Griftopia bubble machines, vampire squids, and the long con that is breaking America

The financial crisis that exploded in 2008 only prologue. The rise, fall, and rescue of Wall Street in the bubble-and-bailout era was the coming-out party for the network of looters who sit at the nexus of American political and economic power. The grifter class--made up of the largest players in th...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Author: Taibbi, Matt
Format: Books Print Book
Language:English
Published: New York : Spiegel & Grau, 2010.
Edition:1st ed.
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Summary:The financial crisis that exploded in 2008 only prologue. The rise, fall, and rescue of Wall Street in the bubble-and-bailout era was the coming-out party for the network of looters who sit at the nexus of American political and economic power. The grifter class--made up of the largest players in the financial industry and the politicians who do their bidding--has been growing in power for a generation, transferring wealth upward through increasingly complex financial mechanisms and political maneuvers. The crisis was only one terrifying manifestation of how they've hijacked America's political and economic life. Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi here unravels the story, digging beyond the headlines to get into the deeper roots and wider implications. He traces the movement's origins to Ayn Rand and her most influential acolyte, Alan Greenspan; he uncovers the hidden commodities bubble that transferred billions of dollars to Wall Street while creating food shortages around the world; and he shows how finance dominates politics with an inside account of the high-stakes battle for health-care reform--a battle the true reformers lost.--From publisher description.
Physical Description:252 p. ; 25 cm.
ISBN:9780385529952 (alk. paper)
0385529953 (alk. paper)
Author Notes:Matt Taibbi is a contributing editor for Rolling Stone and a columnist for RollingStone.com. He is the author of The Great Derangement, Spanking the Donkey,Smells Like Dead Elephants, and The Divide: American Injustice in the Age of the Wealth Gap.

(Bowker Author Biography)