From a telescope on the 10th floor of its Washington office at 101 Constitution Avenue, Goldman Sachs staff can look straight into the dome of the Capitol, legislative hub of the US government.
This privileged perch of the most powerful player in global finance is decorated in neutral tones, enlivened by a couple of ornamental weather vanes. But if Goldman executives wanted to know which way the wind was blowing this week, they would have had to look earthward – to the gaggle of protesters gathered outside.
Organised by the SEIU trade union, the demonstrators attacked Goldman for its unusually close ties to government – its alumni include former Treasury secretaries, senior White House staff and regulators around the world – and for reaping huge profits and doling out billions of dollars in pay at a time when more than one in 10 Americans is unemployed.