Monday, May 25, 2009

Looking for a Bailout (Nation)

I'm eagerly champing at the bit waiting for my local library to get its copy of Barry Ritholtz's Bailout Nation.

Here's a bit from a blog entry where he explains the three versions of the book as the financial crisis tore up the ground under his feet:
The third version was the charm.

By now, the amount of bailout money going to mismanaged companies, reckless speculators, and incompetent corporate executives had skyrocketed to 14 trillion dollars. This was infuriating to anyone paying attention.

Astonishing things happened as the book progresses. The more I researched and wrote, the more it was apparent we were witnessing the greatest heist ever made. By the last section of the book, history’s biggest transfer of wealth — from the taxpayer to the Banksters — was taking place. Trillions were being shifted from the responsible to the reckless, from the prudent to the incompetent. It was infuriating — and you will see as the book progresses my initial academic tone gets replaced with greater snark and anger.

I not only had my ending, I had a new cause — exposing those who caused this mess, be they Democrat or Republican, Corporate CEO or derivatives trader.
Go read the whole blog entry.

Then go read the book...

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