The Senate’s permanent subcommittee on investigation questioned a group of Goldman Sachs executives including the firm’s CEO Lloyd Blankfein this week. Sadly, the outcome was quite predictable. The committee’s members chose grandstanding as opposed to an educated discourse. Goldman’s executives didn’t appear to be very cooperative, but the committee’s aggressive posture gave them no incentives to do so. Blankfein tried to defend his company’s actions, but it was clear that him and chairman Carl Levin had a fundamental disagreement over the subject of ethical behavior. This fundamental difference will frame the debate over who should be blamed for the financial crisis. More >