Reed, Raimondo Welcome Goldman Sachs - Who's Given Over $100K to Top RI Democrats

Kate Nagle, GoLocal News Editor

Reed, Raimondo Welcome Goldman Sachs - Who's Given Over $100K to Top RI Democrats

Senator Jack Reed has received over $60,000 from Goldman Sachs in political contributions, according to OpenSecrets.org
Rhode Island political and educational leaders on Tuesday touted a new $10 million investment by Goldman Sachs in Rhode Island for its "10,000 Small Businesses Initiative" - including Senators Jack Reed and Sheldon Whitehouse, who according to OpenSecrets.org have received over $100,000 in campaign contributions from the Wall Street giant. 

"Goldman Sachs and the Goldman Sachs Foundation are committing $10 million in capital and philanthropic support to help create jobs and generate economic growth in local small businesses," boasted the company in their release entitled, "Goldman Sachs Launches 10,000 Small Businesses in Rhode Island."

Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi famously dubbed Goldman Sachs "the great American bubble machine" in 2010, and more colorfully wrote, "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."

GET THE LATEST BREAKING NEWS HERE -- SIGN UP FOR GOLOCAL FREE DAILY EBLAST

Reed and Whitehouse have received $68,500 and $32,500 from Goldman Sachs related individual and PAC giving during their careers, according to OpenSecrets.org. 

Public, Private, Political Connections

"By providing small business owners with access to network support services, education, and financial resources, this initiative can help them increase revenue, create jobs, and expand economic opportunity for more Rhode Islanders,” said Reed, the Ranking Member on Senate Appropriations Subcommittee for Transportation, Housing, and Urban Development, of Goldman Sachs' investment on Tuesday.

Reed is also a senior member of the Senate Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs Committee which oversees the nation’s banking and financial sector, Federal Reserve System, housing and economic policy, insurance markets, and urban development. 

Goldman Sachs said Tuesday it is investing $10 million in RI for small business development.
Campaign finance records online show that New York-based Goldman Sachs employees have also given over $8,000 to Rhode Island candidates and elected officials, including Governor Gina Raimondo and General Treasurer Seth Magaziner.  

Democratic Presidential candidate and Wall Street critic Bernie Sanders took aim specifically at Goldman Sachs in a recent campaign ad, saying, "As long as Washington's bought and paid for, we can't build an economy that works for the people" -- and referenced Goldman Sachs' recent "$5.1 billion toxic mortgage settlement" and a CNN piece that said the company's "shady deals fueled the financial crisis."

CCRI as Battleground?

The Community College of Rhode Island touted Goldman Sachs' investment in the state -- and workforce development at the community college -- on Tuesday

"CCRI will be the first community college in New England to host this program, and we are proud to be the educational anchor to help Rhode Island’s small businesses reach their full potential. The announcement illustrates what can happen when public-private partnerships form to create opportunity, and it’s an inspiring example of how CCRI can make a positive difference in our state’s economy," said CCRI President Dr. Meghan Hughes in a message to the CCRI community. "Our Business Department faculty are at the heart of this initiative."

CCRI professor of English Steve Forleo, who is the adviser to the student-run college newspaper, The Unfiltered Lens -- and recently wrote a Guest MINDSETTER™ for GoLocal entitled, "CCRI About to Undergo Political Takeover" -- weighed in on the Goldman Sachs development. 

"I'm not at all comfortable with CCRI cozying up to those frat boys on Wall Street. That's what we can expect coming from the venture capitalist governor using CCRI as her very own "lively experiment," said Forleo on Tuesday. "But, hey, I only teach Shakespeare."

RI Public Pension Reform: Wall Street's License To Steal

Treasurer’s Lack of Transparency

 
"There has been a sinister pall of secrecy regarding fundamental investment information orchestrated by state officials and aided by key investment services providers. "

So-Called Pension Reform Scheme Permanently Reduces Benefits To Retirees

"Whether retirees receive any COLA will depend upon both ERSRI’s funding level and the Fund’s actual investment returns—both of which are volatile, unpredictable and subject to manipulation by elected officials and others. The manipulation of both of these key goalposts has already begun. "

SEC Should Investigate ERSRI’s Failure to Disclose Skyrocketing Investment Expenses 

 
"The Treasurer has intentionally withheld information about soaring investment fees which is material in assessing both whether ERSRI should invest in costly alternative investments and whether benefit cuts are necessary to improve pension funding."

Lose-Lose: Alternative Investments Both Reduce Returns and Increase Risk 

 
"The Treasurer’s representations regarding the level of risk related to ERSRI’s hedge fund investments are wholly inconsistent with the hedge fund managers’own words."

ERSRI Agrees To Be Kept In The Dark, Grants Mystery Investors Licenses to Steal and Consents To Potential Nondisclosure Illegalities 

 
"The outrageous nondisclosure policies detailed in the hedge fund offering documents cause these investments to be, at a minimum, inherently impermissible for a public pension, such as ERSRI, if not illegal."

Heightened Risks Related To Hedge Fund Offshore Regulation And Custody

 
"There is no evidence the State Investment Commission was aware of, or ever considered, the unique risks related to foreign regulation of hedge funds."

SEC Should Investigate Questions Surrounding ERSRI’s Point Judith Venture Investment

 
"The Treasurer has made numerous public statements regarding the performance of the Point Judith II fund she formerly managed and sold to ERSRI, as well as released summary performance figures which are strikingly divergent. [...] In order to prevent any possible confusion or misleading of investors, the SEC should investigate Point Judith II performance claims."

Rhode Island Ethics Commission Opinion And “Blind Trust” Fail to Address Conflicts Regarding Point Judith Investment

 
"The Treasurer notably failed to mention in her letter to the Ethics Commission that the state was a limited partner in the Point Judith fund and may have broad rights in the fund that conflict with hers. Further, she may have special rights that permit her to profit at the state’s expense."

SEC Should Investigate ERSRI Investment Consultant Conflicts, Payments From Money Managers

 
"The investment consultant retained to provide objective advice regarding alternatives, Cliffwater LLC, has disclosed in its SEC filings that it receives compensation from investment managers it recommends or selects for its clients, including Brown Brothers Harriman which manages $272 million for ERSRI."

“Pay To Play” Placement Agent Abuses at ERSRI

 
"Rather than undertake an independent investigation in response to an SEC inquiry, ERSRI relied upon its then investment consultant, PCG, for objective advice regarding controversial placement agent fees—at a time when PCG itself was embroiled in a national pay-to-play scandal."
Selected Image

Enjoy this post? Share it with others.