Shareholders to Vote on Resolution Calling on Goldman Sachs to Adhere to U.S. Economic Security
Shareholders will vote on a bylaw amendment calling for adherence to U.S. economic security at Goldman Sachs annual meeting in New York City on Friday, May 8, 2009. The resolution, introduced by Harrington Investments, would create a board committee to insure that Goldman Sachs' financial policies are consistent with the economic security of the United States.
Napa, CA (PRWEB) May 6, 2009 -- Harrington Investments, Inc. (HII), a Napa, California-based socially responsible investment advisory firm, has been successful in placing a major bylaw amendment on U.S. economic security before Goldman Sachs shareholders. The vote on the amendment will take place at Goldman Sachs annual meeting on Friday, May 8, 2009 in New York City.
"This resolution will be the first in the country to call upon the owners of a major financial institution that has received taxpayer bailout funds to create a board committee to pledge support for U.S. economic security," said John Harrington, President and CEO of HII, "Goldman Sachs has received a $10 billion bailout, $22 billion in bond guarantees, FDIC insurance, and is eligible for cheap money from the Federal Reserve, and all the while denying any responsibility to safeguard our country's economic future."
Harrington's resolution will amend the company's bylaws to create a board committee on U.S. economic security to create a fiduciary standard that insures that Goldman Sachs' financial policies are consistent with the economic security of the United States. The Goldman Sachs board of directors voted unanimously to oppose the resolution.
Goldman Sachs, after receiving taxpayer funds of $10b along with other major banks, including Bank of America and Citigroup, has suggested that they will repay the loan in an effort to end government restrictions on executive compensation, which was linked to the bailout. Lloyd Blankfein, Goldman's chief executive, was paid $68.5 million in 2007, and 953 Goldman employees - nearly one in 30 - were paid in excess of $1 million each. Goldman's compensation and benefits for its employees in the first quarter of 2009 totaled $4.71b, or about $168,829 per employee.
"Simply put, taxpayers are subsidizing welfare for the rich at Goldman. This is the very corporation that created and traded credit default swaps and other exotic derivatives which over-leveraged and blew up the economy in the first place. They only believe in the morality of materialistic self-interest and have no interest in safeguarding our country's economic security," Harrington concluded.
The supporting statement for the bylaw amendment said, in part:
"The financial system's weakness that precipitated this taxpayer effort to stabilize the U.S. financial system was the result of years of irresponsible lending and business practices across the U.S. economy, including speculative derivative trading and a general lack of management and board oversight.
There can be no doubt that our company's financial integrity is interdependent with a strong and secure U.S. economy . . . the time has come for shareholders and members of the public to inquire further of our management and board to insure that these recent events are not repeated and that the investment by the U.S. taxpayers brings reciprocal benefit to the U.S. economy."
About Harrington Investments, Inc
Harrington Investments, Inc (HII) is a Napa based registered investment advisor and has been a leader in socially responsible investing and shareholder advocacy for over 25 years. John Harrington, president of HII, has been in the SRI field for over 37 years, founding Working assets Money Fund, Progressive Asset Management, Waterhealth International, Global Partners LLC, Community Commercial Ventures, LLC and several other socially and environmentally-oriented companies. More information is available at
http://www.harringtoninvestments.com.
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