A $2.95 lesson for Wall Street

[cnn-photo-caption image=http://i2.cdn.turner.com/cnn/2009/images/06/22/art.goldman.jpg caption="The public's wariness of Wall Street is growing, with Goldman Sachs being accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission."]

Bob Greene
CNN Contributor

I wish the titans of Wall Street could meet Mark Dalton.

Not that it would be likely to change anything. But I wish the leaders of Goldman Sachs and of the other big banking firms could talk to Mark Dalton for just a few minutes.

They might learn a few things about how to better connect with the American people.

I didn't know Dalton's last name until a few days ago. For almost two years, I've held onto something he mailed to me. There was no reason not to throw it out, yet I had a feeling that someday I'd want to refer to it.

That day is now. With the public's wariness of Wall Street growing, with Goldman Sachs being accused of fraud by the Securities and Exchange Commission (even as Goldman was announcing first-quarter profits of $3.46 billion, nearly twice as much as in the first quarter a year ago), with investors wondering if they're being given a fair shake by the firms to which they have entrusted their money, Mark Dalton's way of doing business might be worthy of at least a moment's attention.

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