Monday, September 29, 2008

Background on the Financial Crisis

For anyone who needs some background on the current financial crisis – and why I'm so convinced that this "bailout" is bailing all of us out – please check out these stories from NPR.

The first show was produced by This American Life back in May: The Giant Pool of Money. It explains where all the money for these mortgage backed securities came from, and why it's so scary that it's now all dried up.

The next story was produced more recently. An abridged version of a story explaining why our system has suddenly become so fragile was broadcast by All Things Considered earlier this week, and a fuller version of the show will be broadcast on This American Life later this week as Another Frightening Show About the Economy.

These shows should be mandatory listening for anyone who even thinks about calling their congressional representative to complain about the bailout package.

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