The Giant Pool of Money (short history of mortgage crisis)

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Submitted by dharmagirl on May 19, 2008 - 9:43am

This is an American Life (NPR) piece hosted by Ira Glass. It's fun, funky and informational.

It's about an hour long, but well worth a listen. Especially the story of the guy who went from bartending in Vegas to earning $75K-$100K PER MONTH in the mortgage biz...

http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.as...

Summary

355: The Giant Pool of Money

A special program about the housing crisis produced in a special collaboration with NPR news. We explain it all to you. What does the housing crisis have to do with the turmoil on Wall street? Why did banks make half-million dollar loans to people without jobs or income? And why is everyone talking so much about the 1930s? It all comes back to the Giant Pool of Money.

A shorter companion version of this story appeared on NPR's "All Things Considered."

Prologue.
Ira talks with NPR business and economics correspondent about two gatherings he attended. One at the Ritz Carlton and one at a community college in Brooklyn. The first was an awards dinner for finance professionals who created the mortgage based financial instruments that nearly brought down the global economic system. The other was a non-profit conference for people facing foreclosure. Ira explains that today's show lays out how the finance guys and the people facing foreclosure are connected by a chain of middlemen, and that together, they all brought about the current housing and credit crisis. (4 minutes)

Act One.

This American Life producer Alex Blumberg teams up with NPR's Adam Davidson for the entire hour to tell the story - the surprisingly entertaining story - of how the US got itself into a housing crisis. They talk to people who were actually working in the housing, banking, finance and mortgage industries, about what they thought during the boom times, and why the bust happened. And they explain that a lot of it has to do with the giant global pool of money. (31 minutes)

Song: "Hard Times," The Sex-o-Rama Soundtrack

Act Two.

Alex and Adam's story continues. (23 minutes)

Song: "Time Machine," Grand Funk Railroad

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dharmagirl - I started a
Submitted by jpinpb on May 19, 2008 - 11:03am.

dharmagirl - I started a thread the day I heard it:

http://piggington.com/asolutely_must_lis...

I thought it was a great show and explained it well and funny, too.

Sorry, jpinpb...I missed
Submitted by dharmagirl on May 19, 2008 - 11:06am.

Sorry, jpinpb...I missed your thread.

I love "This American Life" and Ira Glass. It's a fabulous and funny show that I try not to miss.

I think it makes it easy to understand how this mess was really just a gigantic, global pyramid scheme built on greed and avarice.

Aaaaarrrggggh....

Oh, yes. I love his shows.
Submitted by jpinpb on May 19, 2008 - 11:14am.

Oh, yes. I love his shows. Did you happen to go the movies when they were doing it live? I missed it. Did you catch any of the shows when he did them on HBO? I saw a few. They were pretty good. I like the radio shows better. I don't always have a chance to listen. But I think most of them are great. I figured likely there would be other Piggs cool and smart enough to have listened to it.

Listening to that show infuriated me, though. Made me more upset about a bailout.

OT: Did you happen to hear this show:

"Act Three. Babies Buying Babies.

Elna Baker reads her story about the time she worked at the giant toy store, FAO Schwartz. Her job was to sell these lifelike “newborns” which were displayed in a “nursery” inside the store. When the toys become the hot new present, they begin to fly off the shelves. When the white babies sell out, white parents are faced with a choice: will they go for an Asian, Latino, or African-American baby instead? What happens is so disturbing that Elna has a hard time even telling it. (16 minutes)"

http://www.thislife.org/Radio_Episode.as...

I don't know why, but that show got to me, funny and sad.

I was looking for the
Submitted by cooprider on May 19, 2008 - 3:26pm.

I was looking for the original post after finally listening to this. I thought it was fascinating, helpful to hear how this got so out of control, and how bad it really was.

The fact that from 2000-2006 the Global Pool of Money doubled is telling IMO of how much further housing and the finance world in general have to fall as things deleverage.

The Government/Fed have thrown just about everything they can at this and seem to have eased the blows.

For now.

That pool has a lot more pain coming and now Ben and Barney have little if nothing left to ease it.