In an op-ed in yesterday’s Wall Street Journal, Goldman Sachs’ Lloyd Blankfein (above) seems to be hoping he’ll one day hold a big government position. (Bloomberg)
President Obama got a surprising new booster: Lloyd Blankfein.
The head of Goldman Sachs, who has maintained a relatively chilly relationship with the White House, expressed support of raising taxes on the super rich in an op-ed in The Wall Street Journal yesterday.
“I believe that tax increases, especially for the wealthiest, are appropriate,” Blankfein wrote in his 1,000-plus-word column entitled “The Business Plan for American Revival.”
He added that raising taxes needed to be coupled with “serious” cuts to discretionary spending and entitlements.
Blankfein’s written support comes 48 hours before Congress begins discussions on the so-called fiscal cliff, when Bush-era tax cuts are due to expire at year-end.
It also comes as Wall Street is getting the cold-shoulder treatment and bracing for tougher regulatory rules under Dodd-Frank that may impede profits.
Indeed, Obama met with several titans of business, including General Electric CEO Jeff Immelt, to discuss economic threats posed by the fiscal cliff, but snubbed the banking heads like JPMorgan Chase’s Jamie Dimon and Blankfein.
Not traditionally as public as Dimon, Blankfein is now sharing his viewpoints about policy inside and outside of the banking industry in the hopes of restoring Wall Street-to-Washington job connections.
“Their experience is a virtue, not a vice, and should be encouraged in the years ahead,” he wrote yesterday.
That’s a stark change for the 58-year-old banking titan and a firm that is attempting to shed the perception of being Wall Street fat cats, or, worse vampire squids.
“Lloyd is stepping up and trying to become a spokesperson for the industry,” said Richard Bove, analyst at Rochdale Securities.
The new banking rules have forced Goldman to shrink its staff, and yesterday the bank elevated 70 execs to the coveted title of partner — 36 percent fewer than in 2010. Jake Siewert, its chief spokesman, did not make the grade.