"Owe the Bank $100, that's your problem. Owe the bank $100 million, that's the bank's problem." - J. P. Getter, as quoted in Bailout Nation - How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy, by Barry Rithotz
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If you have not already read the book, The Big Short, or watched the movie based on the book, now is a good time to do it. This book/movie portrays what led up to the 2008 financial meltdown in America, and the incredible greed that our politicians and large businesses had. Here are a few quotes from this book to whet your appatite:
“Being short in 2007 and making money from it was fun, because we were short bad guys. In 2008 it was the entire financial system that was at risk. We were still short, but you don’t want the system to crash. It's sort of like the flood’s about to happen, and you’re Noah. You’re on the ark, ya, you’re okay, but you’re not happy looking out at the flood. That’s not a happy moment for Noah.”
Second quote:
“In early October 2008 after the U.S. government had stepped in to say it would...absorb all the losses in the financial system and prevent any big Wall Street firm from failing.”
Third quote:
“Maybe the best definition of investing is gambling with the odds in your favor. The people on the short side of the subprime mortgage market had gambled with the odds in their favor. The people on the other side – the entire financial system, essentially – had gambled with the odds against them. What’s strange and complicated about it is that pretty much all the important people on both sides left the table rich.”
And the last quote:
“The world’s most highly paid financiers had been totally discredited; without government intervention, every single one of them would have lost his job. And yet those same financiers were using the government to enrich themselves. I can understand why Goldman Sachs would want to be included in the conversation about what to do about Wall Street. What I can’t understand is why anyone would listen to them”
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If you have not seen The Big Short, watch the following trailer before you decide to watch it:
