The Doomsday Machine

Over the last half century, our government has been increasing in size. Hamilton might say this is good in terms of centralized government but he also noted that humans are weak and tempted, especially those who are motivated by their own self-interest. The enormous size of government makes opportunities for corruption. By reducing the size of our government, we are cutting spending and overall reducing our national debt issues. One of the issues that our government had created was the housing bubble. Between 2002-2007, the government created new programs under Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac that guaranteed lenders their money back. This was an ultimate opportunity for bankers to take greater risks than ever before. They can keep their profits if it goes according to plan. But if not, the government would step in and bail them out. The current National Debt level is $18T and rising. Year after year, our government has been spending more than what we can afford. Abide by the Constitution of the United States, we can help reduce the overall size of the government. Smaller and smarter government means lower taxes thus creating an environment for small businesses to develop and

A Colossal Failure of Common Sense was one of many books to be published in the aftermath of the Financial Crisis of 2007. After seeing the global economy stall in the face of massive losses in word financial markets, many Americans sought to better understand the crisis and its causes. This book, written from the perspective of a financial market insider, provides a glimpse into the world of global finance and also seeks to explain how the players in this world were involved in the crisis. In the words of the author Lawrence McDonald, “My objective in writing A Colossal Failure of Common Sense was twofold. First, to provide … a close-up, inside view of how markets really work…..And, second, to give… as crystal clear an explanation as possible about the real reasons why the legendary Lehman Brothers met with such a swift end”1. By writing about his personal experience at Lehman Brothers and recounting stories from within the famous investment banking firm, Mr. McDonald largely succeeds at his first goal. However, the elements of personal biography and the chronological order of the book make it difficult for the reader to fully appreciate all of the varied causes of the financial crash. I believe that the main value of reading this book is in understanding these causes, with Lehman Brothers acting as a microcosm of the greater financial universe. As such, in this review I have isolated elements from Mr. McDonald’s book which highlight how the crisis

However, it is clear that these unethical practices served as catalyzers of the financial crisis. Even though many financial institutions that could be held responsible for the 2008 crisis no longer exist and that legislation, as the Dodd-Frank, has been passed in order to further regulate financial institutions, many of the institutions responsible for the crisis are still in the core of the economy, controlling a very big part of it. It might be impossible for the general public to fight against a possible future recession, as the power of an individual is close to insignificant in comparison to the power of an established financial

In Frontline’s The Meltdown, the causes of the stock market crash of 2008 came into discussion. The topics regarding Bear Stearns, the Lehman Brothers’ and their collapse, and the huge bailout made in results to the market crash. There were great points being made on the mistakes Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke did not view from their perspective, which in turns were the problems that made up the crash.

The united states is currently the proprietor of nearly nineteen trillion dollars in debt, and that number continues to increase to by 2.53 billion per day. With close to three hundred million people in the united states each shared citizen’s debt would be around sixty-one thousand dollars. (debt calculator website). In 2008 at the end of the George bush administration the country was said to be in the worst economic recession since the great depression. The current president of the united states, Barack Obama and his administration proposed a bill to congress in 2009, that was believed to assist in the prevention of another recession. This bill was titled “The Dodd Frank initiative and consumer protection act.” It was named after the two legislators who created it, Chis Dodd and Barney Frank. This initiative was, and continues to be, considered a “massive” piece of legislation. (quote). Although introduced, It did not pass in congress until July 21, 2010. In addition to assisting with the economy, this act was created to help insure that consumers would not be easily taken advantage of by major financial agencies and corporations. All of us, no matter age, gender, or financial status are consumers. This act has put checks and balances in place that will protect all families from making financial decision that might cripple them into a situation that may make it impossible to get out

“Lehman Collapse Sends Shockwave around the World” Reads the British newspaper, The Times, as the world sinks further into the recession in September 2008. The housing collapse was orchestrated and perpetrated by a system created by investment banks to allow them to make money, by keep the American people in debt, even when the banks knew the loans would default. The investing banking system was left unchecked by the United States government because it did not have the regulations as did the depository banks. There was immoral investing in people’s retirement, pensions, and homes where it created at housing collapse, in which thousands of people over paid in their subprime loans and lost their homes in the process. The federal Reserve is a very selfish and heartless entity in America that has had powerful influence in American politics for decades. The Federal Reserve must be dissolved and succeeded by a federalized entity that has no obligation to any investors. It must contain checks and balances to create a fair playing field. It must not benefit one group of people, but the nation as a whole. Finally, the new banking structure must be solid to keep necessities at steady prices, and must not work on speculation. Prior to “the Fed”, two previous central banking systems were in place, but were limited on how long they influenced (both twenty years) their interest in government, and twice, both banking system were not allowed renewal because many political figures,

