A Very Public Resignation

I'm fascinated by the story of Greg Smith, who resigned very publicly this week from Goldman Sachs (one of the biggest Wall Street investment banks) because he could no longer in good conscience tolerate the in-house condescending attitude he witnessed toward investors. When he sent in his resignation email, he also sent a copy to the New York Times (NYT). NYT promptly printed it. Not surprisingly, Goldman Sachs is not amused. They were prompt in issuing disavowals and affirmations of their company's good faith policies, etc.

Comments following a separate NYT article on the matter take varied positions, but by far the majority hail Mr. Smith as a hero for standing up to Wall Street. He is, in effect, saying exactly what the Occupiers are saying--that an unchecked culture of greed exists inside Wall Street, and it's time those people are called to account and made to own up to their misdeeds and take their just punishment. Ordinary folks are suffering at their hands.

In 2008, when the nation's financial institutions were coming unglued at a frightening pace, Henry Paulsen, who was secretary of the US treasury, helped engineer the bailout of Goldman Sachs (and others), after having allowed Lehman Brothers to collapse without a bailout. The fact that Henry Paulsen was a former chairman and CEO at Goldman Sachs did not escape public notice. During all that turmoil, Greg Smith was working at Goldman Sachs (GS), and observing what was going on.

I'm pleased to hear what one person says who has known Smith from the time before he worked for GS. He describes him as a person of impeccable integrity. He began work at GS believing that his personal standards meshed perfectly with that of GS. He often bragged on GS as a wonderful place to work when he talked to prospective employees. At some point, however, he realized that he could no longer look these people in the eye and say what he had said honestly at first--that the company culture was compassionate and operated according to high ethical standards.

The implications of taking actions such as Smith's are still not entirely clear to me. Perhaps the mental disarray I feel right now will someday untangle itself enough to allow some coherent thinking and writing on the matter.

Alongside Smith's actions, I weigh the actions of the Old Testament prophetess Huldah, who we heard about on Wednesday evening in the study by Oren on the book of Nehemiah. I also consider what I know of authority structures outlined in Scripture, and what I know of living life with integrity, charity, and honesty. Smith is Jewish. I don't know how or whether he considers any of the issues I consider alongside his actions.

Does anyone who reads this have an impression to share on how you would untangle matters like this? Maybe you have an observation, even if it's not all clear to you.