Saturday, February 28, 2009

Financial Crisis, simplified



I just heard a fantastic episode of This American Life on NPR that was absolutely the best explanation that I've heard of our current financial crisis. As someone who knows next to nothing about economics or finance, I felt like I really understood what was going on after listening to this show. Unfortunately, it was also extremely alarming, as the "Wizard of Wharton," a business school professor, explains that the last time our cumulative debt equaled GNP, as it did in 2007, was in 1929. "Bad Bank" episode of This American Life. 30 second promo here

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

I heard this story too - I really liked it (and it scared the hell out of me).

Lisa Paul said...

Another good source for clarification on all things economic is Robert Reich -- a former Clintonista, an Obama advisor and professor at Berkeley. He's a little more optimistic or at least he tries to stress that we aren't going to be knocked back to the Dark Ages and the barter system just yet.


Catch him on Keith Olberman and Rachel Maddow on MSNBC where he's a frequent commentator.

p.s. Found you through March's NaBloPoMo.

crabbyanne said...

Thanks, Blue State Cowgirl, for the tip on Robert Reich. I've seen him interviewed quite a bit and he does always seem like a voice of sanity. I must watch MSNBC more.