Goldman is about to bring a whole new meaning to the term "planned giving."
In light of the ongoing brouhaha about bonuses, the bank is considering a program to force all of its executives and top managers to give a certain portion of their earnings to charity. The concept is similar to a program that used to be instituted at Bear Stearns, where 1,000 top workers gave 4% of their pay to charity. Tax returns were then checked to make sure no one lied.
Goldman, of course, is trying to figure out whether the public would be mollified by such a gesture. After months of being dubbed the spawn of Satan (or Vampire Squid -- whichever), the firm is probably ready for the public to forgive and forget. Couldn't hurt employee morale, anyway.