Inside Job

I've been watching a lot of movies recently. Some good, some awesome, some marginal. But one that really made me think was Inside Job. No, not the Denzel bank heist movie, Inside Man, though that is pretty good, not least of which because Clive Owen is one of the stars :)

Inside Job dissects the recent financial crisis, and the role that the large banks played in its cause. What was most disturbing to me, as an Economics major taught by some of the very people that seem to have 'let' the crisis occur, was the conflict of interest at colleges and universities across the countries. These professors are teaching the leaders of tomorrow that deregulation is a good thing, that banks and financial institutions, if left unchecked, will do good- never mentioning that they themselves make mint on the side.

I felt betrayed, and once again wished that I had been a French major.

But now there looks to be some positive action on this front. This Letter to the Editor sums it all up nicely in describing a new movement to :
The essence of a conflict is the need to make a choice between two or more pay masters. Should I advise for or against President Obama’s financial reform or environmental polices if doing so will upset my lucrative consulting arrangement with Wall Street firms? That’s a conflict. For, if you have to ask the question, you have a conflict, and the minimal right thing to do is to declare to all listeners, be they cable TV viewers or senators or students sitting through lecture: “In the spirit of full disclosure, I have a conflict of interest since I’m being paid to advise such-and-such-firm on this same topic, but here’s my professional opinion ...” and then give it for all it’s worth.

Here is another good article about the baby steps of change. And I absolutely recommend watching Inside Job, though be prepared to be kind of depressed at the end.

I'll post pictures of Nate next time, I promise.