$(document).ready( function () { talk_rendercallback({"enabled":"1","islive":"0","eid":5566,"total":"1069","discussion":[{"nm":"Gyrfalcon","rs":"0","ms":"That the question of whether or not derivatives should be regulated is still being asked is troubling in the extreme. That Geithner, Summers et al are publicly arguing for regulation is not credible, it is for public consumption only. Derivatives are not really that complex. They don\'t make sense because they are hiding what they really are: nothing but huge illegal bets. Ms. Born\'s brilliance and courage are heartening. I do not believe that she wasn\'t believed because she was a woman. I believe that she was discounted because it was not in the economic best interest of the financial industry or their agents to grant her credence. The so-called &quot;titans&quot; Rubin, Greenspan and Summers could not have been more wrong. Thing is, neither they nor their associates ever had any interest in protecting the American people. First axiom of security, of protection, is to look into any possible risk and enact barriers. Especially with risks of this magnitude. The only one who did this was Ms. Born, a woman of greatness. If Obama is sincere, why isn\'t she in his cabinet, at the forefront? By the way, &quot;too big to fail&quot; does not exist. It was a concept in aid of great theft. The program is superb journalism, thank you.","pt":"Mar  5, 2010 19:18"},{"nm":"John","rs":"0","ms":"So now that we know who was in a large part responsible for this crisis, what has been done to make them accountable? Nothing. If you\'re Joe citizen, you\'re held accountable for EVERYTHING you do. $1.00 short of your credit card payment? BAM, fees applied. But if you\'re high up in government, you can trash an entire national economy and you still receive your fat retirement perks. Our politicians had the power to stop this, they didn\'t and they too still receive their perks. I\'m disgusted with the road our \'leaders\' have taken this country. ","pt":"Mar  5, 2010 18:06"},{"nm":"Patrick Potyondy","rs":"0","ms":"Did you even watch the video Robert?  Clearly the governments of Reagan and onwards are to blame in part, but they are to blame for letting the financial sector (and its economists!) off the leash.  The _underlying problem_ was the free-market champions.  Not anyone government administration or lack of regulation.","pt":"Mar  4, 2010 15:02"},{"nm":"Tom","rs":"0","ms":"Right on, Mr. Wright!  Government is the most incompetent and corrupt of all institutions... that has been proven time and time again.  ","pt":"Mar  3, 2010 14:57"},{"nm":"Drew Saunders","rs":"0","ms":"Should derivatives be regulated? Of course. It strikes me that a thornier question is regulation of the degree of leverage (and perhaps measurement of &quot;leverage&quot; -- sigh) that financial institutions should be allowed to take on. Exponents of &quot;free markets ideology&quot; should recognize that their arguments apply to well-capitalized (again, a measurement issue?) firms. Individuals and institutions that risk their own capital do so wisely, I think, and take calculated and efficient risks. Under-capitalized institutions (e.g., those that operate with ratios of debt to capital of, say, \>20 -- we could argue!) do not consider the downside, because it falls to their creditors (or the taxpayer). Now, sure, those creditors should be diligent -- yada yada. But those of Fannie and Freddie were diligent and prescient in understanding that they could lend all they like to that spendthrift business, and in the end, the taxpayer would bail them out. I\'m venting. More regulation of leverage, I say!","pt":"Mar  3, 2010 09:56"},{"nm":"Robert","rs":"0","ms":"I blame the government TOTALLY. The executive branch of what 4 administrations Both Democrat and Republican! why do we even have regulatory agencies if they don\'t do anything?","pt":"Mar  2, 2010 07:39"},{"nm":"Bill Bascom","rs":"0","ms":"Should be required watching for every congressman, banker, broker and investor.","pt":"Mar  1, 2010 18:35"},{"nm":"Eileen","rs":"0","ms":"\'Mr Greenspan should re-read (or read) pg 973 of Atlas Shrugged.  Ayn Rand said, \' The only proper functions of a government are .... and the courts, to protect your property and contracts from breach or fraud....\'  How could he have mis-interpreted this?\'","pt":"Feb 28, 2010 14:03"},{"nm":"Catherine M","rs":"0","ms":"After the crash of 29 the government put in place what they thought would be the best regulations to avoid this type of disaster but the boys on Wall St and their friends in DC created an entirely new unregulated market.  These boys will alway try and color outside the lines and we the people will always pay the price. Most people truly believe the lie &quot;It was the poor people buying homes beyond their means which was at the heart of the crisis&quot; Unbelievable garbage spoken by the very guilty, greedy and as yet to be punished thieves of Wall Street.","pt":"Feb 28, 2010 04:55"},{"nm":"Mr Wright","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan was right, Brooksley was wrong.  The problem was & is that Greenspan/Geithner/Bernanke don\'t have the courage walk the talk they are talking. &quot;IF&quot; Greenspan truly believed in markets he would have let LTCM fail in 1998 and allowed the temporary meltdown of financial markets to &quot;cull the herd&quot;.  The resulting fear of OTCD and other similar products would have been more effective than any government regulation.  The same belief in markets would have let AIG, Citibank et. al fail in 2007.  &quot;To Big To Fail&quot; and &quot;Systemic Risk&quot; play no role in the mentality or vocabulary of a free marketeer. Those fools at Citi/AIG aren\'t the only ones on the planet who know how to mismanage a bank/insurance. Had they been allowed to fail, they would now be run by the truly competent Brooksley\'s & Kyle Bass\'s of the world.  Oh don\'t cry a river to me about systemic risk and to big to fail. Don\'t forget GM the worlds largest car manufacturer and &quot;To big to fail&quot; did fail it went bankrupt, yes bankrupt and you never had a day when you couldn\'t buy a Chevrolet. Why? Because there are enough competent people better at everything from banking to car building waiting in the wings to buy up the scraps from the incompetent and make them competent once again.  But if the Greenspan\'s of the world continue to bail out their incompetent buddies with our money then the herd never gets culled and no fear of OTCD and the like is instilled. Fear and self preservation are the most effective regulation.  Let\'em fail next time and then the &quot;next time&quot; will be much much further away.  ","pt":"Feb 28, 2010 01:39"},{"nm":"Actongue","rs":"0","ms":"Women like Brooksley Born is the type of women that woman today should look up to and admire. Palin however is one that should not be admired.  (had to get my palin rant in )  I thoroughly enjoyed watching this show and found it extremely informative and insightful.  I have seen some on here who said that we should not blame Greenspan because the overall economy in the 90\'s was great.   While that maybe true,  We have known for quite sometime that We need to regulate and deregulation is not the key. (yes regulations is our friend as long as properly regulated)    While both parties have played a part in this mess.  This proves that unregulated free markets do not correct themselves.","pt":"Feb 26, 2010 22:15"},{"nm":"Sharon Stockham","rs":"0","ms":"Absolutely Derivatives should be regulated since it took all of us tax payers to bail this nightmare out. My husband and myself lost over $80K in our Retirement Funds and I know many lost much more than that due to the dive in the stock market. Next time - do we have to bail them out again??","pt":"Feb 26, 2010 21:38"},{"nm":"James Bellon","rs":"0","ms":"What good does knowing this do? The government makes deals like this all the time behind the public\'s back and they don\'t care. We can\'t change what they do and they are never held accountable for anything. Tens of millions have lost their jobs and homes and the fat cats in DC and NY get richer. Nothing ever changes. Our government couldn\'t care less about the people of this country, we are nothing more then the funding for their own projects and desires. That\'s what they set up in 1913 when the bankers wrote the laws that created the Fed (A privately owned bank that has no affiliation to the government) and allowed them to control the creation of money. Kennedy was killed by the wealthy because he wanted to take the power of printing money and selling it to the government with interest away from the Fed, not by Oswald or for any other reason. Bankers get wealthier every day and the rest of us suffer to make ends meet. What has happened to this country.","pt":"Feb 26, 2010 13:43"},{"nm":"Mickey Cashen","rs":"0","ms":"I was very impressed with this episode - and worried about Washington\'s continued reluctance to regulate - Bernanke is now (Feb 25, 2010) investigating whether or not Goldman Sachs and others are using Credit Default Swaps to bet that Greece will default on its debts! I posted this site\'s address on the Bernanke Investigation article\'s comment board on USA Today: \<a href=&quot;http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-02-25-bernanke-fed-greece_N.htm&quot;\>http://www.usatoday.com/money/economy/2010-02-25-bernanke-fed-greece_N.htm\<\/a\>","pt":"Feb 25, 2010 20:27"},{"nm":"Ron Chandler","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline\'s The Warning&quot; is the most poignant 55 minutes and 21 seconds of Special Interest information that ever took place in America in my lifetime of 71 Years.  My grandfather during the Russia scare, some 50 or so years ago, told me...&quot;don\'t worry son, If America is ever compromised, it will be through our financial system a deadly weapon will never be discharged&quot;.  I thought at the time, if true, I\'d be dead and never know.Ron ChandlerFeb. 25th, 20105:50PM","pt":"Feb 25, 2010 19:05"},{"nm":"chargo2k","rs":"0","ms":"If we have not figured out a way to avoid another meltdown by the time the next meltdown has started, then just let it happen. I\'m sick and tired of EVERYONE TAKING OUR MONEY! After the bailout, sales taxes were increased, payroll taxes were increased, then it was the parking meters, the bridge tolls, PG&E increases, the city wants you pay them a fee because you live in an apartment, they told us to conserve water and when we did, they charged us for THAT. We\'re losing our homes and our jobs. I say let the next meltdown happen and when the fat cats who started this mess are in the streets homeless with us, it\'ll serve them right. They will start blowing their brains out and jumping off bridges like they always do (cowards that they are), and then the REAL entreprenuers, creative folks, and survivors will rise from the ashes. Perhaps the NEXT time around we will get it right. . . . ","pt":"Feb 25, 2010 17:33"},{"nm":"Dan","rs":"0","ms":"As this documentary indicated, the same people who allowed this to happen (financial crisis)are the same senators, regulators and people on TV today who are pointing fingers and calling everyone on Wall St and Banks names. Funny how if you point your finger enough and tell everyone it was someone else\'s fault, they believe you. The American public should realize that government is always in the middle of any massive screw up. The &quot;rules&quot; in regulation were changed to allow this crisis many years ago. This was a great program.","pt":"Feb 25, 2010 16:56"},{"nm":"Sean","rs":"0","ms":"The main point I took from this: Ayn Rand, as I\'ve said since I was a wee child reading Anthem, is an ignorant knee-jerk republican, popular only through Communisms unpopularity. Now that I\'m aware she has actually had a an impact, I have a reason to hate her beyond her hackish writing and poor philosophical views.","pt":"Feb 25, 2010 11:41"},{"nm":"J Schindler","rs":"0","ms":"I thought this was an excellent documentary. I definitely think derivatives should be regulated. It is just plain human nature to do what benefits yourself when there is absolutely no oversight. This has been proven many times throughout history. The taxpayers of this country cannot be expected to backstop banks & insurance giants in the next financial meltdown. I will be voting for representatives who will support regulation of these &quot;dark markets&quot;.","pt":"Feb 24, 2010 06:37"},{"nm":"Pam","rs":"0","ms":"I find it interesting that these people were willing to accept Ms. Rand\'s economic theory esp. since it seems to have helped them and their Wall Street friends\' bank accounts.","pt":"Feb 23, 2010 15:14"},{"nm":"Christopher RL Anderson","rs":"0","ms":"I liked this Frontline exclusive very much. I hope everyone gets to see it. The height of arrogance and greed of our leaders who betrayed us shown up by an honest, hardworking civil servant. There is some consolation in that. Only one of the key players on the road to these destructive economic consequences  had the forethought to say he was wrong and could have made a difference. But too little too late! My conviction is that an oligarchy of greed and power has captured our country for the time being. But the individuals in question are getting old and will soon be gone, and no one will miss them! Meanwhile with hard work, we have to pick up the pieces to restore our material and moral life, and with time we will recover from this. We are American!","pt":"Feb 23, 2010 13:23"},{"nm":"Chris","rs":"0","ms":"So because Frontline says Shady Derivatives Market = Crash, all of a sudden the whole free market is a flaw?!  There wasn\'t even any real correlation mentioned between the two other than dark ominous music with pictures of dark buildings and then some pictures of graphs going down.  People are so quick to love an under-dog.  They even pointed out she was a woman for no good reason other than that point.  Why did they exclude the whole banks being forced to give loans to people who couldn\'t afford them? Or any of the shady gov\'t dealings that were just as if not more corrupt.  If a documentary has an agenda it fails as a documentary and become propaganda. Sorry Front Line... I am not moved by this.","pt":"Feb 23, 2010 12:23"},{"nm":"Andrew Furman","rs":"0","ms":"All that has to be done is to have anyone with more than $1B of counterparty risk in any market report that position to the Federal Reserve/CFTC or other EXISTING regulatory agency.  That\'s it.  No need to stop commerce or make institutions with neglible footprints report.  AIG had $60B of CDO exposure to Goldman and SocGen!  Typhoid Mary (aka Joseph Cassano) would have never been allowed to create such MONSTER positions if that ONE SIMPLE THRESHOLD EXISTED.  \<a href=&quot;http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/04/opinion/l-it-s-time-to-regulate-hedge-funds-175625.html&quot;\>http://www.nytimes.com/1998/10/04/opinion/l-it-s-time-to-regulate-hedge-funds-175625.html\<\/a\>  Check the date on this link, it is 11+ years old, LTCM was a warmup for what happened with AIG.","pt":"Feb 23, 2010 08:55"},{"nm":"R Siebert","rs":"0","ms":"I am truely horrified that they have exposed this treachery\'yet they allow business as usual in Washington.You get the feeling that we no longer control our own destiny,and that a shadow government is running the show.The American people should stand up and be heard,write to congress and let your voice be heard!","pt":"Feb 23, 2010 03:18"},{"nm":"John Salan","rs":"0","ms":"You assume regulation is good. The Federal Reserve caused this with low interest rates and Fannie and Freddie secured loans that should not have been secured. All the GSEs did and the low interest rates by Fannie and Freddie did was allow Greed to thrive. We need to less government, less regulation if we want to prosper. If government was the answer then all nations would be rich. The bailouts should have never happened! It is a big joke! You should do another documentary on how Obama will sink this economy with huge deficits and a Keynesian philosophy that matches the elitist of Washington that they can control the economy and the nation. ","pt":"Feb 22, 2010 22:56"},{"nm":"William Griffin","rs":"0","ms":"Dear Pessimists, Please don\'t be so naive in believing Greenspan, Somers and Rubin are solely to blame and that Born was the second crucifiction. Despite what some liberals and  &quot;Glenn Beck&quot; followers believe, it has been the FOMC\'s prudent policy measures over the past 25 + years that have delivered tremendous prosperity and avoidance of another depression ( a full economic cycle ). What you folks don\'t understand is economies are cyclical. That means there run in cycles. Quit looking at stupid short time frames attempting to draw conclusions.At what point in our upbringing were we convinced of the guarantee against risk ? Did we sell at the low and miss last year\'s tremendous run-up which would have evaporated the bulk of our one year loss ?For all of you network watchers... get a friggin life. These people are reporters folks. Not policy makers and economists. Bad news sells ! The last time I checked, Presidents, Congressmen and Cabinet Members all love their children and work very hard each day at their jobs.Why do so many Americans point fingers at public servants these days ?  Why don\'t you go back about 30 years to American Academia and ask them to explain the math of derivatives in Calculus classes. That\'s where the myth of elimination of risk was born.","pt":"Feb 22, 2010 20:24"},{"nm":"k. Fiocca ","rs":"0","ms":"I had no idea of this info. !!!I only heard &quot;How did this happen??