expect Osborne, Cameron, Hammond, May and all the other Tory pro-EU troughers to get their snouts buried in the Big Banks after they have convinced the UK electorate to sell their power to the EU for cheap roaming charges / cheap Ryanair flights.

Their mission will have been accomplished - then it's reward time.

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fourmummy · 22/05/2016 21:37

Springing never a truer word was said. If I could like your post x100, I would. It is all so predictable.

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