Friday column: Such touching personal sacrifice

This story moved Monday:

“NEW YORK (AP) — Goldman Sachs Group Inc. CEO Lloyd Blankfein and six other top executives at the bank will not be receiving cash or stock bonuses for 2008, a spokesman said Sunday.

The decision was made by the seven executives themselves, said spokesman Lucas Van Praag …. The executives made the decision ‘because they think it's the right thing to do,’ Van Praag said.”

Now, the story didn’t mention that Goldman was under a bit of pressure, as it and eight other banks had recently accepted $125 billion from Uncle Sam, leading the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform to wonder how — in light of that taxpayer bailout — the banks could possibly justify billions of dollars in pay and bonuses.

Still, I’m certain the Goldman honchos are just doing “the right thing.” And I, for one, am quite moved by their sacrifice. For now the execs will have to live on their paltry base salaries of $600,000.

With luck, they remembered to sock away some of their past bonus money for these hard times. Last year, for instance, Blankfein (that's him in the photo) received a $70 million bonus. I hope he didn’t blow it all on the purchase of, say, a small Third World country.

My heart goes out to the Goldman execs, not only because of their reduced circumstances but because they’re inspirations to us regular folk, as are all the recent sports figures who’ve made sacrifices for the greater good — for purely humanitarian reasons, you understand. Surely you remember these stories from recent years:

— Jan. 11, 2008
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) — Marion Jones will voluntarily give up competing in the 2008 Olympic Games, she said Thursday in a phone call from a federal courthouse. “I think it best to give some younger girls the opportunity to shine,” she said, adding, apparently to someone in the room with her, “Do I get time off for good behavior?”

— Sept. 14, 2007
Boston (AP) — New England coach Bill Belichick said he would voluntarily stop surreptitiously taping his opponents’ signals for the “good of the game.” Said Belichick: “It’s just not fair what I’ve been doing, it’s just not right,” adding, apparently to someone in the room with him, “What $500,000 fine?”

— Dec. 10, 2007
ATLANTA (AP) — Michael Vick said today he would voluntarily give up playing quarterback for the Falcons, allowing the team to “move on” and find another signal caller. “I’ve caused them some embarrassment, so this is just the right thing to do. They don’t even have to pay me my salary,” said Vick, adding, apparently to someone in the room with him: “Officers, are those leg irons really necessary?”

Contact Jim Gordon at gjames43@msn.com.