Linh Vuu September 10, 2014

Inside Job Movie Write-Up Group: TA Chad Lazar

I would not agree with the conclusion from the documentary Inside Job that The
financial industry [has] turned its back on society. (Ferguson) Since America was founded, it
had conceived a capitalist free market economy. A market where the nations trade and industry
are controlled by the invisible hand of private owners. The invisible hand is then guided by
the profit motive engendered from an individuals selfishness and greed. The rule of our
economy is that those with more money have more influence over how the economy runs and
can legally manipulate the system for their own benefit. Thus, the financial industry has always
acted in the manner described by the documentary in which each individual fends for oneself in
order to achieve their personal success through any means necessary and morally (or not).
Our economy was founded on the ideal that government should have little to no
intervention in our free market transactions and that the laws of supply and demand should be the
only forces to direct our economy. Thus, our economy has developed to what it is today.
Deregulation and privatization defines the American economy. In the case of Wall Street,
deregulation allowed for the executive management to abuse their authorities and basically do
whatever they wanted to do with the capital they had available to them, especially since it wasnt
their money. Who wouldnt want to invest with money that isnt theirs? Ideally, there would be
no risk involved for them, only profits to be gained and more money to claim. Another point that
this documentary discusses is the creation of extremely risky investments, such as derivatives
and collateralized debt obligations. Nonetheless, based on the common knowledge of risk-return
tradeoff, the higher the risk, then the higher the return. It is out of human selfishness and greed,
that those who are knowledgeable will use their expertise to the best of their ability to extort all
opportunities possible. Selling these risky derivatives to their customers then betting against
them makes sense for these executives because they will be the ones to reap the benefits, even if
it means the rest of the economy and America will suffer from it.
Obviously, the activities described in the documentary are morally and ethically unjust.
No company will benefit by deceiving their customers. They might benefit from the short-term
gains, but people will learn about their wrongdoings and no longer invest in their company in the
long-term. Even if people do not realize that the companies are managing their money unjustly,
people will still lose a lot of money and can no longer contribute to the consumption that fuels
the production of these companies. Both parties will inevitably fail and the economy will come
into a halt by falling into recession. Hence, even today our economy could be described as being
stuck in a bubble. For instance, China is often recognized for its growing housing market
bubble that may burst any moment, resulting in inflation of real estate prices, foreclosures, and
an economic downturn. Now the government is forced to mediate the problem through stimulus
measures that costs a lot of money, which the economy does not have and taxpayers are not
willing to compensate for. With the continuation of our current mindset that our economy will
always prosper from deregulation and privatization, the financial industry will continue to
disintegrate while top executives cash their checks and leave before the actual chaos begins.
Thus, I do not believe our financial industry [has] turned its back on society (Ferguson)
because it was established with its existing mindset of all for one and one only. Its back was
always turned against society because each individual seeks prosperity and profit for themselves
only. However, I believe more regulation is needed in the regard to control the humanistic greed
and eliminate the corruption in our existing economy by enforcing more accountability.