Many Americans today are aware that the United States is in debt, however, some may not realize by how much. Currently, the United States National Debt is up to 18 trillion dollars and is steadily increasing. This is a serious problem for the U.S., especially for millennials, who are going to be the ones living and dealing with the debt left behind for them. Increased spending, borrowing from China, and interest on the money borrowed are setting up our economy for an eventual crash, one that the upcoming generation may not be prepared for. Every dollar that accumulates into the debt will have to be repaid with interest at some point, making it harder to pay back. To gain a better understanding of how the U.S. dug itself into such a deep hole, one should start at the beginning of where the debt started.

The banks want to continue making money, which results in a higher debt. If the loan that the bank hands out is not able to be paid back by the customer the bank will place an even higher interest rate so they will not lose money of the deal. If the economy can not keep up with the debt then the people will suffer. If debt is what the money system needs then there will never be a time where people are not chasing after it.

With the United States only now beginning to recover from the throes of the Great Recession, the good American worker (armed with nightmarish memories of mass unemployment and bankruptcy) generally views large amounts of debt in a negative light, with television pundits regularly criticizing the federal government for the $18 trillion of national debt. Entire generations of Americans have been conditioned to view debtors as moochers and failures, unwilling to work hard in order to earn their own money. This negative opinion of debt is further compounded with the historic negative effects of debt: complete loss of assets, homelessness, and bankruptcy. However, contrary to public opinion, the national debt—and, in fact, all debts—will act

The Big Short is a movie that discusses the housing market crash in 2008. As you may know, the banks, the mortgage brokers, and the consumers were all affected by this collapse. On each level of the system, there were things that went wrong and that could have been changed that could have prevented the failure of the housing market.

Two events or portrayals happened: (1) As of my research one of the accurate portrayal or scene in the film in terms of the market is that all men had pin-point the problem about the mortgage securities, particularly the inflation risk of subprime market. It is also accurate, many people including the chairman of the Federal Reserve do not agree to the housing market bubble. (2) The portrayals of the characters are very much accurate to the real character based on the true story. Like Burry who was really a stock market investor at the Scion Capital. Mark Baum a portrayal of Steve Eisman. Jared Vennett who was a portrayal of Greg Lippman and other men major characters. They were a truly and accurately a portrayal of the true business men in

When the ‘The Big Short’ secured the Best Adapted Screenplay Oscar at this year’s Academy Awards it was clear that Michael Lewis’ pivotal book on the financial crash of 2008, had resonated with both film and book audiences. The triumph of Lewis’ investigative book is that it got the scoop on a saga that financial journalists, regulators and political authorities failed to uncover.

One of the topics I found most interesting in this book was the differences between the stock market and the bond market that Michael Lewis to some extent explains in the beginning of chapter three. While the stock market was intensely regulated and mostly transparent, the bond market consisted of primarily large institutions and escaped serious regulation. This lack of legislative control played a great part in allowing the credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds, CDO’s, and the eventual collapse of the subprime market. Following the subprime mortgage crisis, the Department of the Treasury released a new regulatory plan, The Department of the Treasury Blueprint for a Modernized Financial Regulatory

Markets are places which people come together to trade stuffs, and stock market is an exchange where investors come together to buy and sell shares of publicly-treaded companies. (“The Financial Importance of the US Stock Market”) It’s good for our society in a great many ways, but it also can be harmful since people’s desire of money are fully exhibited in stock market. The Great Crash, happened in 1929, was not the event of one day but a series of events stretched initially across the week from October 23 through October 31. (Klein 326) This crisis had seriously impacted the U.S. by losing nearly 90 percent of the value of the stock market at that time. (Bierman) However, different from other events happened in the history, both government and normal people tended to blame the speculators at that time and avoid further investigations of it, but is the cause

The movie was an overview of the life of a quirky doctor, Michael Burry, who analyzed the mortgage practices and exposed the fraud of subprime mortgages that allowed people with shaky credit to borrow money. The movie also highlighted two other investors in Burry’s theory, Mark Baum’s group and Charlie Geller, that invested millions to gamble against home loans and short the market by buying credit defaults. All of these people made billions of dollars by betting against the economy, but all three groups realized they were betting for a failing economy. Their win was the world's loss, leading into something similar to the Great Depression of 1929 when millions lost their jobs and were no longer able to keep up with their mortgage.