&quot; Why was there no warning. Our government shut her up. Clinton, Bush\'s and now Obama. Why would Obama  select Larry Sommers as a key economic counselor as opposed to the smart and gutsy Ms. Born? Transparency. What consequences does Greenspan enjoy? What can we do to stop this deception from continuing? This program  AND MORE LIKE THEM should run at prime time and be given A LOT OF HYPE. At least as much as the silly reality or comedy shows receive. I thank you for producing this and at least showing it at the end of a long weekend at 11:00 pm. I am outraged. Where do I turn?","pt":"Feb 22, 2010 19:09"},{"nm":"Rosamond Dewart","rs":"0","ms":"It is unconscionable that over 10 years ago Rubin, Greenspan and Summers were made aware of the dangers of  OTC derivatives by Born and dismissed it so cavalierly and then pretend NOW that they didn\'t see any of this financial meltdown coming undone. Give me a break. There should be some consequences for their behavior. What a revelation to me this Frontline was, as always. Thanks Frontline. ","pt":"Feb 22, 2010 18:29"},{"nm":"H. Jennings","rs":"0","ms":"Simon Garcia:  One of the points in this documentary is that the economy did NOT have free reign.  Greenspan intervened in the economy by lowering interest rates, resulting in a bubble, resulting in a 2008 crash.  So there really was no free reign.  Kudos to Frontline for dealing with this question.  Most of the media usually like to gloss over this because it doesn\'t fit neatly with their belief that laissez-faire caused the crash.      ","pt":"Feb 22, 2010 16:30"},{"nm":"Charles Field Jr.","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks Frontline!  Isn\'t it sad that most of our fellow US citizens can\'t grasp Ms. Born\'s comment that it was understandable that our congressional leaders would rely on Greenspan, Ruben and Summers as experts, but more importantly, &quot;It was unfortunate&quot; they did so.  How can we progress as a country without critical thinking? I think not.  Expect more from your elected officials.","pt":"Feb 22, 2010 11:01"},{"nm":"simon garcia","rs":"0","ms":"How is it possible that highly educated &quot;geniuses&quot; who are in charge of monitoring and regulating banking industries could ever possibly belive that letting the market run freely without rein could result in anything other than catastrophie? Has there ever been a time in history where humans who are making money hand over fist without having to answer to anyone have not ended up hurting the masses? The industrial revolution, and the need at the begining of the 20th century for labor unions is another great example of what unregulated money making corporations will do to common people. Lets face the fact that at some point making money will become the only driving force within any type of corporation and that must always be watched. ","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 23:48"},{"nm":"S Walters","rs":"0","ms":"How many Brooksley Borns are out there?  Too few.  My hats off to Ms. Born....thank you is so little...THANK YOU!","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 21:43"},{"nm":"Billy DeCastro","rs":"0","ms":"very sad to say so, but yes unfortunately all industries today have to be much more regulated, we are living in a time of fast pace communications means, and fraudulent episodes can be set up a lot faster then it was ever done, while this not new, due to the pace of the way we used to do business, it can be done at the up most mayor scales and be more devastating to the economy, and with economical globalization of course the devastation is even greater. Every should watch this particular program, that way they can stop talking without knowledge and stop blaming those who are now been thrown out of their homes as I hear many people talking everywhere.","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 19:14"},{"nm":"J Jimenez","rs":"0","ms":"A million thanks for an investigative report well done.  I obviously have the greatest admiration for Brooksley Born and the strength of her effort.  It did nor succeed yet she and the American People, that all public servants should focus on when they serve, owe her the recognition as a hero who puts the public ahead of selfish motives. J. Jimenez","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 17:27"},{"nm":"Beth De Voe","rs":"0","ms":"How is it that a Frontline about a woman has a marketing page that not only is missing her face, it has five men on it?  ","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 15:22"},{"nm":"NSolomon","rs":"0","ms":"Wow, This program finally made it clear to someone with very little knowledge of economics.  Thank you Frontline.","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 13:18"},{"nm":"Charles Williams","rs":"0","ms":"Something is terribly wrong when you have the same players that were instrumental in allowing the present financial crisis to take place back into the vault. It appears that are government is horribly broken, or, finally, can no longer hide its dysfunctionality and deception. It is truly democracy for the few. Who could imagine a governmental system set up where stealing is more prevalent than governing. It will be trully amazing and frightening if the common people wake up and assert that enough is enough. Who do you think Barack Obama, or anyone in the position of the presidency represents--certainly not the people.","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 11:26"},{"nm":"Sara","rs":"0","ms":"Born right at the end of the baby boomer era I have harbored guilt about the world I have left to my children.  I have studied economics, mathematical probabilities and am a private business owner. This program has made me realize that the big name theories like &quot;Black Swan&quot;, &quot;Chaos of the Markets&quot; - Mandelbrot, and virtually all the math in the world could not properly account for blatant, hoodwinked practices by supposedly above-board people leading our financial institutions.  If financial markets follow the normal bell-shaped distribution curve, in which meltdowns are very rare, the stock market crash of 1987, the interest rate turmoil of 1992 and the 2008 crash would each be expected only once in the lifetime of the universe.  Numbers do not work for understanding meltdowns when there was virtually zero amount of control over such critical issues.  We, the baby boomers, are not totally to blame for our children\'s future, rather, we were duped by financial wizards and self-serving politicians with unbridled charm and a total disregard for anything except their own greed, ideologies and glory.","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 11:14"},{"nm":"I.Nwawe","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for &quot;the warning&quot;.  I only hope that California\'s representatives watch this and stop following the masses.  I expect them to understand economics themselves and not just listen to lobbyist.  ","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 10:44"},{"nm":"Pat Arnott","rs":"0","ms":"I GREATLY admire Brooksley Born for her tenacity and intelligence.  It gives me comfort to know that we did have at least one person in government that saw a large problem on the horizon and tried to do something about it.I WISH she would help us set up citizen-owned banks, food co-ops, and businesses of all sorts that are not for profit, that share the wealth around, that don\'t unfairly prey on people and their weaknesses, and that are immune from corruption, immune from bad behavior by people who take advantage of loop holes and abuse the system.","pt":"Feb 21, 2010 10:21"},{"nm":"Michelle","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline should get a Pulitzer! They continue to provide amazing investigative coverage of what is clearly the end of our civilization, at the hands of a Shadow Government and Power Elite. Ms. Born is a hero and a TRUE Patriot, and deserves our highest esteem. Please open your eyes everyone, the powers that we think we elect (by stolen elections) do not work for us, and the few that do are made to look crazy and are powerless to save us from this. We were led to believe this was all due to the Subprime lending schemes and even hated those thrown out of their homes for the meltdown. Still believe? That any of you believe that the Federal reserve reports to us and Greenspan can be investigated is Highly misguided...The Federal Reserve reports to it\'s owners, and they are European Banks. We were sold as collateral to the Private entity after the last depression, when we were given Social security numbers. Does anyone still believe that 9/11 was a terrorist plot? Consider that all the banking information and Enron books were housed in building 7...Please Google building 7! It magically imploded the same day, hours after the towers came down. Really? It takes planning to bring down or &quot;pull&quot; a building...This act occurred to prevent us from knowing this and keep you all invested longer, brought us into war to control oil, removed our civil rights (which Obama still has not returned). If you are still on a team of Democrat and Republic, you are still under a delusion that you have any power, or that one is better then the other. They want us to be focused on everything else then what is really going on...$600 Trillion is the end, and not the bottom of a cycle...look what is happening with Greece and soon, Spain, Portugal and the UK...they are melting down each country one by one in order to get one Currency. You must read between the lines. Our greed had no baring on this, we were led to believe in a system that was against us and they know exactly how to control us. As long as we have credit we will passively continue to believe that we are safe and that your children have a future. They are avoiding panic and martial law...society is really as virtual as your stocks and Enron accounting...they have taken it all and you just don\'t know it yet. What event will they give us next to avert our attention, broker an enemy and sell us a mission to hate others and believe in...it will have to be massive...This is who we are dealing with.","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 18:48"},{"nm":"James Hall","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline – Now – Bill MoyersAll great investigative programs.  I hope you show Frontline (Banks – Greenspan, etc investigation) again many times at an earlier hour. I see you gave Bill Moyers (9-10 pm) two hours.  Do the same for Frontline.  Now, which is excellent, but 11 pm is too late.  Based  on what I heard on Frontline, some big boys who got rich should be in jail.  Since when is fraud not a felony?","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 15:53"},{"nm":"PC","rs":"0","ms":"In response to Scott Buck, it\'s perplexing to find the Dems, the party of regulation pushing back theRepubs (the party of deregulation) efforts to make Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac more accountable for theirinsuring mortgage securities.  I thought it was Senator Phil Gramm\'s picking apart of Glass Steagall thatstarted this mess.  Sounds like more right wing talk radio at work here.  Or can you name those Repubswho introduced said legislation?","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 15:15"},{"nm":"Crawlars","rs":"0","ms":"Why don\'t don\'t see this in the MSM/LSM? 1) The average viewer/reader, would immediately click their remotes to a &quot;reality&quot; show. 2) One might consider that the MSM/LSM reports that which favors those that own them.The whole banking scam is already forgotten, replaced by, e.g., Tiger Woods...  ","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 14:04"},{"nm":"Howard Hawhee","rs":"0","ms":"The previous comment states that House Republicans, then in the majority, were strong-armed by the Democratic minority to avoid regulating Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.  That is not true.The Bush administration, in the words of Rep. Oxley (republican co-sponsor with Barney Frank of a bill to regulate subprime lending, including fannie and freddie), gave the House efforts &quot;the one-finger salute&quot; and had  the bill killed.  Google with the following keywords and see what you find:  &quot;bush oxley one-finger salute&quot;","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 11:45"},{"nm":"DMichol","rs":"0","ms":"Frontine - Thank you for your program which aired on PBS last night.  I heard President Obama once describe the role derivatives played in bringing our economy to where it is today.  It may have been during his campaign.  I thought I understood it then, but now having seen your program, and reading some of the comments on your website, there is much more to learn.  Please tell us more.  Watching today\'s news coverage, receiving emails of those in the blame game, even friends, is frustrating.  They express anger and distrust rather than an attempt to understand the mess we are in, how we got there, and what we need to do to work our way out of it.  I will take great joy in forwarding the link to this page to all of them.  I will also forward it to President Obama with a message to bring back Brooksley Born.","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 09:10"},{"nm":"Z Rashdan","rs":"0","ms":"How could so many have been so wrong about so much at the same time? Is it impossible to believe that all these financial brains actually missed it? Ethicsm, and self-emposing morals were simply not there.It is almost impossible to try and explain the “ huge cluster of errors” that happened. Greed has taken over and money has become our most sought out commodity.Great Report","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 08:45"},{"nm":"B Taglito","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline with the bottom of my heart for bringing this matter up for all to see.  Now, how about doing a new documentary to talk about how Clinton woke up this sleeping giant (China) and gave them luxurious contracts in order to boost the economy.  If you do decide to do this, be sure to show how the sleeping giant (China) woke up and consumed everything it wanted and needed, leaving us in a limbo that we\'re in today.  ","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 06:46"},{"nm":"sm","rs":"0","ms":"Wow. Excellent program. My impression was that initially, Ms. Born, alarmed by the Proctor & Gamble case, simply wanted disclosure of OTC Deriviative records to understand this multi-trillion dollar &quot;black box&quot;. Now the American public is left to wonder, &quot;Why did these guys (Rubin, Summars, Greenspan, Levit) try to snuff her out on impulse?&quot; That impulse reaction led her to believe she was on to something really big, and to her credit, she fought like a bulldog to try and protect the American public.Ms. Born is intellectually brilliant, but no match for crafty politicians like Phil Gramm. It\'s clear her mistake was allowing herself to be labeled as someone striving for immediate and potentially disruptive regulation. As Greenspan testified, &quot;We don\'t need &quot;regulations for regulations sake&quot;. Rather than simply requesting disclosure of a spiraling component of a stealth financial system (OTC Derivatives) that had the potential to cause a global financial collapse, she allowed them to masterfully shift the issue to potentially disruptive regulation. Ms. Born\'s CONOPS for OTC Derivatives needed to start with baby steps. Example: &quot;Our CONOPS seeks understand the stealth $35,000,000,000,000 OTC Derivative financial system that appears to be growing at the rate of $7.6 billion per minute, evaluate risk scenarios and their probability of occurrence, and pave the way for joint government-industry collaboration on OTC Derivative standards that would be protective to the industry and public.&quot; This is an example of a practical and non-threatening proposal that Ms. Born needed to put forth--not leap to regulation. It\'s impossible to regulate anything if standards are not defined. A black box has no standards.My belief is that they (Rubin, Summars, Greenspan) did not want to know, and still do not want to know about OTC Derivatives. To this day, each company probably has their own proprietary product algorithim that makes their offering immune to failure. If the extent of risk and corruption was exposed, even today, the American public would be outraged. These guys (Rubin & Summers) would then say, &quot;Don\'t blame us because we had no idea it was like this&quot;.At the end of the program, did any of you notice that Mr. Summers, who know works as the Top Financial Advisor for President Obama, &quot;now supports strong regulation&quot;. They didn\'t say, Mr. Summers &quot;strongly supports regulation&quot;. There\'s a big difference. You\'re a fool if you think this arrogant Wall Steet Insider is pushing for regulation of OTC Derivatives, especially after watching his behavior in this program.One other point: How does the Government tax a $500,000,000,000,000 system, or bonuses related to this system, if there are no records requirements, rules or standards?","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 03:58"},{"nm":"Charles Rooney","rs":"0","ms":"In his usual convoluted style, Greenspan finally confessed to Congress that it was his misplaced faith in Ayn Rand that drove our country to the edge of collapse. Didn\'t anybody ever vett him? Would Congress have approved for his position any other investor whose core value  was that the market could not fail?! This kind of religiosity is a personal choice for someone handling his own fortune. But for someone who is holding in his hands the wealth of the nation, this kind of blind religiosity is hardly a qualification, especially after the Great Depression. No wonder the hot-shot investors loved him; he was an ideologue who pandered to their faith in their own omniscience. ","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 03:50"},{"nm":"WildTchoups","rs":"0","ms":"Conservative economic theory of deregulation is the problem. Period. Greenspan, Phil Gramm and Mitch McConnell in the summer of 1998, as well as the inside Wall Street titans, as well as cowardly Wall Street Democrats like Rubin, Summers et al all allowed this to happen because of a belief in the free markets. Betting brought down LTCM and then the rest of Wall Street in 2008.Thank conservatives and the cowardly Democrats who went along with it. Dig up that gnarly fascist, Ayb Rand, and bury her again.along with conservative economic theory and the corporatists who support them. Reregulate the market and stop  conservative economic theory of deregulation..Father Coughlin","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 02:26"},{"nm":"Allensha","rs":"0","ms":"Riveting documentary!!  