Michael Lewis explains why Ben Bernanke and Hillary Clinton were wrong to bail out the banks.
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LEARN MORE ABOUT: Bank Failures
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The 2008 financial crisis had far-reaching impacts on the global economy, and one of the most significant events was the bailout of banks by the US government. However, according to Michael Lewis, the writer of “The Big Short,” the bank bailout was a mistake. In this article, we will explore his reasons for this belief.
In “The Big Short,” Michael Lewis wrote about the few who predicted the 2008 financial crisis and profited from it. The book provides an in-depth look at the conditions that led to the collapse of the housing market and how the banking system played a significant role in the crisis. According to Lewis, the bank bailout was an attempt to save the banks from the consequences of their actions, which were a result of greed and a lack of oversight.
Lewis believes that the bank bailout was a mistake because it allowed the banks to escape the consequences of their actions. The government’s decision to bail out the banks was a way of preventing them from going bankrupt, but it also prevented them from learning from their mistakes. Lewis argues that if the banks had been allowed to fail, it would have sent a powerful message to the financial industry that there are consequences for engaging in risky behavior.
Furthermore, the bank bailout was unfair to taxpayers who had to bear the burden of the banks’ failures. The government used taxpayer money to bail out the banks, and this created a sense of resentment among the public. Many people felt that the banks were being rewarded for their reckless behavior while ordinary citizens were left to suffer the consequences.
Lewis also believes that the bank bailout perpetuated the notion of “too big to fail.” The bailout sent a message that some banks were so large and influential that they could not be allowed to fail, no matter how poorly managed they were. This created a moral hazard because the banks knew that they could take excessive risks without fear of the consequences. As a result, the same conditions that led to the financial crisis continue to exist today.
In conclusion, Michael Lewis, the writer of “The Big Short,” believes that the bank bailout was a mistake. He argues that it prevented the banks from learning from their mistakes and perpetuated the notion of “too big to fail.” The bank bailout also unfairly burdened taxpayers who had to pay for the banks’ failures. The lessons learned from the 2008 financial crisis must be taken seriously to prevent similar events from occurring in the future.
B. Obama supported the Bailout of these people that screw with normal peoples money. Today the democratic party is protecting the corrupt financial world. It is insane.
Stephen Colbert is the only guy who looks like a banker but doesn't know shit about banking.
Stephen Colbert is the only guy who looks like a very educated , highly qualified guy but has the complete opposite personality in real life.
Massive bailout happening now, trying to stop the bleeding.
And people reckon we have free markets
Hilary Clinton. Enough said.
One word….
BLACKROCK
scam people–>Take the tax money–>keep assets–>becoming valuble again–>doulbe profit
Bailing them out wasn’t the mistake, they had to or the entire world’s economy would collapse. However, they should have broken them up instead of merging them together
None of the people in the audience that are laughing, lost their homes.
I watched the movie. I didn't check this book yet.
Liquidity had to be restored to the credit market to keep the U.S. economy from a depression. However, the banks should have had a government overseer to guide them through the bailout and the next few years. It's criminal bonuses were paid to bankers who tanked the economy. After the markets were stable, the worst offenders and biggest banks should have been broken up. If something is too big to fail, it's too big to exist. Investment banks shouldnt be allowed to have regular banking functions and regular banks shouldnt be able to make risky investments. My regular bank, Wachovia, was brought down during the meltdown.
It took 7 years for unemployment to recover instead of 10 like the great depression. I could’ve fed myself for 2 years with the tax money their bailouts took from me alone.
So, if they want to, they can bail Out Poverty !
Giving the banks the bailouts and not breaking them up was essentially on the same mindset as Reagan's Trickledown Economics, essentially relying 1000% on copium that they would not mess it up and not do the same crap they did, only to find out nope, the banks and businesses who got the bailouts went right back to fucking everyone over.
I now demand a full write off on my mortgage.
2023 is going to make 2008 look tame.
Who else noticed the pen rolling down on the table at the end?
Like the WTC in NY just before 9/11 they knew it was going to be burned down and bought the insurance policy
We don't bail out the banks and this guy is in the bread lines today in 2022. If he's lucky.
We should have nationalized them.
the zombies clapping without realizing they footed the bill and became perpetual slaves while the banks laughed all the way to the… well
The bailout was Obama paying off the banks after he and his cronies caused the bubble with quid pro quo in the first place. There should never be ANY bailout for ANY company that does dumb shit, but Obama and friends made a back door deal with Fannie and Freddie to give out sub prime loans to people who couldn't finance cheese on a taco and if they defaulted, the government would bail them out. When the bubble burst, Obama played the race card and used fraudulent vote tabulation machines to slither into office so he could then turn around and pay off the banks. It was evil, but genius, in a "let's destroy the United States" sort of way.
"Next time we can't bail 'em out, we gotta break 'em up"
What now?!
No. He sold trash to good people and contributed to the crash. This is why America's corruption is never ending
Capitalism without bankruptcy, is like Christianity without hell. – Frank Borman
EAT THE RICH ✊
See the pen rolling down the table at 2:28
Obama's whole campaign was financed by Wallstreet.
FSC but I’m here.
I wonder how many of those idiots in the audience cheering at the thought of "breaking up the banks" have an account at one of the largest institutions in the country. Probably a high percentage, if not all…
This was such a great movie!
Next up, is The Big Short Squeeze, starring GameStop, DeepFuckingValue and Ryan Cohen.
The bailout was conceived and implemented under the Bush administration, Hank Paulson being one of the main architects. BTW, all the money was paid back with interest. Adjusted for inflation, might've been a relatively small loss for the taxpayer.
I think Bernanke knows about moral hazard & lobbyists
You are absolved.
Of course the banks should've been bailed out. Of course there should've been fucking consequences for the banks actions – regulations, firings and, jail sentences.
Kinda late to the party here but this guy is trying to sell a book and promote his movie. I was there. The banking system was literally days away from the average person not being able to withdraw money from their account, use a cash machine, or write a check. This would have affected EVERYBODY. The "bail-out" was the government injecting cash into the banking system to prevent all of these bad things from happening. There was a sudden lack of trust among financial institutions about what financial instruments were worth. The GOVERNMENT made this worse by changing the rules in the middle of the game. Was there greed, fraud, corruption going on? Yes. But money makes everyone stupid at some point. Just like the borrowers who thought they could afford a house making $22k a year. In.the end the banks paid the government back with a profit, and many homeowners got bailed out at the taxpayers expense. It will again. That's human nature.
Stephen cutting people off as usual