Who Is To Blame For The Financial Crisis?

The financial crisis is also known as the Great Recession of 2008. Remember the rescue of investment bank Bear Stearns in March 2008 and the failure of Lehman Brothers in September 2008?

According to a study of 54 countries, there has been an increase in suicide deaths as a result of the recession. The study cites that there were an estimated 5,000 additional deaths resulting from suicide in the year 2009 alone. Six people debate the motion "Blame Washington More Than Wall Street For The Financial Crisis".

For The Motion: from left to right Niall Ferguson, John Steele Gordon, Nouriel Roubini

For The Motion: Niall Ferguson, Laurence A. Tisch Professor of History at Harvard University, a senior research fellow of Jesus College, Oxford University, and a senior fellow of the Hoover Institution, Stanford University. Niall is the author of Paper and Iron, The House of Rothschild, The Pity of War, The Cash Nexus, Empire, Colossus (2002) and The War of the World (2006), Niall also writes regularly for newspapers and magazines all over the world. Ferguson has written and presented four highly successful television documentary series for British television: Empire, American Colossus, The War of the World, and, most recently, The Ascent of Money. He and his wife and their three children divide their time between the United Kingdom and the United States.

For The Motion: John Steele Gordon, Author and Commentator on New York's Business and Financial History. John's books include Hamilton's Blessing: the Extraordinary Life and Times of Our National Debt (1997), The Great Game: The Emergence of Wall Street as a World Power, 1653-2000 (1999), and An Empire of Wealth: The Epic History of American Economic Power (2004). John's next book will be a history of the world economy. John is also a frequent commentator on Marketplace, the daily public radio business-news program, and has appeared on CNBC, PBS, ABC's 20/20, Bloomberg, and C-SPAN television.

For The Motion: Nouriel Roubini, Professor, Economics and International Business, Stern School of Business, New York University. Nouriel is a professor of economics and international business at the Stern School of Business, New York University, and co-founder and chairman of RGE Monitor, an economic and geo-strategic information service.

Against The Motion: from left to right Alex Berenson, Nell Minow, Jim Chanos

Against The Motion: Alex Berenson, Investigative Reporter for the New York Times. Alex has been a business investigative reporter for the New York Times since 2000. Alex is the author of three novels and one non-fiction book, The Number, an explanation of how Wall Street's obsession with short-term profits damages markets and all of America.

Against The Motion: Nell Minow is the editor and co-founder of The Corporate Library, an independent corporate governance research firm. Previously, Nell was a Principal of Lens, a $100 million investment firm, President of Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc. and an attorney for the US Environmental Protection Agency and the Department of Justice. In 2007 Directorship magazine named Nell one of the 20 most influential people in corporate governance. Nell has authored more than 200 articles and co-authored three books, most recently the 4th edition of an MBA textbook called Corporate Governance, published in 2008.

Against The Motion: Jim Chanos, Founder and Managing Partner of Kynikos Associates. As the largest exclusive short selling investment firm, Kynikos provides investment management services for both domestic and offshore clients. Jim opened Kynikos Associates in 1985 to implement investment strategies he had uncovered while beginning his Wall Street career as a financial analyst with Paine Webber, Gilford Securities and Deutsche Bank. Throughout his investment career, Jim has identified and sold short the shares of numerous well-known corporate financial disasters. Jim's celebrated short-sale of Enron shares was recently dubbed by Barron’s as “the market call of the decade, if not the past fifty years.”
Source: intelligence2 Debates: BLAME WASHINGTON MORE THAN WALL STREET FOR THE FINANCIAL CRISIS

Jerry Brown

The West Coast Action Plan

California has a cap and trade system to reduce carbon dioxide emissions. Governor Jerry Brown tells Steve Curwood that by joining up with neighboring states and British Columbia, California hopes to encourage the rest of the country to put a price on carbon.
Source: living on earth: Jerry Brown and the West Coast Action Plan

Richard Denison

EPA Scraps Chemical Safety Rules

Blocked for years by the White House Office of Management and Budget, two chemical safety rules have been dropped altogether by the EPA. Environmental Defense Fund’s Richard Denison tells Steve Curwood why this is bad news for public health.
Source: living on earth: EPA Scraps Chemical Safety Rules

Mary Pipher

Living With Eco-Anxiety

We are living in the times of global climate change, species extinction, and habitat loss. As a result, many people these days feel eco-anxiety. Psychologist and author Mary Pipher's latest book is called The Green Boat: Reviving Ourselves in our Capsized Culture. She explains to Steve Curwood how we can save the earth and restore our mental health at the same time.
Source: living on earth: Saving Ourselves- The Green Boat
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Music includes David Rovics - Shut Them Down, What Have You Done, Capitol Steps - California Gay Men, David Rovics - Vanguard, Capitol Steps - Juan Nation, In The Dark, Michael Mansfield - Vietnam, Michael Franti - Bomb the World, Ryan Harvey - The Violence of War, John Fogerty - Deja Vu All Over Again, David Rovics - Whoever Wins In November, The Mariachi Brass featuring Chet Baker - Bang Bang (My Baby Shot Me Down)