I think of Elizabeth Warren when I see Born. Another courageous woman trying to do good and make a difference in a male dominated world. They are both my heroes.","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 01:33"},{"nm":"Robin Reed","rs":"0","ms":"So, we had a warning shot over the bow in the 1990\'s and our representatives did nothing about it.  Well, we now know the fallout can be really devastating, so we need to make it known to our representatives that they need to do their jobs and regulate the derivative market or we will be in for another go round of this same situation.  Let\'s all do our parts and start writting to both the executive and legislative branch that they both need to regulate or we won\'t have learned a thing.  And maybe Brooksley Born should be given a new high level job to make sure it\'s done correctly.  If she can see the problem a decade ago, then she can see the way to correct the problem and get it done.  Let\'s make that suggestion too.  ","pt":"Feb 20, 2010 00:49"},{"nm":"H. Jennings","rs":"0","ms":"Neel Gagan:  Yes, most people said nothing during the boom.  But some did.  That was the point of the Frontline program:  those who spoke up were slapped down.  Hard.  But it\'s also incorrect that a public outcry would have greeted government intervention.  Greenspan\'s constant lowering of the Fed rates was government intervention plain and simple.  He even admits it.  And there was some outcry, but not that much.  In any event, what\'s done is done.  And here we are.@ Scott:  That\'s true about the Dems.  I\'ll be glad to provide you with a list of crimes of the Repubs, too, if you want.  This Frontline demonstrates that the venality and hypocrisy knew no particular political ideology.  It was...bipartisan.  I can point the finger at either party I want, but money don\'t care about parties.  If someone\'s anger gives them a heart attack, the heart doesn\'t care if the anger was justified or not.  It stops just the same.  ","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 22:03"},{"nm":"B.B.","rs":"0","ms":"After what we have seen in The Warning and what we are now experiencing, and, after we bailed out the &quot;banks&quot; after the &quot;Great Collapse&quot;, I find it now a huge slap in the face what the &quot;banks&quot; (credit card issuers) are going to do to us (or are already doing to us) because of the new credit card regulations starting on Monday! New annual fees and higher rates are among other thankful gestures to the Common Good (taxpayers) that just bailed them out! I think we can all take this as an act of war. Let\'s all cancel our credit and retail cards and watch the old battleships sink and go under like I guess we should have done in the first place!","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 19:16"},{"nm":"reginald upshaw","rs":"0","ms":"and until these people are held accountable for what they did to this country they will continue to do what they are doing in congress now.","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 18:55"},{"nm":"J. Abt","rs":"0","ms":"Wall Street will always find ways around regulation. That\'s why reacting with new regulation every time Wall Street dreams up some new scam will never work. A better way is to require approval for any financial instrument BEFORE it can be sold - like the FDA approving drugs, the NTSB approving cars, the FCC approving electronics, etc. ","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 18:38"},{"nm":"Jim","rs":"0","ms":"This is a crime of the highest order. The congress should demand a full investigation, Audit of the federal reserve and hold people accountable for the biggest robber baronry in history.","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 18:02"},{"nm":"Scott Buck","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;W&quot; and the Repubs brought a bill to congress that would have regulated Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae, but Barney Frank and the Dems in power at the time shot it down, with Frank saying &quot;there is no Financial Crisis&quot;...The DEMS have been lying about this ever since, saying it was them that brought it and that Bush shot it down..this is bold faced LIE just like all the other info from the DEMS..","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 13:56"},{"nm":"dp","rs":"0","ms":"It is beyond me why media in general has not picked up on this problem.  The people who were responsible for market collapse are in charge of our financial systems now.  There were hearings held Washington trying to figure out how the market collapsed.  I am surprised no body brought this up during those hearings.  I don\'t recall hearing about it.  ","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 12:11"},{"nm":"Neel Gagan","rs":"0","ms":"As enraged as we are about the need to rein in these new financial instruments, I doubt if we would have felt the same way at the height of the &quot;boom&quot;.  Who would liked to hear that their investments were not really worth all that much because they were based on a bubble and speculation.  Any attempt to bring about transparency and control would have been dismissed as massive government interference in the free market and an assault on our entrepreneurial spirit !  The fact that this has nothing to do with &quot;personal responsibility&quot; but more the sense of impunity and reckless abandon with which &quot;other people\'s money&quot; was gambled away by a privileged few would not have mattered.  ","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 11:40"},{"nm":"H. Jennings","rs":"0","ms":"@Ken: The underlying problem isn\'t being addressed.  There are trillions of dollars in CDOs and other derivatives held by banks that can\'t be priced because of insufficient information about the assets\' values.  Hence no buyers and no sellers.  To price these assets requires following long, difficult and complicated paper trails through all the tranches and back to their origins.  This is why transparency is absolutely vital.  Those who issued the various derivatives must be regulated into providing full details about the makeup of their assets.  A CENTRALIZED DATABASE that contains these details is needed whereby it becomes possible to start pricing these assets.  Issuers must be required to enter the database or they can\'t play.  Simple as that.  This type of database will do more to restart the economy than all the new government agencies and liquidity injections combined.  It\'s absolutely imperative.  As for the banks, unfortunately many of them are insolvent in any real market value sense for the reasons that Born warned about--a hugely leveraged, 600 TRILLION dollar shadow financial system.  The reason the big banks are able to declare profits and pay fat bonuses is because Congress allowed them to lie about the value of these toxic assets, which in reality are worth around 25 cents on a dollar. The bank lobby has that kind of pull with our elected representatives in our Federal City.  Congress needs to revise the law.  Otherwise a) very low lending and b) future economic collapses that Born warns about at the end of the show.  Of course it takes political will, but at this point these congress people don\'t have much to lose.  And what the heck--it\'s only our economic survival we\'re talking about.  It won\'t be pretty or fun, but either will global economic collapse.  Unwinding the toxic assets will prevent total collapse.  As Michelle Obama says, &quot;Let\'s move.&quot;","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 01:42"},{"nm":"Del","rs":"0","ms":"Great info but my question is was did &quot;W&quot; do about it in his 8 years? Please tell me that he didn\'t just set on his hands.","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 01:07"},{"nm":"Tyler Brown","rs":"0","ms":"I would emphasize how overwhelming the evidence against Alan Greenspan and his troupe of Prankster\'s is made clear by the Frontline series titled &quot;Warning&quot; It should be widely posted at all our MBA schools immediately. ","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 00:52"},{"nm":"Peter","rs":"0","ms":"This program should be compulory viewing for all those who still believe in the the Greenspan media myth. In reality Greenspan is truly an idiot and your program has his admission of ignorance on record for all to witness. No matter what any apologists may say in his defense, he has admitted that his belief and practice of allowing markets to self-correct was a mistake. This begs the question; what the hell was he doing with his time???? Certainly not taking care of the nations business. Maybe he was busy playing golf with another free-wheeler, Bernie Madoff??? Sadly we found out too late to prevent our current financial disaster, but what about Larry??? Can\'t we do something about him before it\'s too late for MeltDown II ? ","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 00:39"},{"nm":"Albertine Flugzeug-Brand","rs":"0","ms":"This is gripping. I was at Bankers Trust during this disaster. Truth is, Adam Smith said workforce should always be anxious so wages can always be low and capitalism can work. These guys who put Greenspan in want us all to be in shock and penury, so we\'ll for for $5 an hr without a union when they finally bring manufacturing back here once the USD collapses. This collapse is all perfect for them. It creates opportunity for capitalists. It destroys us! Ms. Borne shouldn\'t ask so many naive questions. She truly was an outsider to Rubin, Summers, Geithner, Greeenspan\'s world.Greenspan was paid by the people who benefit most when we are in poverty. Ayn Rand was their tool too. She\'s long dead and doesn\'t have to live through any of this. Neither does Milton Friedman. They don\'t care about social cohesion even though meltdowns like this get Fascists elected and innocent intelligent people thrown out of airplanes over the Atlantic Ocean. We are suckers, Democrats sold us out, and campaign finance rulings by the Supreme Court starting with Powell allowed this all to happen. ","pt":"Feb 19, 2010 00:29"},{"nm":"Berg","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m sick to my stomach over this. If Clinton hadn\'t been so busy waiting for Monica to show up - maybe he could have gotten some work done. Greenspan and his bunch showed their male egos and stupidity and now we all have to pay for it. I would like to know where the money is? Where our money is? How much of 401K money is being played with on Wall Street?The middle class is a group of people who create money for Bankers, Lawyers, and the Govmt to play with. Driven by Special Interest groups, our Govmt makes all middle class members fools! Now with reduced taxes in the way of consumed goods, property taxes, and income taxes, we are in a predicament that seems impossible to get out of.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 23:24"},{"nm":"Roberta Marchi","rs":"0","ms":"  We need to get President Obama to see this video and WE MUST GET THESE DERIVATIVES REGULATED!!! Why is Larry Somers on our President\'s team instead of Brooksley Born?  I believe the President needs to rally all his supporters to contact their congressment and senators to support regulations.  Please God, we cannot afford another collapse of the monetary system.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 23:14"},{"nm":"D. Naren","rs":"0","ms":"Why there is no action on Greenspan, Rubin and Larry Summers for misguiding the congress?","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 21:59"},{"nm":"Charles","rs":"0","ms":"lawdog070 you are correct.  But most people shun the &quot;middle ground&quot; and think they want an extreme answer, as if extremity improves the chances of surety.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 21:31"},{"nm":"Lori","rs":"0","ms":"The one regulation that would WORK is NO BAILOUTS. Period.Without the implicit (and now explicit) promise of taxpayers backstopping all risk, there would be no &quot;Too Big To Fail&quot; anything. If someone told me I could take enormous risks and reap the profits, but bear none of the downside if the venture failed, I\'D TAKE THAT DEAL. ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 18:47"},{"nm":"lawdog070","rs":"0","ms":"Don\'t get too excited.  There is nothing this simple.  Regulation on a controlled level is necessary.  No Regulation is a disaster.  Too much regulation is stupid.  The balance is difficult.  ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 18:07"},{"nm":"Mayme Trumble","rs":"0","ms":"Wow and the Supreme Court just ruled that this corporate bunch can now openly, buy their own Representatives and Senators. I am so disgusted with the government process that I could scream. If this administration doesn\'t get busy and put some of these guys in jail, then I\'m not even going to vote again. What is the point?","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 18:05"},{"nm":"Ken","rs":"0","ms":"A bit short on content but nevertheless an interesting &quot;infomentary&quot;.  I find it astonishing that these people get their second chances after patently failing their country and constituents.  This is what happens when financial markets are no longer focused on providing capital to industry, services and consumers to support demand driven growth, but instead monetary policy and finance is focused entirely of mathematical gambling without individual accountability.  Ask any hedge fund manager, derivatives trader, or broker if he or she would take the risk positions if they were dealing with their own money and I\'d bet you would get a &quot;no way in hell&quot; response from the majority...It\'s a catch 22 because they have let it get too far.  With so much &quot;funny money&quot; is in the system today reducing liquidity in the &quot;gambling&quot; piece is nearly impossible without beforehand creating a prohibitively expensive regulatory framework.  But this would have the impact of negative economic growth for an extended period.  Politicians can\'t afford that, citizens don\'t really want to swallow that pill, and finance can\'t allow that or the go under because the models would break if regulation came into play in anything other than net profits out of dark markets...  They chose not toe restructure the market in 2007 and the failure to let companies fail will only hurt that much more in the coming decade.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 18:03"},{"nm":"Marcus Brady","rs":"0","ms":"I think that if this true we should include Born in the process of turning things around for all of us. Stop the politics and hire those who understand how to resolve current crisis.  ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 17:15"},{"nm":"K.D.","rs":"0","ms":"So, let me get this straight, Obama did not cause the economic instabilty, so it is ok to let it continue on his watch?","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 14:51"},{"nm":"Druluv","rs":"0","ms":"If what I saw on Frontline is true, how can this country be so enraged with the Obama adminstration.  the meltdown of the market took place way before Obama came into office...","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 14:12"},{"nm":"MPetrkov","rs":"0","ms":"Program like yours, Frontline, makes turning TV set on worthwhile; just riveting content, excellent presentation, it forces you to think. It’s pity that media didn’t raise to her aid when she needed most. I wonder if the President seen it? Perhaps he would now consider speaking with Ms. Born, and heal some of the pain she must have suffered being ridiculed, isolated, and left alone. I do not feel sorry for her, because it doesn’t looks like she needs it, but there are some things which need to be done right, and president is the one who can attempt to have this corrected. I think Mr. A. Levitt said it best at the end, paraphrasing, I (we) could have done more to help her (in her cause).","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 13:44"},{"nm":"Michael Langley","rs":"0","ms":"I finally saw this presentation last night.  It was riveting to find that Brooksley Born had predicted this economic disaster a decade in advance.  It was troubling to see how Rubin, Greenspan and Summers not only failed to see the obvious, but went out of their way to discredit and marginalize the one person that had seen the forest through the trees.  It is genuinely troubling to consider that the disciples of Rubin and Greenspan are still running the economy (Summers & Geitner) and that no serious attempts to regulate the economy have been undertaken.  Without regulation, history is bound to repeat itself.  Many of the people that elected President Obama question his priorities and lack of experience.  Many of us wonder if it is too late to take back our government from the special interest groups and their elected accomplices that have placed our country in such peril.  For the sake of the billions of people that inhabit this planet and benefit from a strong America, I hope we are not too late!","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 13:13"},{"nm":"Elaine Springer","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for providing this wonderful forum so that we all may share our impressions and wisdom.  I feel Alan Greenspan was correct.  The markets do regulate themselves. What we put into something is what we get out. I also feel that much chaos and suffering could have been avoided if we had listened to the wisdom of Brooksley Born in 1998.  