Dear FRONTLINE,
An outstanding show with a well-done timeline to better understand how the financial mess occurred.
But I think Frontline needs to follow this up with a pre-quel. You should look into how the high gas prices stalled home activity, especially in the exurbs. Also, investigate the subprime market and how it has caused extensive damage to many cities, like Kankakee.
Roy Bernard
Kankakee, Illinois
Dear FRONTLINE,
After the market close on September 25, 2008, the day before the first of the $700 billion bailout votes, Washington Mutual Bank the sixth largest bank in the country was seized and forced into failure. It is the largest bank failure in US history by an incredibly wide margin. There was no reason for this action to have taken place, and the timing was particularly malicious. The stock market imploded the following week and has not recovered.
This epic historic event of the Washington Mutual Bank seizure and the following stock market implosion was an act of terrorism on the US citizens and the US economy which you chose to completely ignore. It is this selective enforcement of the rules and this selective amnesia on the part of the powers that be, including yourselves, that has lost the confidence of the citizens and investors of this country and the world.
When there is justice for Washington Mutual investors and an equal application of government policies is enforced, then we can think about recovery. Until then there can be no confidence in the system and throwing money at the problem is a half hearted no commitment gesture of little inspiration.
Daniel Wood
Gold Bar, WA
Dear FRONTLINE,
After watching the "Melt-down" it saddens me of the entitlement governement and corporate executives seem to believe they have to screw hard-working Middle-Class American's in this whole scheme of greed and deception..........as the rich-get-richer and the poor-get-poorer. There is no conscience left in America, or in the political system much less the CEOs in "their" American Banking system. What have you all done to generations to come? God help us all.
Denver, CO
Dear FRONTLINE,
It would be appropriate to reach back and create a segment on the fundamental causes of the mortgage bubble and tie it in to tonights hour; the lowering of interest rates that fueled loose credit conditions precedent to the mortgage crisis, the encouragement of risky mortgage contracts by Alan Greenspan, the lobbying of Henry Paulson to Congress to lift leverage limits while he was yet CEO of Goldman Sachs, the greed of the mortgage company and the consumer as cooperators in ignorance, to name a few.
Also, I hope you are planning further segments of this crisis as it continues to unfold.
Jeff Davis
St. George, Utah
Dear FRONTLINE,
There are of course many facets of this disaster, but I was a bit taken aback by Mr Feldstein's comments about his claims of prescience back in 2007 on the looming credit crisis. Mr Feldstein was in fact right in the midst of events, as a member of the board of directors of AIG from 1987 through at least 2008 (and was a member of the board's Finance Committee responsible for the investment policies of the company). It's unfortunate that Mr Feldstein didn't share his wisdom with AIG when it could have made a difference, instead of now in front of the cameras.
Mr Feldstein made millions over the years on directors fees, stock grants and options, and yet when it mattered most and he admittedly knew what was about to happen, he disappeared. Other luminaries on the board through this time were Richard Holbrooke and Arthur Levitt, the former Chairmen of the SEC.
On the rewriting of personal history, Mr Feldstein and Alan Greenspan seem to have a lot in common.
ny, ny
Dear FRONTLINE,
Somebody please ask Rep. Frank what exactly his responsibility has been as the House Chairman of Financial Services, and as to why he could foresee the bad storm brewing and not be able to enact any reform legeslation with his majority party in since 2006. The most amazing thing to me is his ridiculous assertations that somehow the current meltdown is a result of President Reagen's policies. This man is truely the root of our problem and the media's inability to do its homework most have Rep. Frank thanking his higher power daily!
Robbert Perrine
Sacramento, Ca.
Dear FRONTLINE,
Your timeline starts in 2007, but I would suggest the causes of this meltdown go many years further back in time. Instead of doing a windshield tour of the events leading to credit crisis, perhaps you could spend an hour going back 10-15 years or more and detail and analyze serious federal policy mistakes that led to this problem.
What exactly are toxic assets? How are they created? How do they differ from other assets in the banking system? Surprise everyone and take a critical look at the architects of that policy, as you have on the Iraq war (and a dozen other issues) in the last 8 years. I suggest Barney Frank would not be as glib and lighthearted about such a program, assuming he would even sit for an interview.
Sheridan, WY
Dear FRONTLINE,
! I just told someone that it seemed little more than a very expensive production made from a high school report on what hapened, who was involved, and not much more than a glorified timeline with dramatic music, repeated on top of b/w photo shots, random shots of wall street, the capital, etc, and it was all public, OLD news. I absolutely learned nothing from that hour. Honestly, I feel slighted and insulted, and my belief is that this will do no more for the general public than spread more fear and alarm, because if people did not already know the basic timeline of events before watching this program, they will come away from this even more confused and frightened about where we are at now. Accurate perhaps, but "Insidethe Meltdown" was honestly, admit it, a dramatized puff pastry of a documentary which can serve very little purpose to anyone TODAY.
