Inside the Meltdown

The economic collapse in late 2008 not only caught American investors by surprise, but also Wall Street and our nation's leaders in Washington. Aired on PBS' Frontline series, filmmaker Michael Kirk's documentary takes viewers behind the scenes of the meltdown, asking how it happened, while also examining the hastily improvised bailout plan and considering the implications for our economic future. The initial warning came in March 2008 with the failure of onetime Wall Street pillar Bear Stearns, which had heavily invested in subprime mortgages (questionable real estate products that would later be labeled “toxic assets”). Like many others, Bear was caught up in the housing “bubble,” assuming massive risk in the mistaken belief that housing values would only increase. As the situation deteriorated in the following months, Wall Street leaders and Treasury Department officials grappled with the fear of “systemic failure” (the idea of cascading closures triggering another Great Depression) while also trying to hold on to free market principles (including the conviction that companies must pay the consequences for taking risks). Inside the Meltdown recalls the rapid failures of Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, AIG, Lehman Brothers, and others, as the cumulative collapse froze credit markets, imperiled banks, and swiftly metamorphosed into a global epidemic. Financial insiders, journalists, and economists weigh in on the decisions of key players such as Fed chairman Ben Bernanke, former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and his replacement Tim Geithner, and CEOs of crippled investment houses who “drank their own Kool Aid.” Unfortunately, the documentary doesn't give enough attention to the underlying causes of the crisis: the atmosphere of greed, recklessness, and arrogance that led to risky decisions, coupled with Washington's firm but misplaced faith in the deregulation of markets. Still, given the overwhelming interest in the subject, this is still a strong optional purchase. [Note: PBS is releasing a slew of similarly-themed economic woe titles, including Black Money, Breaking the Bank, and Ten Trillion and Counting.] Aud: C, P. (S. Rees)