If you haven't yet read the 500,000 articles saying as much, Goldman Sachs is having a bang-up year. They bet against the subprime market and won, they reported record profits today, and even though year-end bonuses are expected to be (relatively) small across Wall Street, Goldman employees are expected to rake in an average of $600,000 each. "They're the top of the heap," Harvard Business School professor Samuel Hayes tells Reuters. "Their success is eye-popping. Their latest record earnings in the face of big losses taken by most of the other investment banks is impressive in itself." And yet. Something feels wrong. To paraphrase the words of sage Britney Spears: Goldman is so lucky, they're a star, but they cry, cry, cry in their lonely hearts. Why do these tears come at night? Because with success has come scrutiny, not just from columnists like Ben Stein and the Post's John Crudele, but from Chris Dodd and the SEC. Why are these meanies trying to undermine Goldman's success? They're jealous. "It inspires a lot of envy," Hayes told Reuters. "There's a lot of resentment." But is that really all it is? We've heard this story before, and we know how it ends: The world is spinning, and Goldman keeps on winning. But tell us what happens when it stops?

Goldman Success Brings Unwanted Attention [Reuters]