Hillary Clinton Speech to Goldman Sachs – 10.23.15

Transcript from Audio Excerpt

Thank you, Tim. Thank you for having me here and thank you so much for your very kind remarks.

Good evening, everyone. It really is a pleasure to speak with you all today on this lovely fall evening...

...Frankly, as kind as Tim was to call me “brave” in my being here with you tonight, I have to admit, I don't view it the same way. You see, I have the luxury of not being on the front lines. I get to advise. Right? I get to eat this amazing food with you and make speeches and chat with you and add my opinions.

But...while I've never been accused of having too little chutzpah...I would argue that it's all of you out there who are the brave ones. It's you who hold the responsibility of the United States' economy in your hands. Not the lawmakers or economists or the media. They're not in the trenches every day competing in a fierce global marketplace. It's you who, against the whims of the market, stand or fall based on your intellect and dedication. The risks can be high. The pressure, fierce.

You know...there are very few people out there who will ever truly understand what it is the men and women in the financial industry accomplish on a day-to-day basis. Very few people in this world could possibly understand the intricacies or the demands that you encounter every day in your jobs.

And that's fine. You know? Not everyone is capable or wants to see the sausage being made. But someone's got to make it...even when they may sometimes be perceived as, “the bad guy.”

Mistakes happen. A few of you decided to take the same risks I cautioned against in the past, and failed. And, as much as I hate saying, “I told you so” the resulting crisis was enough to sour public perception on the financial services sector. It didn't seem to matter that it was a relatively few individuals within the industry who participated in this risky behavior, nor did it seem to matter that much of the ensuing crisis resulted from the financially irresponsible actions of a vast number of citizens.