Speaking of Goldman Sachs, this is what a Slate columnist concludes: "The former undisputed heavyweight champion of the financial services sector has become one of New York 's biggest welfare queens." Frankly, there are likely other banks that are even bigger queens--Citigroup and Bank of America come to mind.

The article does us all a favor by reminding us of the many ways in which banks benefit from government programs: There's the TARP funds, then there's the FDIC guarantees on unsecured debt that have allowed Goldman to raise funds cheaply, and there's the taxpayer money given to AIG to pay off counterparties, including Goldman Sachs. Other banks also benefit from the expanded guarantees on consumer deposits, the TALF and other programs. Welfare has never been so complex. 

For more:
- here's the article

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