PBS Companions to "Inside the Meltdown"

Today we watched a Frontline documentary about the 2008 financial crisis. There are two strong companion pieces to "Inside the Meltdown."

"The Warning", sort of a prequel, champions a little-known woman (Brooksley Born) who chaired a little known regulatory agency (the Commodity Futures Trading Commission) and sounded an early (and ultimately unheeded) warning that trade in unregulated securities could seriously harm the US economy.

"Breaking the Bank," is the sequel. It focuses predominantly on how large banks struggled with the shock waves of the financial crisis and subsequent bailout.

You'll probably notice a bit more of a bias in the first one, but it addresses two major themes of our course: 1) what is the appropriate balance of state-market economic activity, and 2) how much of an invisible hand is there when the state (via the Fed) essentially sets the terms of economic intercourse? The second documentary overlaps a lot of today's story and takes a more practical look at government involvement in the Bank of America / Merrill Lynch merger.

You can watch both documentaries (and re-watch "Inside the Meltdown") by clicking on the links above. Those of you who would like to earn some participation points can watch a segment, discuss how it relates to class learning, and share your thoughts: two points for initial comments, one point for replies to other students.