Laughing at the economy

Here is another entry in the long line of videos aimed at helping us understand the economy.  Would any other show be able to explain the financial crisis, describe the symbolic interactionist underpinnings of our economy, and base a significant amount of its plot on Jesus Christ’s persecution?

http://www.southparkstudios.com/episodes/220760/

The episode also gives us some insight into the government’s decision-making process:

Read Full Post »

Curbing conspicuous consumption

Though the long-term benefits remain to be seen, one positive aspect of the current economic crisis may be a reduction in conspicuous consumption:

In just the seven months since the stock market began to plummet, the recession has aimed its death ray not just at the credit market, the Dow and Detroit, but at the very ethos of conspicuous consumption. Even those with a regular income are reassessing their spending habits, perhaps for the long term. They are shopping their closets, downscaling their vacations and holding off on trading in their cars. If the race to have the latest fashions and gadgets was like an endless, ever-faster video game, then someone has pushed the reset button.

Read Full Post »

Hot potato with a time bomb

A nice video examining the credit crisis: The Crisis of Credit. See also Frontline: Inside the Meltdown.

Both go a long way toward demystifying a complicated problem (which is not helping the fact that the job market sucks).

Read Full Post »