First off, I had the distinct honor of viewing a pre-release of the film Bailout. From a production stand point it is very well done. To be fair, I have a pretty thorough understanding of the reckless behavior of the financial leviathans that now stride this earth. I also have come to understand these high-finance players have "captured" all regulatory bodies whose function and duty is to prevent this "Too Big To Fail" environment.
Folks, this is not Bedford Falls and we are not dealing with Bailey Building and Loan Association, an institution vital to the well-being of the townspeople. In the real world, George Bailey no longer exists and Mr. Potter did indeed steal and keep Uncle Billy's $8,000.
The stern looking bank regulator not only approved and encouraged this theft but also helped Mr. Potter convert that money in to trillions of dollars of unregulated derivatives; conspired to pay no taxes then proceeded to conceal that fact.
Were it not for the verifiable truth that the U.S. government has entitled itself with the authority to print money as though it was ordinary paper, and are projecting a budgetary shortfall of over one [1] trillion dollars for this year alone; it is they who should accept their spot on the mantle as the least credit-worthy of all. It is also worthy of note and equally frustrating that this printed money is handed directly to the banks.
It should be noted that those at the controls of these enterprises, both past and present, are comprised of controllers whose career paths travel through a constantly revolving door between government agents and commercial bankers. The GSEs are the final pipelines that inject the losses to the public, while the profits are kept by the bankers. As we are all well aware, FNMA and FHLMC are in conservatorship and financially are gravely disabled as should also be expected.
What really struck me about Bailout was the fact that the cast was a mixture of experts and just regular ordinary people. Portions of the film were devoted to a granular technical examination of the sheer size and scope of how practically each and every home mortgage was turned into Wall Street stock certificates. Other parts of the film illustrated the anger and frustration felt by the victims of this ultimate Ponzi scheme. As I watched some of the antics in the film I was reminded of doing similar things in my own life. I felt as though I had some sort of connection with the cast.
To take such an economically devastating series of events that have destroyed so many lives - and manage to make it "funny" was a bit of a challenge - but the film Bailout somehow managed to do it. I really did laugh a lot while watching it. At the end, I was scratching my head wondering if, really, I should actually be crying.
I rate Bailout as a "must see" film.
