by Ed Conard
First published 2012
Ed Conard examines the widespread beliefs that emerged after the Financial Crisis. Popular explanations blame Wall Street and mortgage companies for using predatory lending practices like low down payments and teaser rates to trap homeowners in unaffordable loans. They also fault ordinary Americans for borrowing beyond their means and overspending. Many point to Reagan and Bush era tax policies and deregulation as catalysts for dangerous risk taking among the wealthy and financial institutions. Conard argues these accepted explanations obscure the true origins of economic disruption. He contends that clinging to conventional wisdom creates the risk of triggering additional unintended consequences that could prove even more dangerous. The book presents an alternative framework for understanding what really caused the financial upheaval that reshaped the American economy.
Genres: business, political-science, economics, non-fiction, 21st-century, finance
Vibes: intimate, suspenseful, thought-provoking
Tropes: unreliable-narrator
Period: 21st-Century
320 pages · Hardcover · Portfolio