No wonder it's called "Government Sachs."

It seems that every few weeks, another Goldman Sachs executive goes to work for a government agency, with bankers landing in positions of power at the Treasury Department, the Federal Reserve, and pulling the levers of the massive trillion-dollar federal bailout.

At the same time, the bank, which announced on Tuesday that it was hiring former Securities and Exchange Commission Chairman Arthur Levitt, has received $10 billion in TARP funds.

This dual role - with former Goldman executives directing the financial rescue even as the bank took TARP funds - has aroused concern about potential conflicts of interest and excessive influence.

Goldman Sachs is "a political organization masquerading as an investment bank, and they're sitting at the table with the top people in government," says Goldman critic Christopher Whalen, the managing director of Institutional Risk Analytics, which rates banks and provides customer analytics. He calls Goldman "the most political firm on Wall Street."

Examples include former Goldman exec Henry Paulson, who led the Treasury Department when the bailout was first formulated last September, and who appointed former Goldman vice president Neel Kashkhari to oversee the massive $700 billion TARP fund. There is also the current Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner, who installed a circle of former Goldman bankers to help him navigate the country through the financial crisis.

The firm certainly knows how to work the corridors of power: Goldman's employees contributed more - $980,945 - to Barack Obama's presidential campaign than any other company.

And Goldman has more than 30 ex-government officials working as registered lobbyists on staff, including former House Majority Leader Richard Gephardt (D-Mo.) to represent its interests on issues related to TARP, according to Mother Jones.

Both admirers and detractors assert that Goldman's influence has only grown and that it has not always served the best interests of the government.

"People at Goldman are now at a much higher, much more visible level in government," says former Goldman vice president Lisa J. Endlich, who wrote "Goldman Sachs: The Culture Of Success".

Endlich thinks that the bigger issue, beyond Goldman, is the influence of Wall Street in the corridors of power. "They are all from the same world - whether it's Morgan Stanley or Goldman filling Treasury or the Fed with people with very similar world views."

Endlich says that the financial agencies used to be staffed by people from industry and academics, along with bankers. Given the widening gap between the salaries of Wall Street and Main Street in recent decades, the concentration of bankers at federal agencies means that they may be a little out of touch with the concerns of working people and businesses.

"There's a bit of a love affair with Wall Street," says Endlich, explaining that much of that is due to the complexity of financial instruments, from credit-default swaps to derivatives, now prevalent in the financial industry. "It's gotten so complete that we seem to only trust those who have worked in that world."

Whalen says that the firm has been adept at using their influence in Washington, D.C. to serve their own interests. "Getting the info before anyone else does and acting on it," he says, claiming that legendary Goldman chairman Sidney Weinberg used to sit in the office of Time magazine editor Henry Luce to soak up the latest tidbits of information.

Whalen claims that the firm was suffering in November and December, until they started "embedding themselves in this administration... When you saw the stock turn, it showed that they had established themselves sufficiently.. Their political stars were in alignment."

"Liar's Poker" author Michael Lewis claimed that Goldman's influence has a deep impact on the country's fiscal policy, especially during this financial crisis, during an interview with CNN's Fareed Zakaria on June 7:

And it is amazing to me the degree to which, say, Goldman Sachs is intertwined with the Treasury, and how they're -- there don't seem to be any independent voices in the thick of the decision-making. The decision-making is all being done by people who one way or another might expect to make a lot of money from Goldman Sachs in the future.

But Endlich asserts that there's a much more benign motives behind Goldman's revolving door: public service. Going back to Weinberg, who took a leave of absence to run FDR's war production board during World War II, she says that the firm has always emphasized taking a greater involvement in the community and contributing to charities.

Recalling her interviews with current New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, Endlich noted that the firm always admired those who worked in public service. "Once you've reached the pinnacle of the business world, what else are you going to do? It's part of the DNA."

The firm itself likes to tout its legacy of public service - the 2005 annual report noted: "Goldman Sachs has a long tradition of public service. Many of our people have gone on to significant positions in government and the not-for-profit sector and their achievements are a source of pride for all of us."

The firm dismisses Lewis' comments and concerns about undue influence as "conspiracy theory gone mad."

Goldman spokesman Lucas van Praag argues that the firm is actually disadvantaged by having so many alumni in powerful positions.

"What benefit do we get from all these supposed connections?" he asks, in an interview with Huffington Post. "I would say we were disadvantaged from having so many alumni in important positions. Not only are we criticized - sticks and stones may break my bones but words do hurt, they really do - but we also didn't get a look-in when Bear Stearns was being sold and with Washington Mutual. We were runner-ups in the auction for IndyMac, in the losing group for BankUnited. If all these connections are supposed to swing things our way, there's just one bit missing in the equation."

Van Praag adds that government agencies have bent over backwards to avoid any perception of impropriety, explaining that when the firm's executives would meet with then-Treasury Secretary Paulson, "it was impossible to have a conversation with him without it being chaperoned by the general counsel of Treasury."

Take a look at this relationship map charting the revolving door between Goldman Sachs and the government: