Product Description

A riveting indictment of those responsible for our current financial mess

Bailout Nation offers one of the clearest looks at the financial lenders, regulators, and politicians responsible for the financial crisis of 2008. Written by Barry Ritholtz, one of today's most popular economic bloggers and a well-established industry pundit, this book skillfully explores how the United States evolved from a rugged independent nation to a soft Bailout Nation-where financial firms are allowed to self-regulate in good times, but are bailed out by taxpayers in bad times.

Entertaining and informative, this book clearly shows you how years of trying to control the economy with easy money has finally caught up with the federal government and how its practice of repeatedly rescuing Wall Street has come back to bite them.

• The definitive book on the financial crisis of 2008
• Names the villains responsible for this tragedy-from financial regulators to politicians
• Shows how each bailout throughout modern history has impacted what happened in the future
• Examines why the consumer/taxpayer is left suffering in an economy of bubbles, bailouts, and possible inflation

Scathing, but fair, Bailout Nation is a voice of reason in these uncertain economic times.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #13430 in Books
• Published on: 2009-05-26
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Hardcover
• 332 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780470520383
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
“Ritholtz’s book seeks to explain how the United States, once so proud, became “a nanny state for well-paid bankers. Ritholtz may be just the right person to explain the transition to both the disillusioned amateur and the finance junkie. He doesn’t pull his punches or bury the truth in layers of finance-speak, caveats, and disclaimers. Since he began blogging seven years ago, in-the-know readers of his popular blog, The Big Picture , have turned to Ritholtz for his prescient, refreshingly honest commentary on the economy. Anyone interested in understanding the roots of our current crisis should check out the book, but while you wait by the mailbox, here are some highlights.” (Freakonomics Blog, New York Times)

"Succeeds in laying out all that transpired in easy-to-understand language. If you want to know how we got into this mess and what might still be coming, this is the book for you." (The Wall Street Journal)

"Mr. Ritholtz has written an important book about a complicated subject, and yet you could still read it at the beach. Here’s hoping that some policy makers in Washington take it with them on vacation this month." (The New York Times)

"These are some of the provocative and even dangerous questions that Barry Ritholtz takes on in Bailout Nation…Above all, Bailout Nation is about the socialization of risk and the privatization of profits. Bailouts are always unfair. Small businesses and individuals are left to the mercies of bankruptcy courts all the time. (Forbes.com)

"Before the housing and credit bubbles popped, Barry Ritholtz, a lawyer turned blogger and money manager, was one of the voices crying in the wilderness. His caustic (and occasionally profane) blog, The Big Picture, dissected macroeconomic news and relentlessly cut through spin. His book, Bailout Nation: How Greed and Easy Money Corrupted Wall Street and Shook the World Economy (Wiley), takes a long view of the roots of the economic crisis, tracing the history of a series of ever more expensive taxpayer-funded bailouts of failed industries." (Newsweek.com)

"A comprehensive crisis scrapbook compiled by the money manager behind the popular financial blog the Big Picture in a quippy, no-nonsense voice that sometimes successfully channels Barney Frank.”(NY Mag, Daily Intel)

From the Inside Flap
"Do you find yourself wondering: How did we get here? How did the United States of America get into such a predicament whereby in one year, 2008, the financial system nearly vaporized, the stock market crashed, real estate tanked, and major corporations were being bailed out. . . .How did our great country, a bastion of capitalism, devolve into a Bailout Nation where the gains were privatized, but the losses were socialized?"
—From the Foreword by Bill Fleckenstein

In Bailout Nation, Barry Ritholtz, author of the popular finance blog www.ritholtz.com/blog/, deftly mixes financial history with an insider's knowledge of modern finance to reveal how we've arrived at one of the worst economic crises ever. Engaging and informative, this book clearly shows how years of trying to control the economy with easy money has finally caught up with the United States and how the government's practice of repeatedly rescuing Wall Street—as well as other industries and organizations—has come back to bite them.

Divided into five compelling parts, this timely guide opens with a brief history of bailouts, detailing their particular patterns and unintended consequences. From here, it quickly moves on to reveal the events, individuals, and institutions that have shaped our current situation. You'll see how various government interventions—in individual companies such as Lockheed during the 1970s, in specific sectors such as banking in the early 1990s, and eventually, entire markets with the rescue of stocks in 2000—opened up a Pandora's Box. You'll also discover how the misguided philosophies of many players, from Fed Chairmen and Presidents to Senators and Treasury Secretaries, promoted the massive meltdown that has engulfed our global economy.

Ritholtz leaves no stone unturned, as he breaks down how the Federal Reserve's interest-rate targeting policies as well as a condition known as moral hazard—the belief that you won't bear the full consequences of your actions—perpetuated the reckless financial risk taking that has pushed us to the brink. Ritholtz also takes some of the biggest Wall Street firms—along with their enablers, the ratings agencies—to task. Page by page, you'll learn how the repeal of certain regulations allowed banks to merge into unruly financial behemoths, while unproven investment vehicles, including collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and credit default swaps (CDSs), wreaked havoc on both the credit and housing markets.

The United States has abandoned its capitalist roots and become a Bailout Nation. The implications of this are significant and far-reaching. If you intend on navigating today's treacherous terrain, it would be wise to understand how we got here and what you need to get ahead. Scathing, but fair, Bailout Nation puts this financial debacle in perspective—through discussions of past miscues and an exploration of solutions being proposed-and offers a voice of reason during these uncertain economic times. 

From the Back Cover
Praise for BAILOUT NATION

"A beam of enlightened thinking in a sea of delusional complacency."
—Nouriel Roubini

"If you want to know how we got into this mess, then Ritholtz's Bailout Nation is where you should begin. He chronicled the collapse from the beginning with a rare clarity, and that shines through in this book."
—Chris Anderson, author of The Long Tail

"One of the biggest myths of the great credit debacle of 2008 is that nobody saw it coming. Bull. Barry Ritholtz did. In Bailout Nation, Ritholtz throws our current travails into historical relief. For those who want to know how we got to this miserable place—and who want to have fun doing it—this is essential reading."
—Daniel Gross, Newsweek and Slate

"Highly entertaining rants against the stupidity of our biggest financial institutions. Ritholtz brings intelligence and moral outrage to this book."
—Rex Nutting, MarketWatch

"Nobody in the financial punditry world has been 'righter' about the economic crisis unfolding than Barry. If there was such a thing as a financial pundits Hall of Fame, he would have to be an inaugural inductee. Ignore Bailout Nation at your own peril."
—Tobin Smith, founder, ChangeWave Research, and Contributing Market Analyst, Fox News

"Bailout Nation provides an easily understandable and vividly descriptive road map as to how our domestic economy got into the rut we are now in ... It is a must-read for serious students of financial history ... and for all investors in bonds and stocks who want to preserve and grow their capital in the future!"
—Doug Kass, Seabreeze Partners, Real Money.com, CNBC

Customer Reviews

The Backstory to Bailout Nation
Amazon Review


Long story short: After Bill Fleckenstein's GREENSPAN'S BUBBLES: THE AGE OF IGNORANCE AT THE FEDERAL RESERVE McGraw Hill asked him to do a follow up to that book. He (wisely) said no.

However, Bill suggested they contact me.

Which the publisher did. I turned them down (several times). Who had time to write a book? Besides, I did not want to do a fast rush-to-judgment type of thing. But they were tenacious in their pursuit, and I eventually succumbed to their flattery -- but on my terms, including having final edit on the manuscript. (This becomes important later on, as you will soon see).

Because of the way events played out, I ended up writing three separate Bailout Nation books over the next 15 months. The first version was a history of bailouts. This overview covered an arc from Lockheed (1971) to Bear Stearns (March 2008). Around the time this book was due (~Labor Day 2008), something was in the air . . . you could smell the leading edge of the approaching storm. I convinced the publisher to hold off a few weeks.

Boom! Fannie Mae blew up. Then Freddie Mac, Lehman Brothers, AIG, Citigroup, Bank of America. Soon Merrill was on the ropes, followed by Morgan Stanley, Goldman Sachs, GM and GE. All hell was breaking loose. Well, I thought, at least I had an ending. The expanded version of the manuscript, with greater emphasis on the latter part of 2008, was finished in December '08.

Or so I thought.

After I handed the book into the publisher (McGraw Hill), they let me know they had problems with my assessment of the Ratings Agencies. They were unhappy with my calling them "Pimps & Hos", or describing their business model of rating junk bonds as AAA for big fees as "Payola." (What would you call it?)

Not coincidentally, McGraw Hill owns of the largest Rating Agencies, Standard & Poor's.

The compromise was to remove the reference to Pimps, but using publicly available data and congressional testimony, to add more detailed analysis and quotations from experts. When it was finished, I found the revised section to be much more even handed -- and far more devastating -- to S&P. They (along with fellow rating agencies Moody's and Fitch's) were key enablers to the entire crisis. There were many other guilty parties, but I simply could not under-emphasize the ratings agencies.

When McGH rejected it again, I exercised my right to buy the manuscript back from them in January 2009. Numerous publishers were interested, but I went with Wiley -- they have a great deal of experience publishing business/investing related books, and as a publisher, had no conflicts of interest that would interfere with telling the full story.

The third version was the charm.

By this time, the amount of bailout money going to mismanaged companies, reckless speculators, and incompetent corporate executives had skyrocketed to 14 trillion dollars. This was infuriating to anyone paying attention.

Astonishing things happened as the book progresses. The more I researched and wrote, the more it was apparent we were witnessing the greatest heist ever made. By the last section of the book, history's biggest transfer of wealth -- from the taxpayer to the Banksters -- was taking place. Trillions were being shifted from the responsible to the reckless, from the prudent to the incompetent. It was infuriating -- and you will see as the book progresses my initial academic tone gets replaced with greater snark and anger.

I not only had my ending, I had a new cause -- exposing those who caused this mess, be they Democrat or Republican, Corporate CEO or derivatives trader. I hope the end result is something that will inform and illuminate, while entertaining you along the way . . .

The United States of Bailouts
Mr Ritholtz does an excellent job drawing a trendline from the first bailout in 70's to the latest bailouts of 2009. He illustrates how our own government cheer-led us into the Next Great Depression.

What makes this book different from books of other numerous authors?

* The book is written in a plain language an average person can understand
* The book is well-structured and sticks to historical events which led us into the mess
* For all government bailouts, Mr Ritholtz brings focus to their long-term effects rather than short-term ones
* Mr Ritholtz does not try to predict future or give investment advice (thank you)
* Illustrations are hilariously funny


I enjoyed every page, it is very well worth time and money.

Great Read - Surprisingly Entertaining!
I will admit I am an outsider to the financial world. However Bailout Nation clarified current financial issues into a format that was hilarious and easy to follow. I am an avid reader of Barry Ritholtz's blog "The Big Picture," and this book showcases his ability to streamline all the best sources out there in a very comprehensive yet succinct manner. The clever artwork on the cover and between chapters proves very entertaining. I also enjoyed the section towards the end in which Ritholtz's respected contemporaries offered advice to President Obama.