The Breakdown: Are Financial Institutions Holding Our Economy Hostage?

The Breakdown: Are Financial Institutions Holding Our Economy Hostage?

The Breakdown: Are Financial Institutions Holding Our Economy Hostage?

Years after we were first told that the banks were “too big to fail,” we still seem to be held captive by the same financial system that caused our economic mess in the first place.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Years after we were first told that the banks were “too big to fail,” we still seem to be held captive by the same financial system that caused our economic mess in the first place.

During the 2008 financial meltdown, we were told by politicians, economists, bankers and industry executives that further implosion of major financial institutions would wreak havoc on the larger economy. The banks were “too big to fail,” we were told, and if the financial markets faltered, that would be bad for the rest of us. But since the financial gains of the past several years haven’t trickled down, many are wondering why we continue to be held captive by the same financial system that caused the mess in the first place. On this week’s edition of The Breakdown, finance blogger Mike Konczal joins DC Editor Chris Hayes to discuss what’s behind this “financialization” of the economy, how it happened and whether there’s anything that can be done to change it.

Further Reading:
Mike Konczal’s finance and economics blog, Rortybomb.

Subscribe to The Breakdown on iTunes to listen to fresh takes on the confusing concepts that make politics, economics and government tick. A new episode every week!

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x