COMMENTARY
I guess Goldman Sachs is standing by its principles!

The idea that this icon of Wall Street and the 1% should be seen to be doing anything of value for the Occupy Wall Street community and its associated 99% is obviously an oxymoron.

The sad thing is that though Goldman Sachs is no expert in public relations ... it still has a tight hold on the reins of power, so don't expect the monster to change its behavior yet awhile. But it will, in due time!
Peter Burgess

Goldman Sachs Sends Its Regrets to This Awkward Dinner Invitation ... Bank Withdraws From Fund-Raiser After 'Occupy Wall Street' Gets Place at Table

IMAGE A demonstrator affiliated with Occupy Wall Street carries a sign during a rally in New York on Oct. 15.

Earlier this month, hundreds of New Yorkers received an unusual dinner invitation from the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union.

The Credit Union, a small lender serving New York's poor, was holding a fund-raiser to celebrate its 25th anniversary. Among the chief sponsors listed on the invitation was Goldman Sachs Group Inc.

Among the honorees: 'Occupy Wall Street.'

They might as well have asked Marie Antoinette to dig into her purse to support Madame Defarge's knitting business.

Shortly after the invitation was sent out, Goldman withdrew its name from the dinner. It also pulled the plug on its $5,000 funding pledge.

The debate that ensued—between bankers and nonprofit chiefs, philanthropists and financiers—turned a modest fund-raising dinner into a heated battleground between Wall Street and the Occupy protestors, exposing contradictions on both sides.

IMAGE The public has every reason to be angry at what's going on in this country, and every reason to protest. But will the Occupy Wall Street movement succeed in changing anything? Don't count on it, Brett Arends says. Photo: AP.

On one side was Goldman Sachs, which told the credit union it didn't want its name or money used to celebrate a protest movement known for placards like 'Goldman Sachs is the work of the devil,' dinner organizers said. The investment bank's giant glass-and-steel headquarters tower is just blocks away from the protest headquarters in Manhattan's Zuccotti Park.

On the other side of the debate were several hosts and board members of the credit union, who said honoring the protesters is more important than the money from Goldman—even though the funds were slated to cover a quarter of the dinner's $20,000 cost.

'Their money was welcome, but not at the price of giving up what we believe in,' said Pablo DeFilippi, one of the dinner hosts and associate director of member development at the National Federal of Community Development Credit Unions. 'We lost their $5,000, but we have our principles.'

Linda Levy, CEO of the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union, declined comment saying 'I made promises to people about talking about this.'

Protesters take a lighter view: Pete Dutro, 36, of Brooklyn, chuckled when told about Goldman's withdrawal from the dinner, and said: 'Do you blame them?'

The spat began in late September. On Sept. 30, the Friends of Liberty Park—the unincorporated association of the Occupy Wall Street protest— opened an account at the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union to accept donations.

Mr. Dutro, who says he's on the Occupy Wall Street finance committee, said the protesters chose the credit union because 'it's a people's bank. It's not run by Wall Streeters.' Another protestor, who calls himself 'Mercury John' called the credit union 'an honest, good local bank.' The group later opened an account at Amalgamated Bank, which is closer and now has most of their cash. The group has about $450,000 in donations.

On Oct. 1, the credit union's board decided to make the protest part of the anniversary dinner, to be held on Nov. 3, to help raise $70,000. The decision touched off a fierce email exchange between members of the host committee.

Some said the decision to honor the protesters was inappropriate, since companies like Goldman supported the credit union. Goldman and other banks help to fund a nonprofit financial education program run by the credit union.

Other host members said Occupy Wall Street was perfectly in keeping with the values of the credit union, which serves low-income borrowers and preached the importance of 'grass roots' lending.

'Let's just say the opinions were strong,' said Mark Reed, a host committee member who runs the Contact Fund, a New York-based private investment fund that lends to nonprofits, including the credit union. 'It was one of those email exchanges that you talk about the next day at the office.'

Wall Street Journal reporters in New York, Chicago and Washington, DC asked a variety of protesters for their views on the Occupy movement.

Half of the 12 host members pulled their names from the invitation. A second round of invites, listing the remaining six hosts, went out this week. Tickets for the dinner, to be held at the Astor Center downtown, are $150 per person.

Capital One bank, which was also listed as a host member, withdrew its name but agreed to keep its $5,000 pledge to the event. Capital One said that it 'continues to support the Lower East Side People's Federal Credit Union's work in the community.'

Goldman withdrew both its name and money.

Gwen Robinson, the Goldman vice president who was listed on the host committee, declined to comment. People familiar with the discussions said Ms. Robinson and Goldman agreed it 'wasn't appropriate' for the company to link its name with the protests. Goldman continues to fund the credit union's financial education program.

Mr. Reed, who used to work in credit derivatives on Wall Street, said he decided to keep his name on the host list because 'this was about supporting the institution and their 25 years of good work.' Still, he said the debate exposed false stereotypes promoted by both sides of the Occupy Wall Street debate.

The protesters are wrong to label all bankers as 'evil' since Goldman and others support many charitable causes and programs for the poor, he said. At the same time, he added, bankers shouldn't be so offended by the protesters, since 'they've gone to great lengths to say they have no point.'

'My belief is that Goldman can coexist in the same spheres as the protesters,' Mr. Reed said. 'While they may be angry at each other, they're also part of the same world with the same problems that need solving.'