She was pointing to the need to look carefully at and identify all aspects of the market before making decisions that affect the current and future well- being of our world.I am currently reading an enlightening piece of literature entitled, The Uncommon Path of Awakening Authentic Joy, by Irish born author Mick Quinn.The book is infused with evolutionary pointers.  Here is a quote I would to share from page 134.EVOLUTIONARY POINTER: The awakened person sees chaos as the genius of serenity.The good news is that it is never too late to learn and evolve together for the sake of all humankind.We can use chaos as a springboard to create more harmony in our world.Thank you for listening.All my best,Elaine Springer","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 11:48"},{"nm":"Miguel Perez","rs":"0","ms":"As long as the goverment violates de constitution, by ignoring &quot;We the people&quot;, we will end up like any other empire in the past, conquered.We reward the likes of Summers and Geitner Greenspan and all the politicians that are &quot;convinced&quot; by te lobbyists, and punish the american public...As long as we, the people refuse to get more involved and demand answers from our elected representatives, demand accountability and remember that NOBODY is above the law, we will suffer all this disasters. What we learn from all this is that in order to go ahead in the american society you have to be a crook, cheat,and if you are lucky enough to be elected,sell your self to any company or foreign power that pays your price","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 11:36"},{"nm":"MR. CONSTANTINE FILARDI","rs":"0","ms":"i watched this edition of &quot;Frontline&quot; twice and am still befuddled at how this group of four have never before been subjected to public scrutiny and scorn.  To think that this group is still held in good esteem and relied upon for their respective opinions is beyond my comprehension.   When will we, the American people, stand up and require real statesmen to represent us in elected office as well as appointed office?  How long will it take to regulate and rein in these people who hold our fates in their hands.  I am a faithful watcher of C-span and am outraged by the arguments made by members of Congress who still think that Wall Street should not be regulated.  Who will stand up for America and the American people rather than the interests of greed and avarice.  God bless Ms. Born and her like.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 11:36"},{"nm":"The Rev. Alfred M. Niese","rs":"0","ms":"Rarely, rarely, have I ever seen such centeredness, maturity and integrity as those characteristics shone through in Brooksley Born in the Frontline presentation which I caught for the first time in Maine a few nights ago.  One of many high points for me was her quiet refusal to speak on camera judgementally against the very people who ripped her job right out from under her.  The Medal of Freedom should go to her.  A thrilling picture of character, tempered by, it seems to me, the one quality that Bill Bennett left out of his book of virtues:  humility.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 11:16"},{"nm":"H. Jennings","rs":"0","ms":"A chilling excerpt from the Born interview:  &quot;What happened after I left the agency in June 1999 was ... a statute was passed in 2000 called the Commodity Futures Modernization Act [CFMA] that took away all jurisdiction over over-the-counter derivatives from the CFTC. It also took away any potential jurisdiction on the part of the SEC, and in fact, forbids state regulators from interfering with the over-the-counter derivatives markets. In other words, it exempted it from all government oversight, all oversight on behalf of the public interest. And that\'s been the situation since 2000.&quot;  This is absolutely extraordinary.  We\'re in the throes of the greatest financial collapse since the Depression and there remains no regulation of credit default swaps, mortgage backed securities, and other derivatives?  Apparently there are still no reserve requirements, either.  Bizarre.  With official unemployment figures above 10%, another collapse in the options and derivatives market would be catastrophic, shutting down the global economy:  a worldwide, human-caused Haiti.  Is that what our beloved leader and his Lieutenants Geithner and Summers want?  Is this why they are flooding the air waves with theatrics about the Stimulus Bill anniverary, ferchrisake, instead of rolling up their sleeves and doing real work?  When our unregulated derivatives market represents 10 times global GDP?  For the love of God, what are these people thinking?  Major hat tip to Frontline for shooting and airing the Born story, though the Ayn Rand/Greenspan bit was just the usual PBS ideological ax-grinding serving only to promote their own ideology. Thankfully the show backpedals by pointing out that Greenspan\'s actions were actually hugely interventionist, thus invalidating the Rand connection--which he himself is quoted as acknowledging.  It\'s also mealy-mouthed for the program to let Clinton off the hook by saying that he was pressured to follow the fashion of deregulation when he was a proud promoter of unfettered markets.  And it was he who hired these cats and kept them on and continues to crow about the economic and financial glory days of his administration.  Nonetheless, one of the better Frontlines, no question...just lose the cheap-o white burst wipes between shots, which have no meaning.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 10:37"},{"nm":"jbyrd","rs":"0","ms":"Judging from the comments, there seem to be fallacious presumptions underlying most of them. 1) That the US still has any more than the most transparent facade of a representative democracy. 2) That the candidates for the executive and legislative branches are elected by ballot rather than selected by the oligarchy and presented to the populace for a carefully controlled operatic referendum with a foregone conclusion. 3) That the selected presidents, senators and congresspersons are not aware of the records of those whom they are ordered to appoint and that they would conduct themselves differently if so. 4) That the American public\'s anger will be anything other than a media-precipitated manipulation intended to provide an excuse for a crackdown. 5) That these issues are rooted in economics and politics rather than an Orwellian agenda that has been espoused and written about for over a century.Listen to a speech by one of these figureheads, and research every phrase which you do not completely comprehend. They are barely concealing themselves because they believe we are powerless to stop them.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 09:04"},{"nm":"Evan Rosenberg","rs":"0","ms":"I have no problem with investors &quot;gambling&quot; by participating in derivatives or any other &quot;exotic&quot; investment vehicles, as long as 1) no public money is at stake and 2) downstream participants (like people who hold a mutual or pension fund) are clearly aware that their participating in these sorts of investments, and 3) that anyone making these investments do so knowing they will not be bailed out by the taxpayer.  So if a pension fund uses these sorts of &quot;exotics&quot;, they do so knowing they will not be eligible for rescue by the PBGC.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 08:39"},{"nm":"vpeluso","rs":"0","ms":"just think all the unions with all what they stand for could never break the bank like the good old boys of wall street i guess when they get done with tearing all down the union man and woman will have to build back up again i hope we can do it thanks ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 08:20"},{"nm":"vpeluso","rs":"0","ms":"did sommers really go to work for the prez what happen to born that dont sound rite mabe they mean donna sommers yea that sounds rite donna sommers ha ha what a country well sure beats livin in china they cant email you about things like this ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 08:12"},{"nm":"Gregg","rs":"0","ms":"Great information and hopefull a lesson that will be learned.  Too many bank mergers creating financial institutions that were &quot;too big too fail&quot;.  Nonsense!  Please dont play party politics with this info. both parties are too blame and raising taxes as remedy?  How\'s that working out in California?  ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 08:09"},{"nm":"Mary Herron","rs":"0","ms":"What did Greenbspn, Summers or Rubin lose as a result of their bad judgement?  Nothing.  the taxpayer on the othe hand lost jobs, homes, savings, equity and more.  What has Congress lost?  Nothing.  Congress contiue to give the left hand finger to the taxpayer while at the same time opening the right hand to &quot;special interest groups&quot;  anyway you look at it the American public gets screwed, they just don\'t get kissed before hand. ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 03:21"},{"nm":"Viola Harris","rs":"0","ms":"Very insightful segment.  It is too bad that the powers that be [congress & the president] don\'t take to heart what is right in plain sight.  It\'s hard to endorse change when you are benfit from status quo.  Congres will continue to give the finger to the taxpayer while embracing those who pay their bills.   ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 02:01"},{"nm":"Don Erickson","rs":"0","ms":"Absolute power not only corrupts absolutley but it also is the catalyst of the death of truth.Of the four men that converged to discredit Brookley Born, two have said that she was right, Allen Greenspan and Authur Levitt. A third Larry Summers has very begrudgingly said that she was right. The fourth, the former Secretary of the Treasuary Rubin is now a benifactor of his champaign to discredit her attempt to rien in and regulate the OTC Derivative Ponzy scheme.One year on from the melt down of the American financial system there is still no meaningful discussions in Congress about regulation of the OTC Derivative &quot;crap shoot&quot; industry.Could it be because two of the remaining four guys that persicuted Brookley before Senate hearings, Larry Summer and Tim Geithner, the supporters of the OTC Derivatives business are the President\'s leading financial advisors?Maybe it is time for the President to start looking around for someone other the Larry and Tim Show to think anew about the &quot;invisable hand of the market&quot; to bring us out this deregulation experiment started by Uncle Ronny.Don Erickson ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 01:58"},{"nm":"gerald rogan","rs":"0","ms":"Some of my bond funds hold credit default swaps and collateralized mortgage obligations. Are these funds riskier because these assets are held? If the banks are underwater as suggested by William Black, why are some banks bonds traded at near par, such as a B of A note? Compare a B of A bond to a bond issued by GMAC which is trading at 75 cents on the dollar for the same maturity and similar cupon. GMACs books are not public but why does the bond market not apply Black\'s claim to the value of the Banks (insolvent) and rate their bonds accordingly? ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 01:17"},{"nm":"Jeff Madeen","rs":"0","ms":"The Federal Reserve(not federal and no reserves) was created by bankers for bankers. The Fed creates money from nothing and lends it to us at interest. We do not stand a chance until this cartel is removed. Also the Goldman sachs gang has been laying waste since Clinton. Do your research and see that they have had their people next to the last three presidents. It is about debt that can never be oaid back. What they do is criminal and will NEVER be prosecuted in the land of the free. Obama is the puppet of the moment, when he is gone they will put someone else in to do their bidding. ","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 00:53"},{"nm":"Ingrid ","rs":"0","ms":"I watched this program the first time around and couldn\'t believe that itdidn\'t cause a national uproar.  I am 83 years old and am taking some comfortfrom that fact-- I won\'t probably live to see how bad it will actually get.I\'m getting so depressed by what\'s happening, considering there was suchhope a year ago.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 00:13"},{"nm":"Marisol Pineda","rs":"0","ms":"I am fascinated with the pragmatism of the program. It is sad to see how ego blind people. Financial genious became untouchable, they have freedom to do horrible things to the people of the USA and the world. They believe they know better than nobody but in the end they are merely normal people who could create or destroy at the same pace.The sad part was that they could not accept a WOMAN telling them YOU ARE WRONG AND YOU HAVE TO STOP THIS BEFORE IS TO LATEPlease create awareness among us, millions of people who are paying the consequences of mistakes of these älter ego people.","pt":"Feb 18, 2010 00:12"},{"nm":"Frances P. McElroy","rs":"0","ms":" FrontLine:  Thank you for this very informative Article.  This article is so well done that even I, a 86 yr old woman can understand.  I wish I had this information many years ago.  I wish all Americans could read it and I will certainly spread the info to my friends, acquaintances, and my family.  I think Miss Born is a great patriot and we can all admire her and emulate her.  FP McElroy Feb 18 2010","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 23:53"},{"nm":"Charles fentules","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;Morality is, and always be on the side of the heaviest artillery&quot; (Ask God)Let me say it another way.. &quot;The golden rule is..those who have the gold, rule&quot;.Are you, getting &quot;the drift&quot;, here......What any of us think, or say is meaningless to the &quot;powerful people&quot; who run this country.If you, or I try to do anything about it, we would be crushed like a grape under their foot.. The only time people, (masses) will listen , or are moved to action, is when one of three things happen.One when their &quot;gas tanks are empty, and they have  no more fuel, or when their stomachs our empty, and they have no food, or both...Until then, &quot;the peasants&quot;, will eat &quot;the bread&quot;, from &quot;the dough&quot; that those in power, will prepare for us&quot;....Whether you are a child, or Greenspan, remember that, &quot;whoever works with honey, will at some point lick their fingers\'.... (Honey=trillion of dollars.)If this were the French revolution, Greenspan, Rubin and company, would loose their heads....and that\'s the way it should be, why? cause if it you or I who did what they did, my friend, our heads would have be in a basket, a long time ago...(sorry about the grammar) I skipped English classes alot, and went to the Dairy Queen.... C.S.F. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 23:36"},{"nm":"AL","rs":"0","ms":"I have one comment,and one thought; I hope that the  information in this programgets out to enough Americans so that congress must act to regulate these otc derivatives. Without such regulation I feel that there will be a financial collapse that will bring us back to the great depression where people lostall they owned.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 23:29"},{"nm":"Mitch Guerard","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline again and again! Sad but true, America would never have the  chance for the truth if it weren\'t for your programming. Even though it is now out there, America sadly will still blindly follow the main stream and eventually we will crash completely as a society. This story, along with unsustainable deficits and it\'s dangers of tipping over at some point, global weather change and the grandaddy of them all oil and energy resource troubles lurking, will bring about the calamity someday. My advice, get ready for it. In answer to regulations, I will state of form of economics that I\'d like to call \'Spiritual Economics\' would be able to answer whether or not to create a rule, law, or regulation on any and all questions as whether or not to make a law. Jesus stated &quot;Do unto others as you would have them do unto you&quot; and if you ask this question, standing on either sides of the issue, argue all the thoughts and look at it as if you truely were on each side of the issue, you will find your answer. There is an element of deceit and taking advantage of found here. My 400 words limit me now, but I\'d like to add that all forms of government, Communism, Socialism, Fascism, Capitolism you name it titles don\'t matter in the least, have one common theme in them that limits their ability to reach their highest economic potential, and that is violation of Spiritual Economics. The more you violate this principle the worse off you will be as a people and a nation. By the way, Jesus did not help everyone. By using discernment, you can feel the difference between helping when needed, and when distructive enabling is involved. Mitch","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 23:18"},{"nm":"Herodotus Jennings","rs":"0","ms":"A chilling excerpt from the Born interview:  &quot;What happened after I left the agency in June 1999 was ... a statute was passed in 2000 called the Commodity Futures Modernization Act [CFMA] that took away all jurisdiction over over-the-counter derivatives from the CFTC. It also took away any potential jurisdiction on the part of the SEC, and in fact, forbids state regulators from interfering with the over-the-counter derivatives markets. In other words, it exempted it from all government oversight, all oversight on behalf of the public interest. And that\'s been the situation since 2000.&quot;  This is absolutely extraordinary.  We\'re in the throes of the greatest financial collapse since the Depression and there remains no regulation of credit default swaps, mortgage backed securities, and other derivatives?  Apparently there are still no reserve requirements, either.  Bizarre.  