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The Credit Crunch Gets Animated

The Credit Crunch Gets Animated

Credit crunch? Bailout? Dow tumbling? You may be aware of these things percolating in the news, but do you know what it all means for your future investments and why these economists seem so freaked out?

If you're just as confused as the rest of us as to how these economic issues directly affect you, then check out this great video from Abcnews.com. Taking a page from the old "School House Rock" videos, reporter Robert Krulwich explains why a credit crunch could bring the economy to a screetching halt.

After you watch the video, share your thoughts here! Did it help you understand the current crisis a bit better?

Posted: 9/30/08
cobber

I haven't felt so sidelined in a long time. But, I'm paying as much attention as I can.

  • By cobber
  • on 10/1/08 1:50 PM EST
kristen

And herein lies the problem...that we want to create a solution that will continue the lending process, and put a bandaid on the situation.

  • By kristen
  • on 9/30/08 12:13 PM EST
Cwolf112

I agree. This video does sort of just get at the surface of why this is such a big problem, but it does explain it in much simpler terms than the MSM has.

What's confusing to me is that there's so many different opinions on what should be done to counter it that I can't make a decision on my own about which way is right. This Harvard economists says we should just let these companies go bankrupt and the market will fix things down the road. Link

This is all totally uncharted territory...and the fact that we're not trying a few different ways to fix this makes me anxious that it's all going to come crumbling down.

I'm stocking up on food supplies ASAP.

bstarr

That's interesting, and that part is easy to grasp. The piece I'm having a hard time with is how so many institutions were able to loan so much money for so long to so many who really couldn't afford it.


It's like the credit card companies that continue to send new credit card offers to people who don't have jobs or who have declared bankruptcy. Either their mail lists are really in bad shape or they really are "predatory" lenders who will stop at nothing to ensnare more people in their tangled web.

  • By bstarr
  • on 9/30/08 11:36 AM EST