Given the complicated nature of the finance world most people probably don’t know a lot about the economic crisis (or the credit crunch or some other daft phrase) other than bankers did it. The three part BBC documentary The Love of Money hopes to change all that by explaining just what happened with the world economy and how a loaf of bread suddenly became more expensive.
Money, money all around but sadly none for the ordinary folk on the bottom of the pile stressing through the usual 9-5 routine due to this credit crunch kerfuffle. People are constantly worried about their savings and losing their jobs although every day there’s news that the recession is ending or showing signs of ending or doesn’t exist or something equally confusing. So the Beeb have decided to show how it all began.
Following on from the Collapse of the Lehman Brothers
The first part explored the collapse of Lehman Brothers and the eventual bankruptcy which rippled through the economy. The following episode looked more closely to home in the English capital while also keeping a watchful eye on the important developments going on in the US and Wall Street.
As with the Lehman Brothers episode, this was very interesting and enjoyable, even for a programme that could have been dry and difficult to follow. In fact, the makers have done an admirable job of divulging information that is fairly easy to understand but isn’t dumbed down, with interviews from the majority of the big players in the financial market including Gordon Brown, Alan Greenspan and Mervyn King.
Sub-prime Mortgage Loans
The Love of Money part two showed that the problems stretch back to the ‘80s where the seeds of greed and personal wealth were sown, and that the recent developments were simply the trigger that caused the bust, not the sole reason.
Of course it delved into the now infamous sub-prime loans saga that gave low income families the chance to own a home. Many borrowers however had little to no idea what they were getting themselves into and according to some of the contributors on The Love of Money many were given cash that shouldn’t have been. Almost everyone is aware to a degree how this worked and that these mortgages were repackaged and then sold on but it’s always good to have this strange and complex arrangement trotted out occasionally to prove it wasn’t just a bizarre collective dream.
De-regulation and Dr Doom
The viewers were told, or likely reconfirmed, that because of government de-regulation, London started to become a go to place for business expansion under New Labour and Gordon Brown’s tenure as Chancellor of the Exchequer. Wealth worshipping took hold. It's also alarming to learn that in this era bonus payments in businesses tripled, with 4,000 people given £1million bonuses. These were originally taxed for spending on schools and health but that changed under Labour, bless them.
It doesn’t really take genius to figure out that the system was going to bust and any critics were simply deemed scare mongers. One of the many expert talking heads Nouriel Roubini, mockingly nicknamed "Dr Doom", was one such person and it’s a shame his calls were ignored by power hungry men in suits tempted by profit.
Alan Greenspan on The Love of Money
Unfortunately no one accepted any responsibility but much of the blame was laid on Alan Greenspan, former head of the US Federal Reserve and the man whose vision allowed the banks to make risky bets with credit and the stock market.
It’s not alright for Alistair Darling, Brown and Greenspan to say that in hindsight things should have been different. They have to put their hands up and admit their faults. Especially with Brown doing that strange, creepy smile thing that he’s obviously been advised to do a lot lately, often at ill-timed moments that make it appear he’s almost mocking.
This series has trodden over familiar ground already covered in most daily newspapers but the level of research and class of talking heads is extraordinary and not to be missed. And what has this series so far taught the viewers about the economic crisis? Oh yeah, that’s it, bankers did it.
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