With official unemployment figures above 10%, another collapse in the options and derivatives market would be catastrophic, shutting down the global economy:  a worldwide, human-caused Haiti.  Is that what our beloved leader and his Lieutenants Geithner and Summers want?  Is this why they are flooding the air waves with theatrics about the Stimulus Bill anniverary, ferchrisake, instead of rolling up their sleeves and doing real work?  When our unregulated derivatives market represents 10 times global GDP?  For the love of God, what are these people thinking?  Major hat tip to Frontline for shooting and airing the Born story, though the Ayn Rand/Greenspan bit was just the usual PBS ideological ax-grinding serving only to promote their own ideology. Thankfully the show backpedals by pointing out that Greenspan\'s actions were actually hugely interventionist, thus invalidating the Rand connection--which he himself is quoted as acknowledging.  It\'s also mealy-mouthed for the program to let Clinton off the hook by saying that he was pressured to follow the fashion of deregulation when he was a proud promoter of unfettered markets.  And it was he who hired these cats and kept them on and continues to crow about the economic and financial glory days of his administration.  Nonetheless, one of the better Frontlines, no question...just lose the cheap-o white burst wipes between shots, which have no meaning.   ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 22:58"},{"nm":"Diana Gail","rs":"0","ms":"As someone downthread said, the village idiot can see this will happen AGAIN.  The Warning should be run on ABC, CBS, NBC on a regular basis until the American people get it.  This country will continue on its decline as long as its voters remain uninformed.  Actually, given the short attention span of the average citizen, the one-two minute video segments could be rerun ad infinitum interspersed here and there throughout the sitcoms and football games given higher priority than the future of this country.  It\'s time to play hardball, demand regulation with teeth and elected officials with integrity.  Sadly, it will never happen.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 21:41"},{"nm":"guy","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for the content.  Your video player makes me want to kill myself.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 21:19"},{"nm":"Dorothy Blaustein","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline on Feb. 16 was absolutely tops.  Someone should erect a statue to Brooksley Born. Bob Rubin, Larry Summers, and Alan Greenspan should be down on their knees begging forgiveness and speaking out for regulation of financial institutions and for breaking up huge banks so that they will never again be too big to fail. Obama should put Brooksley Born on the new commission that is being formed to study how to improve US economic conditions.  Nothing should not be on the table--Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and higher taxes for those who can afford to pay them.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 20:48"},{"nm":"Y. Charles Flinta","rs":"0","ms":"Most disturbing about the story of Brooksley Born is that her nemesis, Larry Summer is today back as an advisor in the White House. I certainly hope that someone on Obama\'s staff will have a look at this Frontline story, conduct some due diligence, do a bit of analysis and then offer Mr. Obama some sound perspective. This nation does not need to bail out another Citibank, another AIG or arrange another corporate life line for another Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, etc. Sounds to me as though the evidence is clear that we do need to regulate Over-The-Counter derivatives.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 20:47"},{"nm":"Brian Baer","rs":"0","ms":"That was an amazing and disturbing Frontline. I want to say Thank God for people like Brooksley Born, but look at how she was marginalized and then silenced by the &quot;old boys&quot; who were bowing down before big money and the promise of endless growth in the stock market. Being first in your class at Stanford Law clearly isn\'t enough. Whether Republican or Democrat, money and quick profits are king. Get Summers and Geitner out of the White House. When Obama replaces them with Ms. Born, I\'ll start to think we\'ve got a chance of getting out from the control of Wall Street\'s thirst for quick--and enormous--profits. Thank you, Frontline, for covering things that should be plastered all over the front pages of our national papers. And I\'m thrilled that Greenspan, the oracle, is finally being exposed! The thought that Ayn Rand\'s crackpot philosophy was running our country is really disturbing. I\'ll end my rant with another shout out to Brooksley Born!!!","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 20:25"},{"nm":"C Goudeau","rs":"0","ms":"A few things come to mind when listening to the history of our congress and the decision making congress has by thinking their decisions are for &quot;The People.&quot; How rude it is to have the American history repeat itself and to still ignore dreadful occurrences and the possibility of more scary misfortunes our economy will experience in the near future. In addition, congress and government should be held accountable as well. There should be a process analysis that shows how effective decisions made by the elite and how their decisions are only repeating themselves from the last decade or more. The answer will show very little improvement. Despite many men who may be the result of a poor economy in this day and age, the men were extremely smart to cover up what seems to be a brilliant way to make money. However, who are holding them responsible for their actions? I believe every individual involved has played their key role into the melt down and in fact, I feel this has a lot to do with the scandal of The Madoff Affair. I value a government who stands against the corruption amongst men who are greedy and unable to keep themselves from being immoral. However, at some point, the regulation should not solely be the government’s decision, but it should be controlled by those who vote the men and women into the positions they hold; “The Voters!”I have one more thing for you to think about. Why have big and small distractions taken precedence over the insurance problem? Why has Blue Cross Blue Shield raised their prices to so many people and no one has answered these questions. Makes you think and maybe this is another repeat that the Elite group are trying to hide from the nation! ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 19:38"},{"nm":"Robert Gass","rs":"0","ms":"CFTC regulation was strenuously opposed by Federal Reserve chairman Alan Greenspan, Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin and Lawrence Summers. On May 7, 1998, former SEC Chairman Arthur Levitt joined Rubin and Greenspan in objecting to the issuance of the CFTC’s concept release for fear of a collapse of the system? What kind of crooks run this place? Basically they said &quot;we have a great thing going here but if people find out than it will ruin our fun&quot;. It is time to END THE FED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 18:23"},{"nm":"Michael L. P. Driscoll","rs":"0","ms":"Did I hear correctly, when the narrator said there were $595 TRILLION in Derivatives? Wow! Has it been said that our/USA debit is over $10 TRILLION; and our new budget for fiscal year 2010-2011 will be $1.9 TRILLION? Over the last 2 plus years our IRA\'S have gone down and up some; and Ms Brooksley Born has said this is going to happen again unless we get back to Regulation?. Mr. President: Have you Seen This Frontline program? If not; then do watch it; and then ACT!!!","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 18:22"},{"nm":"Art Bellettini","rs":"0","ms":"I have a hard time understanding why people in Congress are taken by so called experts without ever questioning their logic. The Senator from Texas probably still believes we were not in a recession.The picture of Greenspan, Rubin and Sommers reminds me a little bit of Larry Curly and Moe. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 17:56"},{"nm":"Tom","rs":"0","ms":"How many of us were giddy when the Dow was at 14,000, home values had doubled, and the instant gratification &quot;gotta have it now&quot; mentality  caused us to carelessly extend our credit card debt? Why did Bernie Madoff\'s Ponzi scheme succeed? GREED! We are all to blame. We fed the Street. We the people have been fleeced by the financial industry and they have stolen America\'s treasure. They have 5 lobbyists for every member of Congress! We need to get special interests under control, regulate the banks and get more folks with Ms Born\'s integrity, honesty and values in Washington. We can\'t get fooled again.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 17:53"},{"nm":"Kevin Lord","rs":"0","ms":"Yes, these highly volatile products should be regulated. I am writing ALL my elected officials about this and encouraging all my contacts to do same. I also like to urge my contacts to write their elected officials on a regular basis and I give them this web address to help them find their reps \<a href=&quot;http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml&quot;\>http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml\<\/a\>    I especially liked the fact that Mr. Greenspan had the decency and courage to openly admit that he was WRONG about the idea that markets will regulate themselves. De-regulation only seems to lead to widespread corruption and greed, and we all know who gets the short end of that stick.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 17:35"},{"nm":"David Cech","rs":"0","ms":"I believe Mr. Greenspan and his friends should be charged with criminal mis-conduct. If anyone still believes that the financial system in this country is for the benefit of the middle class or the common man in general . . . then I have some swamp land in Florida I\'d like to show them. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 17:34"},{"nm":"Raquel ","rs":"0","ms":"I am just curious, with all this apparent mis-managing of our nations finances, is it stil wise for us to trust in putting our savings in banks and 529s etc? I mean couldnt it just get worse and worse? I am young and very scared for my and my 1 yr old sons future. There seem to be some smart people on here and I want advice/opinions. I am concerned that becuase of the biased media someone like Ron Paul will never make into office and no positive changes will be made. Is it wise to trust our financial system or should I go buy a safe and save my cash??  Will cash even be wirth anything?","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 16:55"},{"nm":"yolande Knoerr","rs":"0","ms":"I am living in Europe and just don\'t understand that the people responsible forthis crash are all still around and doing well. There is no sense of justice inthis system. Is the new President Obama blindfolded by somebody or does his own ambition make him ignore what has happened in the last years. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 16:46"},{"nm":"LindseyM","rs":"0","ms":"I have to agree with JByrd: it all plays down as a \'plan\' from the simple and genious \'markets will take care of themselves\' to the timing of the bubble burst and to admission of mistake. My question is what is the \'plan\' when all seems beyond ambitions, greed, power play?","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 16:35"},{"nm":"Jim","rs":"0","ms":"The solution - at least the first step is simple - bring back Glass Steagall.  While Capitalism is the best form yet developed by man - man can\'t be trusted with everything.  There are criminals in every segment of society.  Greenspan\'s idea that &quot;fraud doesn\'t need to be regulated&quot; is one of the most naive things any educatd person has ever uttered. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 16:33"},{"nm":"sandra glutting","rs":"0","ms":"I am reading Henry Paulson\' book On The Brink and thinking about Ms Born and what she predicted and then what happened. I am thinking that we really know nothing about what is really happening to all of us.  I wonder who really let the bankers and Wall Street intelligencia have all this power to really almost and perhaps did ruin this country of ours.  Perhaps Paulson and Bernake and Geitner did save the finacial system but who was really responsible for its near catastific failure. Are these same people still in power to do this again?  It seems to me that the big CEO\'s at the time are still in power, the government regulators are still at the helm.  The only people really hurt and I do mean hurt are the little guys, the tax payers, the small business people struggling to not layoff thier workers, provide health insurance, decent pay. Not to become religous, but Christ said &quot; it is easier for a camel to pass thru the eye of a needle than it is for a rich person to enter Heaven&quot;  That quote should be on every CEO and Senator and Congressman\'s wall.  These people have nothing to lose, there business just raise rates and the govenment just raise taxes. We are lead to believe that we do have some value but to many in power we really are just the ingnorant masses.  I {and we all should} find that a very sad state of affairs.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 16:28"},{"nm":"Janet Wolf-Eshe","rs":"0","ms":"I request that FRONTLINE update &quot;The Warning&quot; as much has happened since its first showing in 10/09.  This program dealt with only a small part of a tremendous problem. So much happened between 1999 and 2008 and I am greatly disappointed that FRONTLINE (which I always view) did not cover the problems and philosophy of George W. Bush during his 8 years as President.  Deregulation, greed, dishonesty and general disregard for citizens were on-going realities that should also be throughly covered/presented.  I also wonder why Bill Clinton was not interviewed about Brooksley Born.  I believe the program should also have, at least, mentioned Sheila C. Bair\'s (FDIC), criticism of the Bush Administration\'s bailout package.  FRONTLINE did not interview Hank Paulson. Ronald Reagan\'s philosophy of deregulation and free markets is still followed by many Republicans.  There is a much bigger picture here and I truly hope FRONTLINE will soon present more facts about Obama\'s leadership and those who work against him on this worldwide problem.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 16:18"},{"nm":"Gale SanPal","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent perspective and as always expanded insight and wish we would have listened. But the bigger reason no one would listen is the gas we all suffer from being born, bred and institutionalized in the male system. The male system of ruling has dominated our world for countless generations. We are so unbalanced in our thoughts and actions, we can not see or hear, let alone practice any truly new and balanced perceptions. We are so off balance we teeter on the edge yet see no problem. Not that I\'m relegating this problem to male versus female, no it\'s beyond that simple separation. This is about the yin within all of us. The need to wake-up from our ideological (like Greenspan\'s) additions, prejudices and actions and see our mistaken beliefs such as: profit at all costs, the best rise to the top, greed/power additions can self-regulate, and competition (few winners, many losers) brings out the best in people.The male system needs to see its weakness and disease and seek its own healing. And the first bit of business is to understand its powerlessness over the world it tries so hard to control and to listen to the assessment of its ills by such people as Born. Children don\'t ever want to leave the playground and I understand why those who have had such a great time playing in these markets would not want to come home to common sense.    ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 16:02"},{"nm":"Bill  Andrews","rs":"0","ms":"This release of information has Multiple Crimes involved in my opinion, that is very disturbing in a massive trades conspiracy. ( Using the Federal Reserve for personel gains and unregulated taxes ) The IRS should have been all over this, after she came out with this information after discovering hidden Derivative markets.( Billions in un-paid taxes ? ) If the IRS and Federal Reserve had been regulating this Market by a gains tax, they could have protected the United States currency and Banks better. As Lawyers and Federal Regulatories, they Failed in this Derivative Casino Market ? ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 15:59"},{"nm":"kathleen","rs":"0","ms":"Borne should be an adviser to presiednt Obama","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 15:41"},{"nm":"Larry Hatfield","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you. This was an eye-opener. Actually, an expansion of feelings about things forcing me into action. I wrote two letters today. One to my Senator...one to my Representative. Regulation ? Heck yes !We regulate electic rates...why not what others can do with our money ?This concept of &quot;free enterprise&quot; isn\'t free...without over-sight, greedy will win...and set the standard of being successful. The more complicated, the better for them. It has become me versus them.Thanks to Ms Born for being true to what she saw...not what she could have become.It is our time to REQUIRE our representatives to adhere to core beliefs. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 15:40"},{"nm":"Deborah Rothschild","rs":"0","ms":"Americans are angry about the CONTINUAL greed that is going to eventually ruin our county. Last night\'s &quot;Frontline&quot; only enforced my worst fears--that this is government of the rich, by the rich and for the rich.  