Frontline: Inside the Meltdown
by Michael Kirk
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DVD details
Actor: Jim GilmoreDirector: Michael Kirk
Brand: PBS
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, DVD, NTSC
Picture Format: 1.33:1
Running Time: 60 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2009-05-12
Audience Rating: NR (Not Rated)
Studio: PBS
DVD Reviews of Frontline: Inside the Meltdown
DVD Review: Not to be Missed
Summary: 5 Stars
September 18, 2008 the Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson and Ben Bernanke arrived in the capital for an emergency meeting. They had already bailed out one bank, allowed another one to fail, and nationalized three of the nation's largest companies. Senior legislators were told that unless they were given 700 million dollars immediately there would be no economy the following Monday. That was Thursday. This is the start of Frontline's: Inside the Meltdown.
Frontline covers the gathering economic recession that became evident in the spring of 2008 and the actions and reactions of the Secretary of the Treasury and the Federal Reserve. It was the fall of dominos starting with Bear Stearns which had billions of dollars in what came to be known as toxic assets of mortgage securities and credit default swaps. Paulson, a long-time believer in free market economics found himself challenged to let the market chips fall where they may, or stave of economic panic with federal subsidies. He goes with the latter.
But Paulson's nightmare is not over with. Next is the privately run and owned Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, two of the largest mortgage lenders. Paulson finds himself in the dubious position of once again staving off disaster by nationalizing both companies. Before he can fathom the intervention he has always shunned, he finds a new disaster cropping up in Lehman Brothers. This time he follows his principle of "moral hazard." That is to let the company fail from its own mismanagement. He does, and the reverberations are not only felt nationally but around the world.
As the bell sounds twice, thou shalt deny free market capitalism thrice to paraphrase the Bible, and Paulson is becoming big in denial of lifelong beliefs. A.I.G. the largest insurance company in the world never expected a company like Lehman to fail or be allowed to fail. They hold credit default swaps that guarantee the toxic assets of the Lehman, and now they are on the hook for its collapse--only they don't have the capital to honor their commitments. Paulson now realizes that his decision to allow Lehman's demise is about to trigger global recession, and he will preside over the greatest depression in history, unless he does something--again.
Only Paulson's attempt to get help from the Congress backfires as his own Republican colleagues there kill the bill. The last ingredient for the disaster recipe is complete. Ireland has financial woes. Iceland goes bankrupt. Great Britain begins bailing out banks. His only remedy left is inserted in a bill that most conservative congressman miss, an injection of capital from the federal government. Paulson, a life-long capitalist comes full circle becoming one of the most interventionist Treasury Secretaries in history.
He summons the bankers and tells them the government will lend them money to loan out to cash-strapped insitutions. In effect, the government will become part owner in the nine biggest banks in the country. While the bankers balk, he tells them it is not negotiable. He is not asking; he is telling. They will sign a paper agreeing to the commissions before they leave New York that evening. A cool 150 billion in bailout money is on its through the economy. Paulson's last resort, capital injection, an act he personally abhors is initiated.
This program aired one month after Obama replaced Paulson with Tim Geitner at Treasury. It ends telling us that 350 billion was pumped into the economy and only time will tell how much more will be needed and if it will be enough.
It turns out, it wasn't.
Also recommended:
The Financial Crisis Inquiry Report, Authorized Edition: Final Report of the National Commission on the Causes of the Financial and Economic Crisis in the United States
The Looting of America: How Wall Street's Game of Fantasy Finance Destroyed Our Jobs, Pensions, and Prosperity--and What We Can Do About It One of the best books on the economic collapse and crisis. Very informative read.
Free Lunch: How the Wealthiest Americans Enrich Themselves at Government Expense (and Stick You with the Bill) This is an outstanding presentation how we have moved from a democracy to a plutocracy in a few decades. This is not to be missed.
Frontline: Breaking the Bank One of the first clues of the coming economic debacle.
Frontline: The Warning Or what I would like to think is Brooksley Born's "I told you so." Fifty-two minutes of pure information and entertainment.
Description of Frontline: Inside the Meltdown
FRONTLINE investigates the causes of the worst economic crisis in 70 years and how the government responded. The film chronicles the inside stories of the Bear Stearns deal, Lehman Brothers collapse, the propping up of insurance giant AIG and the $700 billion bailout. It also examines what Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke didn't see, couldn't stop and haven't been able to fix.Bestsellers in DVD
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