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The Complete Idiot's Guide to the Great Recession
The truth behind the causes and effects of America's economic downturn.
The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Financial Crisis explains the root causes and connects the events and issues with the problems that have confronted Americans over the course of more than a year, giving readers an unvarnished, unbiased, and in-depth analysis of the factors that lead up to the crisis, the major events that defined it, and the decisions and ramifications that resulted from it.
•Interest in the financial crisis continues to build with several high- profile books and an HBO movie due out in 2010, as well as the success of Michael Moore's A Love Story
•Much of the financial crisis writing to date has been of the breaking news variety-this book will be one of the first books published after the smoke has cleared to offer a comprehensive analysis of what happened and how
The Complete Idiot's Guide(r) to the Financial Crisis explains the root causes and connects the events and issues with the problems that have confronted Americans over the course of more than a year, giving readers an unvarnished, unbiased, and in-depth analysis of the factors that lead up to the crisis, the major events that defined it, and the decisions and ramifications that resulted from it.
•Interest in the financial crisis continues to build with several high- profile books and an HBO movie due out in 2010, as well as the success of Michael Moore's A Love Story
•Much of the financial crisis writing to date has been of the breaking news variety-this book will be one of the first books published after the smoke has cleared to offer a comprehensive analysis of what happened and how
352 pages, Paperback
First published July 1, 2010
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Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews
July 14, 2024
A VERY INFORMATIVE OVERVIEW OF THE 2008-2009 FISCAL CRISIS
Tom Gorman is also the author of books such as 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Economics,' 'How We Got Here: The Complete Idiots Guide to the Financial Crisis,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, "This book explains the crisis and Great Recession in plain English. This book also explains the many terms that most other sources leave unexplained, leaving many of us wondering what Alt-A mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, and credit default swaps are---and why we should care!... This guide will help you understand the Great Recession of 2008-2009, what happened, who caused what, and what may happen in the years ahead." He begins by giving his "short version" of the financial crisis: "Many lenders lent money to many borrowers who couldn't pay it back, and when they couldn't pay it back, the lenders couldn't pay THEIR bills... and so on... When that happens, credit markets freeze, financial markets panic, and economic growth stops." (Pg. 3)
After defining the concept of "moral hazard" ("to) exercise less care in situations in which they are shielded from negative consequences"), he comments that "the notion that major banks had become TOO BIG TO FAIL may also have created moral hazard even among private-sector lenders and investors." (Pg. 21) He observes that politicians often "game" their budget and deficit numbers by "borrowing" from Social Security, classifying certain costs (such as the Iraq War) as "off-budget," and so on. (Pg. 31) He also notes the objections to the TARP plan aftermath: "the banks did not start making loans, did not rigorously account for their disposition of the funds, and paid out millions in bonuses after accepting these funds." (Pg. 48)
He wrote that China and the U.S. have developed a relationship that may be characterized as, "China lending to America to that Americans can buy Chinese exports." (Pg. 85) He points out, "That dynamic makes the United States and China highly dependent on one another." (Pg. 306) He argues vigorously that the lack of a national health care plan in this country puts us at an economic disadvantage with other nations, since employers must then pay such costs for their employees. (Pg. 257, 263).
His summary is that "the U.S. government did a very good job of handling the financial crisis and, up to a point, the subsequent recession. This opinion does not apply to the government's handling of the economy in the years (and decades) before the crisis." (Pg. 292)
This is an excellent broad overview of most of the issues relating to this economic crisis.
Tom Gorman is also the author of books such as 'The Complete Idiot's Guide to Economics,' 'How We Got Here: The Complete Idiots Guide to the Financial Crisis,' etc.
He wrote in the Introduction to this 2010 book, "This book explains the crisis and Great Recession in plain English. This book also explains the many terms that most other sources leave unexplained, leaving many of us wondering what Alt-A mortgages, mortgage-backed securities, and credit default swaps are---and why we should care!... This guide will help you understand the Great Recession of 2008-2009, what happened, who caused what, and what may happen in the years ahead." He begins by giving his "short version" of the financial crisis: "Many lenders lent money to many borrowers who couldn't pay it back, and when they couldn't pay it back, the lenders couldn't pay THEIR bills... and so on... When that happens, credit markets freeze, financial markets panic, and economic growth stops." (Pg. 3)
After defining the concept of "moral hazard" ("to) exercise less care in situations in which they are shielded from negative consequences"), he comments that "the notion that major banks had become TOO BIG TO FAIL may also have created moral hazard even among private-sector lenders and investors." (Pg. 21) He observes that politicians often "game" their budget and deficit numbers by "borrowing" from Social Security, classifying certain costs (such as the Iraq War) as "off-budget," and so on. (Pg. 31) He also notes the objections to the TARP plan aftermath: "the banks did not start making loans, did not rigorously account for their disposition of the funds, and paid out millions in bonuses after accepting these funds." (Pg. 48)
He wrote that China and the U.S. have developed a relationship that may be characterized as, "China lending to America to that Americans can buy Chinese exports." (Pg. 85) He points out, "That dynamic makes the United States and China highly dependent on one another." (Pg. 306) He argues vigorously that the lack of a national health care plan in this country puts us at an economic disadvantage with other nations, since employers must then pay such costs for their employees. (Pg. 257, 263).
His summary is that "the U.S. government did a very good job of handling the financial crisis and, up to a point, the subsequent recession. This opinion does not apply to the government's handling of the economy in the years (and decades) before the crisis." (Pg. 292)
This is an excellent broad overview of most of the issues relating to this economic crisis.
May 21, 2011
I gained the information I sought to gain when I chose to read the book, earning it 3 stars - an extra star added for clarity of descriptions and examples given. The reason I didn't award 5 stars: no index or glossary, two things that should be obvious to include in any book like this.
Displaying 1 - 3 of 3 reviews