When the greedy people are continuing to take bonuses and have the freedom to repeat the mistakes they have made, something is really wrong. I had such high hopes with Obama, and it is so disheartening to learn that he has surrounded himself with the same people who allowed our financial crisis in the first place.  It continues to be business as usual.  Saying we don\'t need financial regulation is like saying we don\'t need any laws--everyone is always perfectly ethical and honest (not on this planet!)  Anyone who could actually believe this must be a moron.  Lack of regulation is what put us in a financial crisis in the first place, and to keep things the same will guarantee it will happen again.  To Greenspan\'s credit, at least he could admit that he was wrong.  As far as Brooksly Born is concerned--she is my new hero, and all I could feel watching the program last night was anger in observing the way she was treated and patronized.  Arrogance, overconfidence and greed can bring down even the greatest of democracies--it is my biggest fear.  ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 15:33"},{"nm":"Big Boy","rs":"0","ms":"The Gov\'t has been going from bad to worst for some time as is the economy, jobs and life for the average joe. We are mad as hell and will not take it any more. **** the congress and banks. Regulate them and derivatives. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 15:06"},{"nm":"Jo Ackley","rs":"0","ms":"This poem is dedicated to the brave, downtrodden whistleblowers!Where is Brooksley Born now???? I awake from a deep slumberAnd as I reach the door I start to wonder-How did it all go so wrong?When did our Grace start to fade?When did it get to be ok-That the weak are victimized by the strong? When did it get cool to be mean-And so hard to do THE RIGHT THING?Where is my Home of the Brave?I sit on the floor and I start to wonderWhere IN THE HELL is my big brother?Why isn’t he making THOSE THAT CRAVE behave?He used to be so strong and toughHe would say ENOUGH IS ENOUGH!And swill their heads in a bathroom stallAnd when they tried to spin their spin,His crooked smile would say –I WIN!And he’d send them crashing into a WallWhat ever happened to our collective conscience?How did we let our greed get so monstrous?Why isn’t his Grandma taking him by the ear?She’d say when he didn’t pass musterThis is MY HOUSE -MY RULES BUSTER!When ever did we learn to live in fear?All through historyIt is mankinds’ greatest mysteryWhy does it take so long to take a stand?The powers that be bicker and fightAnd YES THEY WILL ignore our plightUntil right at their dirty feet it will landThey will argue and fightOver who was wrong and who was rightAnd ask-where did THIS THING come from?They will hold committee meetingsAnd de-brief in their debriefingsAnd when all is said and done-The babies will cry and it will snow in hellAnd the last drop will be found in the last wellThey will still declare Global Warming in doubtAnd then they might sayAs the world turns a grayer grayMAYBE this was our faultAs they shake their heads and walk awayAs he did in Greenspans’ dayIsn’t it funny that Gore and Brooksley were right?It was so cool to be misanthropicRemember when we first got the news off-topic?You thought America would turn off the TV and take up a SIGN!But I will warn you, you that need beDon’t depend on our ignorance and stupidityYou are living on borrowed timeI crash to the floor under your thunderAnd as I fall I start to wonderHow long before God sheds his final tear?For HE KNOWS that we are not so dumbTo think that he will not comeAgain to push the RESET button.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 15:06"},{"nm":"Ted Cooper","rs":"0","ms":"You know, I\'m just a stupid layman who doesn\'t know anything about the economy. But what I don\'t get is that if I can see what\'s been going wrong for years, then WHY CAN\'T CONGRESS & THE PRESIDENT(S) GET IT. These are America\'s finest.......  yea right. They certainly think so anyway, giving themselves raises year after year while the economy tanks.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 14:56"},{"nm":"DLBrenner","rs":"0","ms":"We can praise Born and scorn Greenspan, but did the media at the time even cover the dispute?  Public TV devotes 30 minutes nationally to Nightly Business Report. Other than being a ticker and tout board, where was the reporting here by this station-financed show? But it\'s easier said in hindsight. People with money were convinced to party on. Perhaps Born could have made her resignation more public and less dignified but Greenspan was the hero-geek of the moment; and short of self-immolation, the press wouldn\'t have figured out what the Warning was all about.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 14:54"},{"nm":"Tina Eckert","rs":"0","ms":"We, as a nation, ought to be so thankful that we have had at least one thinking voice in government.  Too bad that it was silenced. I was horrified to hear how the Royal Three of Treasury in the Clinton-Bush years held court over financial affairs and were capable, as in the days of kings and czars, were effectual in cutting out the voice of reason.  I want Brooksley Born to be in charge of Treasury; I want someone who truly knows what is right and what is wrong to be able to direct financial affairs that affect our country.  The US is cannot afford another financial demise; we need to act now.  Put Brooksley Born in a position of power; take Gaitner OUT -- he is one of the followers of the cabal headed by Greenspan, who helped bring on the devastation we face in the US today.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 14:47"},{"nm":"SlamNT","rs":"0","ms":"After reading today\'s headline on Bloomberg &quot;Goldman Sachs, Greece Did\'t Disclose Swap&quot;, I\'d suggest THE WARNING (Part Deux) has its storyline!","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 14:26"},{"nm":"Ted Cooper","rs":"0","ms":"Freedom comes with a price. It is called abiding by the rules, not cheating, taking responsibilty for and accepting the consequences for your actions.  Unfortunately, there are just too many spoiled brats who believe that freedom means you can do darn well what you please regardless of anyone else. These include everyone from those greedy companies with their governmental counterparts to those who protest in the streets over a lost election campaign.  As someone once said, &quot;There is no such thing as a free lunch&quot;. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 14:17"},{"nm":"Henry","rs":"0","ms":"The big difference between today, and the Great Depression, is that our government intervened this time, preventing the financial industry, (and our entire economy) from complete systemic failure. This was a good thing, but there\'s an unfortunate consequence: the finance lobby was also saved. (Paid for by U.S. taxpayers, ironically). Perhaps it takes a full-blown systemic meltdown, and economic depression - to pave the way for significant regulation & reform of the financial industry. The Banking Act of 1933, (known as Glass-Steagall) was possible because of the Great Depression. Without similar comprehensive legislation, addressing today\'s huge speculative playing fields in finance - we are whistling past the graveyard. Given our current government\'s borrowing needs from foreign governments, (largely due to the financial meltdown), and growing deficits - it is imperative that we remove the possiblity of another financial meltdown. In other words: if I am China or Japan: why buy bonds, and thereby lend money, to a country that refuses to regulate its high stakes financial industry? This casino could go broke again, with dire consequences for our country. We can\'t afford another financial meltdown.     ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 14:08"},{"nm":"Wallace Wood","rs":"0","ms":"Great job. A much-needed look at regulation of markets (or the lack of regulation). Good history and plenty of human background on this vast and sometimes inhuman industry of money.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 14:04"},{"nm":"mike pelletier","rs":"0","ms":"Since Brooksly Born was a friend of Hilory Clinton,did she have any communication with her during her battle with Allan Greenspan and co. ? Was there any communication with her since this great debacle.With Over a 100 trillion in derivatives market the forces holding that black box closed will be like a black holes to suck in matter and light.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 13:54"},{"nm":"Gary","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around [the banks] will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered. The issuing power should be taken from the banks and restored to the people, to whom it properly belongs.&quot; -Thomas Jefferson&quot;The great can protect themselves, but the poor and humble require the arm and shield of the law.&quot; -Andrew Jackson&quot;A great industrial nation is controlled by it\'s system of credit. Our system of credit is concentrated in the hands of a few men. We have come to be one of the worst ruled, one of the most completely controlled and dominated governments in the world--no longer a government of free opinion, no longer a government by conviction and vote of the majority, but a government by the opinion and duress of small groups of dominant men.&quot; — President Woodrow Wilson&quot;The few who understand the system, will either be so interested from it\'s profits or so dependent on it\'s favors, that there will be no opposition from that class.&quot; —  Rothschild Brothers of London, 1863&quot;Give me control of a nation\'s money and I care not who makes it\'s laws&quot; — Mayer Amschel Bauer Rothschild","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 13:28"},{"nm":"A Langford","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;Frontline\'s&quot; presentation  last night was again a must watch, must understand and must act mandate for citizen democracy.Why President Obama listens to either Lawrence Summers or Timothy Geitner for another minute makes me wonder if Mr Obama is sufficiently &quot;tuned&quot; in on the American economic front. When you have a person that was severely castigated for being prescient and then proved to be and 100 percent correct and not have that individual in a top position of responsibility  is a question I, and I imagine numerous others, cannot answer. Ms Born is exactly the person we need to have serving as economic advisor to the President---not those main culprits that orchestrated or at least played a prominent role in the most severe economic catastrophy since the Great Depressio.Her unadulterated advice was if we do not materially institute meaningful regulations in the financial industry we are doomed to repeat the collapse we saw in September, 2008 and are currently attempting to get the nation out of. Those scoundrels are the foxes guarding the hen house. This kind of &quot;change&quot; is much too close to &quot;status quo&quot;.An excellent piece of journalism; I hope we will have a follow up to ascertain if anything has &quot;changed&quot; since &quot;Frontline&quot; first aired this fine piece of work.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 13:26"},{"nm":"pbwriter","rs":"0","ms":"Bravo to Frontline for exposing so powerfully the fraudulent practices of those who were entrusted with the financial welfare of this nation--and indeed the world. How the President could use these same individuals is beyond me. And bravo to Ms. Born who pressed on to do her duty to this country no matter what---and to do it with dignity. She showed what true patriotism is.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 13:22"},{"nm":"VINCE WALTER","rs":"0","ms":"With all due respect for all the valid collective comments, no one seems to identify the big men, that all these others only works for---including our prsidents &quot;ON BOTH SIDES&quot;---could this be the owners of the Fed that is a private run and controlled (&quot;FOR  THEM&quot;,) CORPORATION! Thus there is no true diagnosis of our cancrous roots, with no posible change in sight.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 12:47"},{"nm":"Alwyn Mitchell","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline starts with the discovery that Alan Greenspan was a committed follower of Ayn Rand, an extremist from the school of free marketers. Electors must become more aware of the political, economic and social philosophies held by those whom they elect to high office. Why not record interviews conducted by philosophy professors / students who interview all candidates for high office about their character by examining their beliefs and values. Put the interviews on a central web site such as this one then perhaps we could know about the characters who are putting themselves up for our votes before they are elected. Then we might have a better idea about what to expect, instead of reading the information sheet created by armies of faceless advisers and delivered to us by the candidates themselves. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 12:46"},{"nm":"Tad Foster","rs":"0","ms":"Now is the time for the regulations sought by Born to be authorized and adopted. Is there a posting on the internet of the concept paper or proposed regulations? What is needed now are letters to Congress, more than the President, urging financial reforms so as to offset the financial powerhouses. There needs to be a focused campaign to make over the counter derivative sales subject to oversight, transparency, and most importantly, being treated as insurance policies subject to sufficient reserves to cover their promises. I am astounded Congress is not returning to the laws they relaxed that enabled this crisis. Re-election should hinge on returning to the sounder laws and economy before Congress relaxed 1930\'s era laws. Without a Judeo-Christian moral code to regulate the &quot;free-market&quot; there must be regulation. Greenspans confession that greed is short sighted and destroys the free market is evidence that there is no moral code. Regulatory oversight must occur. Most importantly, the investment &quot;banks&quot; should be subject to antitrust and antimononopoly legislation enforcement. If they are too big to fail, then they are too big for a free market place. Finally, members of that investment bank oligarchy should be prohibited by law from working in government and then returning to positions within the banking industry. Public service is not opportunistic. They cannot be trusted to work for the public good. The forces of their oligarchy are too great.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 12:18"},{"nm":"Matt Marach","rs":"0","ms":"I was completely drawn in by this Frontline episode: The Warning. If this doesn\'t convince you that serious regulation of the financial markets is needed, then you are forever Gordon Gecko. Greed is not good. Many like to say that\'s what this country was built on, and that maybe true to some extent, but we must see greed for what it is: an intrinsic flaw in American values. I don\'t think it was always the way, but from the oil barons to the car executives to the recent financial wunderkinds that finally burst the bubble, we have cultivated this belief that greed is good. People, let\'s change our path. Start thinking of the little guy sometimes. Reinvigorate the ideal of the American dream in which anybody can become anything. Support local companies and hopefully reestablish some sort of manufacturing presence in this country. Rebuild the middle class and we will all be the better for it. I am directing as many people as I can to this website so people can be awakened. Thank you Frontline for this very eye-opening episode. And good luck to you, me and every other American, that we may be able to overcome this hard time to become a better country going forward.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 11:53"},{"nm":"Christine Abram","rs":"0","ms":"The program on the CFTC and OTC regulations only makes me wonder yet again why President Obama put the foxes in the chicken house with the elevation of Geithner and Summers (the latter well-known for his contemptuous remarks about women\'s abilities)into positions of such great financial power.  Surely there are other people at least as well qualified for regulatory responsibilities -- like Brooksley Born?","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 11:46"},{"nm":"Barry Hubbard","rs":"0","ms":"The report stated that Congress terminated the power of the CRC to regulate commodity trading, and during the summer of 2008 the price of gasoline went to $4.00 per gallon.  The head of The head of Exxon said there was no shortgage of petroleum or refining capacity and blamed the increase on speculation.  Goldman Sacs is reported to be the largest trader of petroleum in the commodities market and operates as a giant hedge fund.  Does anyone know what role it, other hedge funds and Wall Street banks played in the run up of gasoline prices?","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 11:46"},{"nm":"John R. Pattison","rs":"0","ms":"As the people of town/village/nation might like to know if a devastating attack is threatened, so the same constituency would be well advised to keep watch on anything that threatens their civilization.No one knew about this derivitaves market. But we knew what happened in 1929, we put regulatory safeguards in place, then we let the bankers sweet talk us into relaxing those safeguards.We need to listen to our Brooksly Borns, or ignore at our peril.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 11:19"},{"nm":"BeachBum","rs":"0","ms":"To ALL those who would fault Fannie and Freddie please remember that the PRIVATE mortgage business was already providing risky loans and then creating Mortgage Backed Securities with them for years.  They were at least three years behind private banks and mortgage companies but finally bit the bullet once it was seen that regulation wasn\'t going to be imposed.  Once again, Greenspan and his followers were WRONG.  