Overdose - The Next Financial Crisis

[Errol]

A new documentary on the causes and consequences of the US financial crisis has been making waves. "Overdose: The Next Financial Crisis" was produced by a team of filmmakers led by prominent Swedish libertarians Jonah Norberg and Martin Borgs.

The film has been broadcast in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Denmark and Australia - and won the prestigious 'Best Feature Documentary' award at the San Francisco Frozen Film Festival. Since the film debuted on the popular television series Four Corners on Australia's public broadcaster ABC, it has incited a bit of an uproar among left-wing journalists.

The film relies heavily on interviews with Euro Pacific's Peter Schiff, as well as a former US Comptroller General, a former Chief Economist at Freddie Mac, Economic Nobel Laureate Vernon Smith, and others. It's a very interesting group that presents different perspectives on the factors that led to the credit crunch and where we are headed from here. Each one is realistic about the United States' grave fiscal situation.

The Trailer:

To dispel the myth that capitalism caused the crisis, the producers have decided to make the 45-minute film free to watch online, in full, for a limited time:

[Renny]

Beat me to it Errol - excellent video

[Errol]

Yes, essential viewing I think.

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

Yes, essential viewing I think.

yep

i dont think they should have put on the twin towers though - what about the third tower

[bajista]

yep

i dont think they should have put on the twin towers though - what about the third tower

I think it misleading to start in 2001 anyway. The real problems date back to 1970s and 1980s and even to policies and mind-sets that started in the 1950s.

There is another video that could be made that demonstrates the fallacy of the Ameican dream and how so called growth had been dependent on the rate of increase in credit for decades.

[Errol]

The real problems date back to 1970s

Indeed. The Nixon closure of the gold window was one of the main factors.

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

Indeed. The Nixon closure of the gold window was one of the main factors.

thats when it accelerated

the problems go much further back than that

[Errol]

thats when it accelerated

the problems go much further back than that

Yes, I would agree. It's amazing how badly world economic affairs have been managed really, when you think about it.

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

thats when it accelerated

the problems go much further back than that

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

Yes, I would agree. It's amazing how badly world economic affairs have been managed really, when you think about it.

who benefits from the bad management

[Traktion]

Great film!

How long with this farce continue for?

[okaycuckoo]

I notice Schiff is sitting in front of a poster with the word Austria.

[Errol]

I love the hotdog in the Hamptons that cost $18. $18!

[Georgia O'Keeffe]

I notice Schiff is sitting in front of a poster with the word Austria.

yes i noticed that, about as subtle as a

[goldilocksporridge]

Overdose the next financial Crisis

[goldilocksporridge]

Overdose the next financial Crisis

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

yes i noticed that, about as subtle as a

not to some CEO's

ive gotta be able to make some money the world is full of idiots

link

Tom Woods spoke last night at the UConn School of Business, opposite Tom McInerney, ING Chairman & CEO Insurance Americas (which received $3 billion euros in bailout money from the Dutch government). The topic was “Too Big to Fail?: Perspectives on Government Intervention During Economic Collapse.” Reports from audience members overwhelmingly agree that Woods absolutely wiped the floor with McInerney. Woods, of course, was well prepared and presented a coherent economic case for his position, and was entertaining to boot. McInerney, by contrast, ate up some of his time on personal anecdotes about the school, like a typical Dale Carnegie back-slapping schmoozer, before getting to a dry and boring Powerpoint obviously prepared by some lackey. McInerney reportedly played lip service to the idea that no company should be bailed out–but, of course, “this was a special circumstance.”

The extent to which he was outmatched, though, was revealed in this almost embarrassingly funny episode. McInerney had mentioned that Bernanke was a diligent and knowledgeable student of the Great Depression. So, when it came time for the Q&A, one audience member asked Woods to briefly explain the Austrian view of Great Depression and how it might differ from Bernanke’s view. After Woods did this, McIerney took the stage, and as if he were about to unload a devastating blow against Woods, said to him, “this might seem like a bit of an attack. Don’t take it too personally.” And then…. he began to rant about … the relatively small size of the country of Austria. I kid you not.

Some audience members began to laugh; others cringed, as McInerney dug his hole deeper while under the illusion that he was unleashing a deadly zinger. Woods kept trying to stage whisper that Austria had nothing to do with the school of Austrian economics, but McInerney, undeterred, plowed on. Thus, when Woods took the stage he said, “this might seem like an attack, but don’t take it too personally…” And then Woods commented that we may as well say we shouldn’t listen to Milton Friedman, since the GDP of Chicago is pretty low.

[monks]

Essential viewing for HPC'ers... especially newbies. Link should be pinned on the homepage.

Seeing the Bush speeches sends a chill to the bone - encouraging home ownership at any cost, then years later apologising and asking for confidence in fixing the system.

The climate change issue was probably pushed at the same time as a clever diversion to it all...

Edited September 4, 2010 by monks

[okaycuckoo]

Indeed...to add to the others mentioned already, I would cite the removal of the usury laws in the early 1980's to help lend money to poor people - i.e. to those who were least able to afford it but represented a much higher risk of default.

Link please.

[Britney's Piers]

Schiff lost his customers' money then tried to get into politics (last hope for when you fail at everything else). Why do people continue to bring him out for debate, when there are much more reliable voices to be heard?

[Errol]

Schiff lost his customers' money

Utter, utter nonsense.

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

Essential viewing for HPC'ers... especially newbies. Link should be pinned on the homepage.

prefer this one

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=V5sDKwMP6Pc

or another person who was right long before Schiff

Edited September 4, 2010 by lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)

[1929crash]

Why don't we repudiate the debt, strip commercial banks of their ability to create money and just let national treasuries print fixed quantities of money like Lincoln did?

The debt in one sense is not real, since the money that composes it, is not based on anything. It's been conjured out of thin air by the "miracle" of fraactional reserve banking.

Good video.

[lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)]

Why don't we repudiate the debt, strip commercial banks of their ability to create money and just let national treasuries print fixed quantities of money like Lincoln did?

The debt in one sense is not real, since the money that composes it, is not based on anything. It's been conjured out of thin air by the "miracle" of fraactional reserve banking.

Good video.

sounds good

dont think the politicians dare though - or they are bought and paid for

Edited September 4, 2010 by lowrentyieldmakessense(honest!)

[Harry Sacks]

Utter, utter nonsense.

He was bearish on USD and long euro equities. He must have lost hard.