Albuquerque, NM
Dear FRONTLINE,
I have watched two reports on this in the last few days. This one and CNBC's "A House of Cards." Between the two excellant programs it really helps to explain this mess.
As someone who was a stockbroker for 18 years, I am extremely angry over what has happened. There is know way the people originating these loans and the executives at the investment banks who packaged and sold them to others,did not know what they were doing.The heads of these companies owe every investor personally who has lost money in the stock market in the last few months. They should be paying us back not the other way around.I realize that is not going to happen, but that is what should be happening. None of them want to take responsibility. Don't believe them.
Lee Winslow
FLAGSTAFF, Arizona
Dear FRONTLINE,
Capital markets are unstable. In the past there was no way to make them stable. But today we have computer power that can be used to make them stable. By using the greater computer power of today we can have a much higher turn over of capital in the capital market. This higher turnover will make the market harder to game or control and the market will no longer have the unstable run ups or declines. Who can change or control the market when say 20% of the capital is trading each day? So now that we have the compute power to provide for all these transactions that will smooth out the market how do we force people to turn over at a rate of 20% a day? Easy, put a cap gains tax of 0% (zero) on all gains of 7 days or less and put a cap gains tax of 90% of all gains of more than 7 days. The likes of Yahoo, Micosoft and/or Sun Micro Systems will give us the systems that will provide automated software agents to support turning over one's investments every 7 days (based on the specs you give the agent). A system like this will make the financial markets work as smoothly as the local fruit market.
Martyn Strong
N Chelmsford, MA
Dear FRONTLINE,
Wake up people, when you saw credit card companies sending you applications every week and banks wanting you to refinance your home for 120% of it’s value what did you think the outcome would be. Well now you know!
Valparaqiso, Indiana
Dear FRONTLINE,
Great documentary as usual, but there is something that seemed to be glossed over and not entirely objective. I don't know if you asked Henry Paulson to be part of the documentary, but he should have been there to defend his decisions. Secondly, to give Christopher Dodd and Barney Frank a pass was simply unacceptable. They are not as culpable as Henry Paulson, but their responsibility should have been noted; instead of letting them blame others for their shared incompetence.
Gilbert, Arizona
Dear FRONTLINE,
The meltdown you described was entirely contained within the banking and investment community which has become a parasitical growth on the economy, producing nothing tangible and contributing zero to the gross national product of America.Wall street has no more investors, only speculators who manipulate securities like chips in a casino.None of this could take place if the value of the dollar was tied to gold. Our present fiat currency, created out of thin air by the treasury printing press has no intrinsic value and is the ONLY cause of the inflation which is stealing the savings of all Americans. I recommend you read 'The Case Against the Fed' by Murray Rothbard to learn the root cause of our financial troubles.
Peter Kellett
Salem, Massachusetts
Dear FRONTLINE,
You left out a key part of the saga.
While you talked about the small paragraph inserted in the TARP Bill for capital injection, you fail to explain how Paulson changed his mind to go with capital injection instead of his original plan of asset purchases.
Charles Taylor
Orlando, Florida
Dear FRONTLINE,
It just seems to me that the citizens of this country were forced to indebt future generations of our children so that "business leaders" that made truly horrid corporate choices could continue to swindle us. If it turns out that the American Financial system is a "Wizard of Oz", and once you pull back the curtain all that can be found is rot, I think bailing them out just prolongs the inevitable reckoning that is still to come and probably magnifies it too. The government and these institutions continue to spend money beyond any sense. GM is $400 billion in debt. Who authorized that? Who decided it was OK to lend GM their $400th Billion? Can the person that authorized that loan in any way be called responsible? Responsible of a crime maybe. And this current attitude that these people can give themselves multi-million dollar bonuses with OUR money as a reward for forcing their companies to the brink of extinction makes me want to gag. They belong in jail. They haphazardly destroy fortunes in a ploy to drive up the price of their company's stock. To what end? To benefit the employees and the stock holders? No, so they can authorize massive bonuses for themselves and too bad for anyone left holding the bag. As long as they can have "homes" that should shame any right thinking person, they do not care about America, their company or even the people they work with. We are reaping the rewards of the 20 year period in this country that we were not allowed to teach values. Clearly none of these people have any.
Randy Criscoe
Champaign, Il