Markets will not take care of themselves.  Especially when there is no one minding the store and you can\'t see who you are robbing.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 10:57"},{"nm":"Manuel Alfonso","rs":"0","ms":"Yes. Brooksley Born, a bright, honest, and courageous woman predicted the economic disaster. What additional prove do we need, another disaster? President Obama and congress have not learned the lesson.  The President, by having the same corrupt economists as his top economic advisors.  Congress, by not enacting legislation to control derivatives -of course, we know why.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 10:47"},{"nm":"J. O. Rike","rs":"0","ms":"The lessons learned from the 1929 collapse of our financial institutions were lost during the Bush and Clinton Administrations.  The program pointed out that an intelligent individual attempting to provide sound leadership and guidance will always be trumped by American greed.  Ms. Born was that leadership and Allan Greenspan represented unregulated and unconstrained markets.  Mr. Greenspan\'s arguments won the day but failed to protect the Nation\'s future wealth and investments.  Most indiviuals I have spoken with feel the markets failed!  I would argue that the markets worked perfectly and collapsed as they should have when people and organizations engage in illegal and fraudulent business activities.  The American people have been asked to fund the clean up of the financial collapse of the institutions which were responsible and business which behaved and engaged in proper best practices are now competing with the businesses that were bailed out and in some cases losing business transactions to these companies.  The lessons learned are lost and we have been fooled again!","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 09:55"},{"nm":"Linda K. Dirksen","rs":"0","ms":"The program states that Brooksley Born reported directly to President Clinton.  Yet, there is no mention of President Clinton\'s position vis a vis the proposed regulation of derivatives, unless we are to assume that Robert Rubin et al spoke for him?  ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 09:51"},{"nm":"william C.Gundermann, DO","rs":"0","ms":"Derivative provide an important function within the marketplace.Overall derivatives MUST BE MADE TRASNPARENT THROUGH THE CREATION OF PUBLIC MARKETS WHEREVER POSSIBLE. REGULATORS can provide guidline for establishment and regulation with standardization of contract form and content.   Regulation of unusual contracts (guaranteeing weather for a ski resort for example) present difficulties.   Mkt do not eliminate fraud for profit, greed or other human faults   ----smart regulation can help avoid victimization by such activities.BG","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 09:50"},{"nm":"Mr. Eliu Cortes","rs":"0","ms":"Ms Born was right all at long!!!!  We have idiots working at Washington then and we have idiots working at Washington now.  We don\'t like to hear WARNINGS when we hear one.  Humans will never change.  GREED will continue to rule!!!  Humans are indeed uncapable to  governed themselves.  That is why the whole world economic is in ruin.  And that is why we need God (Jesus) in our lives.  But we keep saying NO to God.  In fact, the world keep saying NO to God, but we have over look one mayor thing, that God has already say NO to us, that is, to our way of living our lives.  In the end, their sins catch up with them.  Greenspan is the worst economist in the U.S. history.  He should never against be praise, for he brought to us--the world economist disaster in the history of the world!!!  He is the biggest idiot I ever know.  AND I ONCE PRAISE HIM TO BE A GENIUS, NOW I KNOW HE IS THE BIGGEST IDIOT IN HISTORY.  THE THREE MARKETEERS ARE THE THREE BIGGEST IDIOTS.  The will be remember in a negative light.  And this to their great shame.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 09:07"},{"nm":"leroy james","rs":"0","ms":"   the real criminals is the lobbyists who works for the financial markets, whom is stopping the markets from being regulated. It is like allowing the fox to be in charge of the hen house.. Love Obama but, he is too weak to stop them and the Republicans are too paid by the lobbyists to want to stop them. The real victims is the american public whom dont have any idea why they were losing their homes, jobs and savings. No health care, no regulation of the markets and 10 % of the public unemployed.. I hope the American public start to get angry and demand one day to take our country back from the lobbyists. Elections should be all public paid and boot all the lobbyists out of washington, fire all of congress and start over.. it is out of control.. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 09:07"},{"nm":"Mac","rs":"0","ms":"Everyone thinks this is a debate betweenover-regulation and free markets,  when in fact it’s a question of truth and transparency.  OTC derivatives can and are being used by financial intermediaries to disguise leverage—clearly not the spirit of free and fair markets.  Capital ratios of 6-8 percent are meaningless when trillions of dollars of off-balance sheet exposures lay beneath the surface.   Migrating these monsters to an exchange (short of an outright ban) would mitigate these risks,  as there would be full pricing transparency and real-time margining.  Our major financial institutions remain  actively engaged in these instruments without any safeguards while holding quantum levels of bi-lateral counterparty risk.  In the meantime, while financial institutions as an investment may rally as the market heals, the risk investors are taking is immeasurable and the risk to the taxpayers continues to be onerous.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 09:01"},{"nm":"perris","rs":"0","ms":"\<i\>&quot;Alan Greenspan was the maestro, and both parties in Washington were united in a belief that the markets would take care of themselves.&quot;\<\/i\>what a rediculous claim from greenspan, the very concept of a monetary system is a set of regulations, once you believe in money you are no longer a &quot;free marketeer&quot;, the concept of ownership, the concept of “a sanctity of contracts” are all sets of regulations, you are NOT a &quot;free marketeer&quot; if you believe in ANY of those concepts, there can never be a free market, the term itself is ludicrousthe very concept “free market” was nothing more then propaganda, a marketing strategy so people like greenspan could have something to fall back on when they redistributed middle class wealth to the wealthy, when he removed the very regulations that forces industry into paying their own billsthe man is not a moron so he is simply a lying sociopath","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 08:29"},{"nm":"Ralph M","rs":"0","ms":"Geitner, Greenspans, and the Federal Reserve should all be hung out to dry.  This list looks like Obama may need to be added if he continues to support these knuckleheads. They are all making millions at everyone else\'s demise.  I wouldn\'t even call what they are / were doing gambling- to be gambling there has to exist a chance to lose.  They are bulletproof and can\'t lose.  Thank you Frontline for exposing this to those who have never heard or seen this before.  In addition, any thoughts on \'The Money Masters\' attempt to expose the fed as the world largest privately held bank in the world?  Check it out on Google video.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 08:29"},{"nm":"Richard Horan","rs":"0","ms":"The man behind the curtain a.k.a. Alan Greenspan was finally revealed as the humbug he really is.  Thank you Frontline.  That a disciple of Ayn &quot;Rant&quot; would be put in charge of the Federal Reserve in the first place is beyond my powers of credulity.  Brooksley Born embodies the leadership qualities that our nation so sorely deserves.  Instead, we still have Mo, Larry, and Curly overseeing our economic policies i.e., doing what the special interests tell them to do.  I am a believer in Barack Obama\'s leadership, and I understand why he was persuaded to pick Summers and Geitner (they were there, and know all there is to know), but he is badly mistaken to think that these &quot;wizards&quot; who allowed the Ponzi schemes to go on in the first place will change their ways.  They won\'t.  They, like Rant, believe in the omniscience of the &quot;free market.&quot;  Brooksley Born is absolutely right, we are fated to push that Sisyphean boulder back up the hill over and over again until our government becomes a government by the people, for the people and of the people, and not one by the Hedge Funders for the bankers and of the Wall Street executives.  On another note: I wonder what Brooksley Born thinks of an imbecile like Sarah Palin?  Why not Brooksley Born as the chairman of Federal Reserve? Or better yet, for President?","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 08:27"},{"nm":"Chad Donnell","rs":"0","ms":"PBS may be one of the only things left in the U.S. to believe in.  The saddest chapter to this story was that even after all of this has blown up in the taxpayers faces.....nothing has been done to date.  Obama is certainly trying.  He went as far to call the congressmen, senators and wall street lobbyists on the carpet during his State of the Union address.  Our politicians are bought and paid for by these special interest groups.  This ties in with campaign reform in which our own Supreme Court recently made the biggest blunder in the history of their existence.  For years now the Dept. of Justice (asleeep on the job apparently) have let mergers and acquisitions run wild causing a non-competitive environment. None bigger than in the medical insurance racket.  I used to sell high end computers to the trading community and I know for a fact that the mathmeticians laughed at the holes in the derivatives market. Who is laughing now?  We all need to make sure our congressmen know that their next term is on the line.  Nothing is more important than for them to show us the voter that they are willing to stand up to a powerful lobby.  If they can\'t then why even vote?    ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 08:13"},{"nm":"David B.","rs":"0","ms":"This should mark the end of forgetting what we once learned. The regulatory reforms of the 1930\'s were necessary to prevent extreme booms and busts. Unregulated free markets, notwithstanding Ayn Rand, Ronald Reagan, and Alan Greenspan, are a bad idea. Time to stop reflexively hating all government and bring the sheriff back to Dodge City. Time to neuter the financial industry, and the politicians they have purchased with their huge lobby. Populist outrage should be directed to better government not an absence of government. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 08:04"},{"nm":"Bob Guzauskas","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;The Warning&quot; is to all whistle blowers. Sometimes your boss is a crook, or, you aren\'t part of a larger, secret scheme. I empathized with the heroine. I have tried for years to change Florida law that allows pain clinics to move pres\cription drugs onto our streets - with the same results.Bob GuzauskasWest Palm Beach, FL","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 06:38"},{"nm":"Ted","rs":"0","ms":"A culture that tolerates fraud encourages thieves. And now the banks have become so emboldened that they steal in broad daylight rather than in &quot;black boxes&quot; and give trillions of dollars of CREDIT---for the cash is worthless---to all of their friends. Nick Leeson should\'ve been American. He would have gotten rich rather than going to jail.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 06:19"},{"nm":"jbyrd","rs":"0","ms":"As a disciple of Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan knew the blueprint, for it was laid out clearly in &quot;Atlas Shrugged&quot;: Form monopolies, then intentionally bankrupt them in order to seize complete control. So dedicated to the Plan was he, that he was willingly to publicly admit that his entire philosophy was mistaken, when, in fact, everything had gone (and is going) exactly as planned.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 05:49"},{"nm":"J.Walker","rs":"0","ms":"no mention of the rating agencies rating these golden turds (CDO) as AAA","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 05:31"},{"nm":"Darrell","rs":"0","ms":"Capitalism ceases to be capitalism when it requires the aid of government. Ethical Capitalism would embrace regulation like a car enjoys brakes.  This report reminds me of what Emma Goodman said, &quot;If voting changed anything, they\'d make it illegal.&quot;  If I want to make a difference in how government governs I must climb the lobbyist ladder, which is reprehensible to me.  For now I\'ll be content &quot;arising in the morning torn between a desire to improve the world and a desire to enjoy the world, which makes it hard to plan the day&quot; (E.B. White).","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 05:29"},{"nm":"J.Walker","rs":"0","ms":"I don\'t think there was one mention of George W Bush or Barney Frank in this whole mess!google G.W. Bush on the Housing Boom – Oct. 2002\<a href=&quot;http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1KwkScA540&quot;\>http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E1KwkScA540\<\/a\>","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 05:29"},{"nm":"Margie Kronewitter","rs":"0","ms":"I watched again 2/16/10 and congress has still not regulated Wall St.  I watch Dylan Rattigan on MSNBC.  He created Fast Money on CNBC.  He just calls Wall St. irresponsible, greedy, unregulated gamblers.  Which would be OK if it was their money.  The Fed is certainly in need of oversight too, but with 5 lobbiests for every needy congressman, I don\'t have much hope.  Now Goldman is being accused of manipulating the euro and bringing down Greece.  NOBODY should have that much opportunity to control economies.  BUT... with the Supreme Court ruling for the rich and powerful in campaign finances, I guess we can just try not be depressed until THEY blow it all up.  I just pray it all stays peaceful until the 12/12/12 solar flares that NASA acknowledges short out the grid.  Then we won\'t know about the big bad world of elite manipulation.  I think OBAMA is sincerely trying, but he can\'t do it alone.  Liberals are socially conscious because they are mellow, but too laid back to be motivated, so Conservatives (who are afraid of everything because their brains are over-reacting) will go into &quot;flight or fight&quot; and whip out their guns.  As a nutritionist, I\'d advise everyone to take GABA and magnesium and try relax and think straight in this crooked world.  Blessings to Frontline.  Why doesn\'t our government teach stress reduction and put more vitamins in our food staples.  If people were healthy they wouldn\'t be so greedy-needy.  But then there is that Sugar, Salt & (bad) Fat High that is killing us.  ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 04:57"},{"nm":"Thomas Lawhead","rs":"0","ms":"It is a sad irony that most of the people affected by our current economy would have probably been to bored to watch this program in it\'s entirety!","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 04:35"},{"nm":"Ms. E. Brown","rs":"0","ms":"The information on Frontline tonight was nothing new.  If you read your Bible, the same book that so many superior minds try to discredit, states:  As a man thinketh, so is he.  These same politicians were children, before they were men.  You have to earn the right to be called a &quot;man&quot;, and they also had to earn the right to become politicians.  The same individuals with such dangerous views off the world, had to prove themselves to a select few, who are like-minded as themselves.  This event was about money; remember when it was about race: when it was about superiority; and sexism.  There has always been &quot;some man&quot; at the helm of all the destruction; a seducing spirit; who has thought enough about self, saying screw others, and still been allowed, knowingly to go to the head of the class. Where is the &quot;psychological&quot; background check. This is why woman is the nurturer, and man is the producer. He does not have a humble bone in his body, because I am sure that somewhere, among all these hurt, taxpayers, displaced homeowners, and unemployed parents, are family-members that they cannot face, and actually did not give a rats\' butt about. It always takes a woman to find out the truth. All she had to do was position herself. Woman have been stifled for years by some man. What makes them think if &quot;Adam&quot; could not control &quot;Eve&quot;, one woman, that he could, control a whole people, let alone his own mind. Oh yeah, and he did not fix that either.  A woman first responsibility is to protect. Are any of these men fathers, god-forbid, letalone parents.  There is a difference. Is tis going to be another historical tragedy that their grandchildren will be lied to about, or the people who write, and re-write history, gradually ease out of existence and color it &quot;OK&quot;.  This is infidelity of the worst kind.  And some guilt-ridden wife, and mother will be expected to promote as never happening.  How stupid are supposed to be, or remain. How does it feel to be screwed, by a group of men, we never met, and robbed, all in the same meeting.    ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 04:14"},{"nm":"Charles M. Emmons","rs":"0","ms":"The fundamental problem is that our economic system is founded on the protection of unbridled capitalism over the interests of the common good. Until we put people in office who will look out for the people instead of themselves and their financial patrons, our entire economy and our democracy, such as is left of it, teeter on the edge of annihilation.