I have a simple question for you, and I'd like you to consider it seriously.
One year before the below companies disappeared from the face of the Earth, what percentage of the population would have supposed they would be gone?
+ Arthur Anderson
+ Enron
+ Washington Mutual
+ Worldcom
+ Refco
+ Lehman Brothers
+ Bear Stearns
+ Bernie Madoff Co.
+ Drexel Burnham Lambert
The answer? Zero. Nobody. You would have been thought naive and crazy to think any of these companies had anything but a bright, prosperous future.
And the same goes for the ostensibly invincible Goldman Sachs. People here on Slope who fancy themselves worldly think what's going on with Goldman is going to quietly disappear, and Lloyd will just cruise along, ripping off all the rest of us honest folks. Don't be so sure.
It is my belief that, within three years, the company will be nothing more than a memory, and its downfall will be the stuff of popular books. Maybe Michael Lewis already has the fodder for his new bestseller being created for him right now.
Sounds insane, doesn't it? We'll see.
