would always rescue Goldman.” All of this government aid belies the myth of Goldman as a collection of the smartest cats in the world. All of this stuff sounds complicated, but when you get right down to it, it isn’t. Ask yourself how hard it would be for you to make money if someone fronted you a billion free dollars a week, and you get a rough idea of how Goldman’s relationship to the government pays off. “It takes skill to borrow money at three percent and lend it at five and make a profit,” says Peter Morici, a professor at the University of Maryland. “It takes less skill to borrow at two
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