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FRONTLINE investigates the causes of the worst economic crisis in 70 years and how the government responded. The film chronicles the inside stories of the Bear Stearns deal, Lehman Brothers’ collapse, the propping up of insurance giant AIG, and the $700 billion bailout. Inside the Meltdown examines what Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson and Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke didn’t see, couldn’t stop and haven’t been able to fix.

This episode of Frontline will air on the 17th on PBS and can be watched online as well. Here is a preview:

There is so much going wrong with our country right now. I try my best to keep up and understand the tidal wave of bad news, but it is painful and difficult. Here is the latest from the federal reserve. I am scratching my head trying to figure out the motive and purpose of it.

Fed Weighs Debt Sales of Its Own

Peter Schiff was recently on CNN, pleading his case to the American public about what he believes is the root cause of the economic crisis: The federal reserve. Right before he was cut off, he was blaming Ben Bernanke’s federal reserve for its cheap money policies earlier this decade that created the housing bubble. If you didn’t see the visual guide to this crisis, see my earlier post. Here is the clip:

I liked this video, which is a hodgepodge of different movies and/or interviews with prominent people and their views on the federal reserve. I think it does a good job of going into the issues which can be easily researched. I have no doubt you will reach the same conclusions.

Forget Cyber Monday. Today was Manic Monday. Today’s meltdown on Wall Street serves as a reminder that things are not looking good for our country and our economy.

Here are the major economic news stories that unfolded today:
It was declared today that we are officially in a recession. Oh, really? Gee, haven’t noticed.
The Dow Jones lost $679.95, or 7.70%, of its value today. I have to admit that all these triple digit drops we’ve had the past three months have made me numb. The worst part is that this is not over yet, as more of these drops are coming.
Pentagon plans to deploy 20,000 army troops inside the United States Apparently they are being deployed in preparation for terrorist activities and for “domestic catastrophe.” I believe they will be used to help the bubbling civil unrest that will boil over in the event our economy collapses.
The Governor of California has declared a state of fiscal emergency, saying the State will run out of cash by February or March of 2009 For those of us in California, this spells disaster. Think about it. The only way they can close the budget gap is to raise taxes, cut services, or both.
Finally, it appears the Bush administration gave in to bank lobbyists and ignored warnings to regulate subprime loans. Yet another thing Bush failed to do. This is not a partisan jab, as the Democrats (Bill Clinton) are also to blame for this crisis for their actions in the 1990s. Ralph Nader is right again. “The principal difference between the Republican and Democratic parties is the velocity with which their knees hit the floor when corporations pound on their door.”

Very interesting interview of investor Jim Rogers on the Fox Business channel. What’s great about this interview is that the interviewer seems to instigate Jim with the type of reasoning and rhetoric prevalent in Washington and in the general public. The total spent on bailouts in the last six months has ballooned to the tune of 8.5 trillion! Mr. Rogers’ concerns about the future of our country resonate with me very much.