Are you fiscally confused? Two Reporters try to clear things up

0Josh • 18th Oct 2008 • blog entries

There’s no denying the fact that the economy is big news these days. Despite government bailout plans, and high gaining days on Wall Street none of us are really sure where our country is going and what to expect in the future.  Confusion doesn’t just stop at what we can expect to experience in the weeks, months, and years to come; but if you’re like most people you’re not totally clear on how we got to this spot in the first place.  I do a lot of reading every day and finical coverage in particular seems like it has gotten to a point where journalists don’t go to far in depth when reporting on the economy… its a very complicated subject and breaking down the details to a point where most people can understand isn’t worth the effort.

But what is there for those of us who want more information than just the phrase “subprime mortgage crisis”.  What does that mean exactly? How was this allowed, and how did it play a part in sending our economy on a downward spiral?

That’s where “This American Life”, a National Public Radio program that normally focuses on interesting, and eclectic hometown storytelling decided to step up to the plate. According to a recent NY Times article, It was back in 2006 that TAL Producer Alex Blumberg started asking questions about the long-term stability of sub-prime mortgages – they didn’t seem to make sense when everyone he knew was maxed out on their credit cards.  Alex started talking with his friend Adam Davidson who was an NPR business reporter and the two of them began taking a hard look at the banking industry.

In May of 2008 This American Life aired an hour long program entitled “Giant Pool of Money” which was the culmination of Alex & Adam’s work, it broke down in easy to understand terms the ins and outs of what was happening with the mortgage industry.  It also included some pretty revealing interviews with people inside the business.

After being heralded as a huge success in educating people about the sub-prime mortgage crisis, the two started working on covering more aspects of our economy.  A few weeks back Alex reported on the Security & Exchange Commission’s lack of oversight in the shady Wall Street practice of “short selling” during the second half of a This American Life episode entitled “Enforcers“.

And most recently, the duo premiered a second hour long program entitled “Another frightening Show on the Economy” which looked at the $700bn bailout package that was just passed into law. Through research and interviews they attempted to answer simple questions like how we got to this point, what triggered a a near-credit freeze a few weeks ago, and how does effect every sector of the economy. They also knew the big question was in regard to the bailout bill; was it a good idea or a bad one.

Its all fascinating stuff that gives you detailed, but easy to understand information regarding these very complex times we find ourselves in.

*The above links will take you to the website where you can stream each episode for free, they are also available to download for purchase at around $0.95/each.