Was this mess a result of fraud?
William K. Black On Fraud
A still photo from the William K. Black interview on Bill Moyers Journal
I agree with all of his details and almost all of his facts, but as usual, I disagree with the larger synopsis that our current mess is due to fraud. I disagree that Geitner and co. are lying. At worst, they're lying to themselves, or considering the political ramifications of their actions. Likewise, the banks did engage in a type of fraud, and our fiscal situation was a giant Ponzi scheme, but the stress needs to be placed on systemic corruption, NOT on individual corruption. The problem with our individualistic viewpoint is that we miss structural problems and systemic corruption. It's NOT a cover-up; but a combination of a lazy press, a lazy public, and deep rooted ideological and structural problems that resulted in the inadvertent fraud and inadvertent Ponzi scheme of our larger economy. Yes, the banks and the government (in deregulating the industry) ARE responsible for the mess, but it's not a problem of individuals, but a problem of systemic ideological pressures, models and structures. Again, this was a structural/ideological problem, not a moral problem.
Other than that, this is a good program to listen to. I like Bill Moyers.