Go See “The Big Short” Right Now — And Then Read This

Intercept, the ^ | 14 December 2015 | Jon Schwarz

[Lorianne]

THERE’S NO SUBJECT ON EARTH, with the possible exception of sex, that human beings find more inherently fascinating than money. Yet somehow most of the movies about the 2008 financial collapse have been as enticing and zesty as a raw potato.

That’s finally changed with The Big Short, based on the book by Michael Lewis about a small assortment of “outsiders and weirdos” who made hundreds of millions of dollars betting that the housing bubble of the 2000s would collapse. Near the end of the film one of them, played by Steve Carell, declares, “We live in an era of fraud” — not just fraud on Wall Street, he says, but sports fraud, corporate fraud and government fraud.

What sets The Big Short apart and makes it truly great is that it portrays this worldwide, straight-faced fraud accurately; that is, as not just dangerous and enraging, but also extremely funny. It calls to mind Monty Python’s famous dead parrot sketch about a pet store salesman who defrauds his customer and then offers an endless stream of preposterous, contradictory obfuscations to conceal the obvious reality. The Big Short demonstrates that we’re now all living in that pet store.

The credit for this clearly goes to Adam McKay, The Big Short’s director and cowriter, who could have been grown in a lab to make exactly this movie.

[WilliamIII]

You need to get educated about Bush’s role in fueling the housing bubble by promoting homebuying for people who couldn’t afford it.

From the White House website:
http://georgewbush-whitehouse.archives.gov/news/releases/2003/12/20031216-9.html

President Bush Signs American Dream Downpayment Act of 2003
Remarks by the President at Signing of the American Dream Downpayment Act:

“Many people are able to afford a monthly mortgage payment, but are unable to make the down payment. So this legislation will authorize $200 million per year in down payment assistance to at least 40,000 low-income families. These funds will help American families achieve their goals, and at the same time, strengthen our communities.”

[Intolerant in NJ]

Clinton pumped up the bubble...Fannie Mae Eases Credit to Aid Mortgage Lending....

[DiogenesLamp]

Fannie Mae Eases Credit to Aid Mortgage Lending....

Exactly right.

[2CAVTrooper]

The demoncraps in the house and senate were the ones who were really pushing this. Both barney frank and maxine waters should be in prison for the role they played in the housing mess.

[MomwithHope]

Saw it yesterday and wanted to bump this thread. It was good and did try to educate people about what happened. Pretty much totally left out Carter and Clinton and Bush’s involvement kicking things off for the greed and abuse to take over. I will say probably most people who watch it and have no clue as to what the housing bubble was about will be confused. If I had not been listening to Mark Levin for all these years, who has thoroughly covered this more than once, I might have been lost myself. At least they are telling most of the story.