How it Happened - The 2008 Financial Crisis: Crash Course Economics #12

Today on Crash Course Economics, Adriene and Jacob talk about the 2008 financial crisis and the US Goverment's response to the troubles. So, all this starts with home mortgages, and the use of mortgages as an investment instrument. For years, it seemed like the US housing market would go up and up. Like a bubble or something. It turns out it was a bubble. But not the good kind. And the government response was...interesting. Anyway, why are you reading this? Watch the video!

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[RealDoce]

I remember in November of 2008, i was 14 years old when i saw the terrible look on my dads face when he said we were loosing our beautiful home. We had to move to some horrible house that had mold, dirty carpets, and no central heating or ac. My dad had lost his job and was struggling to have food on the table. I felt useless/helpless becuase i couldnt do much to help, It was very tough but in the end we survived. All of this just made me realize how much of a hard worker my dad was, he never gave up. Now im 22 years old and we have our own business now, and a beautiful home

[wav]

"History doesn't repeat itself, but it often rhymes"
- Mark Twain

[HickoryJ]

I was 9 years old in 2008, and my father worked for AIG. My recollection of it was that my dad and I were at a local restaurant and he was reading a newspaper (an actual paper, ye yungins) and he just told me "Nate, we have made a mistake."

[vinista]

Who’s here during the great crash of 2020?

[franksmith]

And we, the hardworking taxpayers, bailed the bankers out so they could go on giving themselves tens of millions of dollars in bonuses and living in luxury on their private islands.

[votekyle]

“Put down your crossbows”
Yeah right, then you’ll attack me with your crossbow.

[andreialfa]

So it's basically because the financial industry turned the economy into a Monopoly game played inside a casino. Amazing.

[Directionless.Sponge]

Who else is here because your business teacher didn't explain anything

[stephen]

I was 8 when the crash happened, so I was blissfully unaware of what was going on. Now learning about what happened and having recent experience with loans, it sounds absolutely absurd for banks to give out credit without checking proof of income. Like I audibly screeched when adriene said that.

[TokenBlackman]

I can't wait for the Crash Course Economics episode of the impending "Student Loan Debt Bubble"!

[mrthugamer]

"And eventually, they just blaimed immigrants and poor people, and this time even teachers"

[Phaedrus-thbi]

The Big Short was a great documentary of exactly who the players were and what happened (mostly behind the scenes), but this "Crash Course" was really good at giving an overview.

[JesseJester]

Thumbs up if you came to this after watching The Big Short

[kyrstencarlson]

I was 8 in 2008, and I remember my dad putting up our house for sale and it being sold right before the crash in 2008. We were extremely lucky quiet honestly, it really pisses me off that so many were hurt because of these financial company's and banks who were a little too big for there briches.

[JamesKelly]

My parents got lucky. Back in early 2008 just before the crash my parents had gotten a house with two mortgages. Fast forward two years and one of the banks went belly up and the first mortgage was forgiven so my parents ended up with half the payment and an a suddenly huge equity in the house. We had also started our own business and barely managed to get by. Looking back I can't believe we survived it!

[JK-gutl]

"How an Economy Grows and Why It Crashes" is a must read.

[stizan]

I used to be a large format printer. The firm I worked for printed blueprints and our bread and butter was home builders. When the crash hit nobody was building new houses. My firm was hit hard and even though we switched over to more school and hospital plans I got laid off in the 3rd round of layoffs. The firm went from 200 employees to 80 in 6 months. That was the best paying job I ever had.

[Achillez]

Oh wait, we survived the 2008 Financial Crisis?
Please excuse me, i need to return to my secret lair, grab all the weapons and ammo that I have been stockpiling for a revolution, and sell all that crap to make some money back.

[sotospeak]

"Things got better..." no they didn't, they just got pushed down the road

[Cliffviewnightradiodj]

I was 7 when that happened. Our bubbling growing town suddenly became a ghost town. My dad’s busy company became a 1 man army and he was suddenly home a lot more. Then we moved to a different state and my parents lost the house. My family went from comfortable middle class to almost homeless a few times. Nowadays, my parents has their company again and are looking at getting house finally