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Analysis Of The Documentary The Untouchables

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PBS Frontline Documentary “The Untouchables” The PBS Frontline Documentary, “The Untouchables” produced by Martin Smith details how those responsible for the 2008 financial crisis, caused by the failing of multiple mortgage backed securities that were fraudulently cobbled together with very lax oversight, were never criminally indicted for their actions. Part of the explanation from the Justice Department was that they were afraid that aggressively pursuing the presidents and vice-presidents of the banks involved in the fraudulent mortgage backed securities would make the banking industry even more unstable. This was something that they were very reluctant to risk, since so many banks were already beginning to close. In the documentary,…show more content…
I appreciate that the banking sector is vital to the strong health and growth of our nation’s economy and directly affects each of us, however, many of these financial institutions took the funds and immediately paid out senior executive bonuses instead of using the money to back loans to the public. These executive bonuses were public record and created a massive outcry from the taxpayers, but even this seemingly greedy use of power was overlooked by the federal and state governments. Another reason that prosecuting officers of corporations is fundamentally difficult is because a corporation is considered legally an entity or “person” in itself. As such, the corporation as a whole, commits the crime but you cannot really lock up a corporation. However, if you can pinpoint gross financial wrong doing, what is referred to as “white collar” crime, being done by a specific officer of a corporation, then that individual may be prosecuted for his or her actions. Furthermore, every corporation is chartered to make profits for shareholders, whether they be stockholders, employees, suppliers, or any other bone-fid person with a stake in the success of the corporation. So, were the officers and employees committing a crime, or being greedy with regards
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