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 04:13"},{"nm":"Tenzing Thinley","rs":"0","ms":"What Greenspan failed to mention is that he failed to foresee Greed. Gordon Gekko was wrong. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 03:24"},{"nm":"Bill Sheehan","rs":"0","ms":"Obama/Congress, stop talking & FIX IT!. This IS the economy stupid. This #1 priority which affect jobs & our future.  Squash the lobbyists. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 03:20"},{"nm":"rap@lava.net","rs":"0","ms":"Totaly shocking. Knocked my socks off.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 03:18"},{"nm":"Hamid Maleki","rs":"0","ms":"I don\'t think it is a matter of evaluating &quot;ex post&quot; who is right and who is wrong,  In my opinion the problem is to define the extent to which &quot;regulation&quot; should control the market economic system.  To much regulations would not only slow the expansion of the economy, hence the standard of living of the population but also hinder the innovations that further improve the growth of the economy and our level of income.  On the other hand too little regulation, or the total absence of regulation like in the case of derivatives would sooner or later end in crisis and would require the government intervention forcefully and most likely excessivelly.  The alliance of &quot;laisser faire&quot; economy and regulation has always been a difficult matter, but one can not survive without the other.  The problem is excessive regulation which is due to the fact that we regulate after the crisis.  Excessive regulation then induces to diregulate later.  This swinging from one extreme to another creates an insecure economic environment inducing sharp booms and busts at the expense of a more stable economic growth.  I really admire Ms Born for her awarness at the beginning of the problem, her preventive action (ex ante)to control the risk, and her moderation in doing so.  As for Mr Greenspan, having been an academic person, he never realized the difference between the world of academics where experimentation could be controlled and the real world where the impact of the cost of some types of experiments are unbearable.  As for the two others I don\'t find any excuse for their behavior except their personal ambition and the lobbying of the shortrun viewer.  Usually these people are manipulated and can not think independently.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 03:03"},{"nm":"Dennis J Solomon","rs":"0","ms":"Although it was the derivatives which collapsed the banking institutions, it was the usury in consumer debt which collapsed the derivatives.  Had the rates remained close to the prime for the average responsible consumer, a calculation of the available discretionary funds has shown that they would have been sufficient to maintain the system through a mild recession - the collapse would have been delayed if not averted.  Even today, the full web of dependencies are not accurately calculated.  Neither Greenspan nor Rubin thought that far ahead, and certainly neither Wall Street nor DC - both of which have permanently destroyed their exceptional global power - planned this collapse to &quot;concentrate&quot; wealth.  Absent a moral keel which trends a society towards a convergence of wealth, avarice prevails.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 02:43"},{"nm":"Ted Cooper","rs":"0","ms":"Play It Again. And then Play It Again. And the Play It gain until every American understands that deregulation is as bad (if not worse) than socialism.Deregulation is nothing more than an excuse for the government to not perform its duties, including protecting against illegal entrants and protecting the American worker.There are two people who (through their negligence) put this country in a mess, ie, Alan Greenspan and George Tenet. Unfortunately, they were accompanied by two Presidents who laid back to let the government drift on its own. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 02:01"},{"nm":"Doug","rs":"0","ms":"Wow. All this makes for great theatre, but not if your neck is pinned under the foot of any one of these carney characters. Obama adds insult to injury by inviting these arsonists into our home and asking us to write checks (to people like Rubin hiding safely at Citigroup). I would protect my hard earned bucks better by walking into a car dealership with an open bucket of cash. Before I watched Frontline tonight, I had a few ounces of trust left. Correction: make that zero. The people who we foolishly trust will think nothing of raping us. Why not? They are in control of the financial police. Though I grow bitter now, I am extremely lucky. After taking an extreme pay cut to keep my job (since March \'09), I still have a place to sleep (the floor of my office). I know I have more dignity than Summer & Geithner (the arsonists), Rubin (the chicken hiding at Citigroup), and Greenspan (a dumb financial genius). I expect ruthlessness from big business, not from public servants. When will we learn?","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 01:58"},{"nm":"Ted Cooper","rs":"0","ms":"PLAY IT AGAIN! And then PLAY IT AGAIN! And then PLAY IT AGAIN until every American knows that IT IS DEREGULATION THAT HAS CAUSED ALL OF OUR TROUBLES. Deregulation is an excuse for the government not doing it\'s duties, including protecting against illegal entrants and not protecting the American citizen worker. There are two people who (through their negligence of duty) who have cost this country dearly, Alan Greenspan and George Tenet. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 01:53"},{"nm":"Joel Jennings","rs":"0","ms":"No mention of the George W Bush administration! No even in name! The program makes a big point at the end of skipping from Clinton to Obama. If you have proof that the W Bush administration had less of a hand in the finacial meltdown, or was completley innocent, or tried to prevent it, why not include it. Or at least mention W at some point!How can you possibly leave the President who was in office during the colapse out of the program. That\'s like mentioning Kennedy started the space program and leaving out Lyndon Johnson in a progam about the moon landing in 69! I believe the Clinton Administration is also guilty as charged, but I found the lack of balance by blatent ommision in this program both dissapointing and of questionable integrity. I will no longer watch FRONTLINE in quite the same way again.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 01:51"},{"nm":"Paul","rs":"0","ms":"Of course there should be regulation.The lesson should have been learned 180 years ago with Andrew Jackson\'s battle agains the Second Bank of the United States. The problem: lack of regulation. The solution: revoke the charter and create a regulated, federal banking system. The idea that Greenspan was unaware of the history of his agency is absurd. He was merely bought and paid for, like the other lackeys. As for Congress, Click and Clack have proven that two ignorant people, together, are more than twice as ignorant as the two separately. Guess what happens when the group is 100 or 500.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 01:34"},{"nm":"Glen","rs":"0","ms":"Certainly I think the piece makes a compelling argument for some form of regulation.  It is interesting that when I go to the bank for a loan I have to provide business plans, profit & loss statements, balance sheets, etc.  But if I\'m a broker promising 23% to 46% returns these same banks don\'t want to know how it works.But in the larger sense whether banking regulations or healthcare, we have become a nation that chants a mantra of &quot;government is bad\' and uses that as the answer to everything.  We have forgotten that one of the purposes enshrined is the Constitution calls for provision of the &quot;common good,&quot; not the protection of personal gain at the expense of the public.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 01:13"},{"nm":"kc","rs":"0","ms":"Allowing the banks to regulate themselves is much like allowing a fox to guard the chicken coupe. The purpose of Government is to regulate with indifference to the gains of multi-billion/trillion dollar institutions. Big Business is held accountable by BIG GOVERNMENT; left to their own demise Big Business make Big Messes.  ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 01:06"},{"nm":"Llinda Hassler","rs":"0","ms":"I agree with most of the comments. Frontline is the greatest, and &quot;The Warning&quot; is aptly named. I will buy a copy to show others. Last Sunday, Feb. 14th, Fareed Zakaria\'s CNN program &quot;GPS&quot; featured Paul Volker, the Fed Chairman who raised interest rates 30 yrs ago which halted America\'s rapid inflation. He was burned in effigy for this because bankers and those with money to invest or borrow despised the idea. Volker said last Sunday we must bring manufacturing back to America & raise taxes to reduce our serious debt. But he didn\'t know if our politicians/leaders had the gumption to do what is unpopular regarding repealing Bush\'s tax cuts and raising taxes. Regarding Ms. Born\'s early meeting with Greenspan, one could see clearly where his lasisez-faire attitude was heading when she raised the specter of market fraud with him. He denied this was a problem, telling her &quot;the market will take care of itself.&quot; His disinterest in investigating and stopping the fraud compounds his complicity in this massive breakdown. When anyone ignores/allows fraud regarding people\'s money, that person reveals he has poor judgment & loose principles. My fear is that Obama, bless his heart, may not be able or willing to fight for these regulations. Plus too many are uneducated and weak - they follow the money, not our best leaders. And the public may not demand they act to regulate, since most just don\'t get it. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 00:42"},{"nm":"Marcia","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline - Congratulations!  This is the best kind of television.  Facts, names, and dates.  Americans are very smart.  Put this kind of information in front of us and we will use it to come to our own conclusions.  This program should be shown over and over and over again. It should be the basis of a required course in every business school in America.  What great examples for those who will someday step into the financial arena at any level - be it private industry or government.  Hooray for Brookley Born and her ability to stand in the face of stupidity without flinching or being forced off course.  Time has proven her right.  And it will continue to do so over and over. Additionally, it is a great moral lesson to see Alan Greenspan, the man we all have put so much faith in, believing him and his &quot;working group&quot; for years when he professed his belief in the market\'s ability to correct itself without regulation.  And then to watch him answer Sen. Waxman when asked point blank after the tragedies of the economic failures of 2007 and 2008, if he thought he had gotten it wrong.  &quot;Yes, I did.&quot;  The lesson was that a person can have the courage to admit his failure publicly - even after his powerful decisions created havoc and economic damage world-wide. More leaders should step back and re-evaluate their course and be willing to admit their wrongs.  Again, thank you for pulling back the curtain and showing the public the truth of the OTC derivatives markets.  PBS makes it possible for viewers to have enough facts for making intelligent conclusions. Other media just do not give us the luxury of letting us make up our own minds.  How refreshing!","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 00:39"},{"nm":"ed vatterott","rs":"0","ms":"I thought it was an excellent program. It is my understanding that the derivative packages were in large part developed into such a volatile product as a way to dispose of the growing number of toxic assets created by the economically unnatural requirement of lowering the lending standards below those developed through decades of trial and error by the mortgage industry as they put their money and reputations on the line.Perhaps Mr Greenspans\' previously supported philosophy of natural economic self regulation would have held had the injection of the economically unnatural government regulations overuling the laws of the industry not taken place, and had the government not required lowering of industry standards causing an interference with natural market forces.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 00:38"},{"nm":"Gary Talbott","rs":"0","ms":"Burn \'em at the stake.  Brooksley Born for president.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 00:35"},{"nm":"GAA","rs":"0","ms":"Besides the now obvious hindsight, three important points come up...1) Congress was forewarned and did little to stop it, in fact, they made it worst (the problem mushroomed for seven more years); and 2) The matter still remains unresolve with little act likely as more time passes. No wonder the public is upset with Congress (we need another electoral revolt like in 94 [& 92 Presidential] a complete clean sweep of as many incombents (both reds & Blues - go white states)as possible, if we really want to change things). I would like to see more failed politicians drop out of this year\'s election, if they take an ounce of responsibility for this debacle. And #3, why is L.Summers in the current administration, and Mrs. Born out? A.Greenspan should apologize publicly to her, and return any awards received. She is a great public servant, and prefer more boring (Pres. Clinton was too dumb to see what he had in front of him, again), outsiders and smart people in government that know what they\'re doing. Pres. Obama please hire her immediately, and fire the other dummy. ","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 00:30"},{"nm":"a licia","rs":"0","ms":"And the players--Greenspan etc ,I assume, are enjoying pensions, salaries---they retain jobs, homes--their children peosper ----all at taxpayer expense.","pt":"Feb 17, 2010 00:06"},{"nm":"Justin Begnaud","rs":"0","ms":"After watching tonights program, I feel that nothing will be done to save our economy. Typical garbage of blame and fingerpointing that always comes from Washington. First- The safeguards put in place after the Great Depresssion to prevent these situations were slowly and systematically removed to feed the GREED. These safeguards were put in place for a reason, to protect the &quot;little&quot; people who inevitably suffer and are not worthy of being BAILED OUT! History is a Bitch and always seems to repeat itself out of ignorance, arrogance and a lack of one\'s understanding of their own position in this Global Market. Ask LPB to make a show detailing the money trail of all involved here. All these banks, firms etc., must surely be accountable to someone worth saving. Who is the BIG Money here? Then, the people who always suffer will realize just how short History really is, where the &quot;FEDERAL&quot; Reserve came from, and most importantly who the folks are that have the biggest investment into the Derivatives market which is now controlling economies!!!     ","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:52"},{"nm":"MRS. JEANNE M. STORM","rs":"0","ms":"I JUST EMAILED THE WHITE HOUSE TO EXPRESS MY DISMAY THAT PRES.OBAMA, FOR WHOM I VOTED, IS ACTUALLY RELYING ON THE SAME MEN RESPONSIBLE FOR THIS CRISIS FOR FINANCIAL ADVICE.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:48"},{"nm":"bob","rs":"0","ms":"In order to regain some credibility in the financial arena President Obama should get on his knees, beg and plead, or do whatever he needs to to get Brooksley Born on board as one of his top financial advisers.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:45"},{"nm":"Carlos Roque","rs":"0","ms":"I can\'t believe what I just saw. How God Like power people can still control the economy of an entire powerful nation. Hey, &quot;derivatives&quot;. So easy to understand. People, derivatives are just just curve  making the most of a square angle. And to make it smooth, just fill the gaps with crap. Crap equal bad investments. Lobyst, your times will be over soon. In the past every powerful nation tend not to grow from their mistakes, they just invent more complex ones. President Obama, open your eyes Ms. Born is th e one to follow. She represents the more conservative and down to earth view in how to bring back the fundamentals true value in how the US economy was founded. I see why everybody was following Mr. Greenspan, he believed in creating a bullet prove castle. I had always seen him as a misguided person with a personal agenda. President Obama, you must break through and bring back Ms. Born ideas and fire cancer carrier people that you inherited. ","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:30"},{"nm":"evan brandstadter","rs":"0","ms":"Really,who names their kid Brooksley&quot;Perhaps,if she had shortened it to Brook,she might have been tgaken seriously and the American Financial nightmare would have been asboided.Cassandra, maybe?","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:30"},{"nm":"James E. Vandelly","rs":"0","ms":"We are today seeing the consequences created by the ideologues who still believe that government regulation of the financial industry is &quot;creeping socialism.&quot; We have learned nothing from the first half of the 20th Century when capitalism was running rampant, and pure capitalism became monopolistic, with interlocking directerates and other perversions of the market system. And even after the financial collapse on Wall Street, there are still those who think there is a dichotomy between &quot;capitalism and socialism.&quot; As a retired teacher of Government and Economics, I just shake my head in disgust at our country\'s inability to break this mythological view of economics.  And after reading everything I could get my hands on explaining &quot;derivatives,&quot; I still cannot understand what they are! They are a mystery rapped in an enigma. I surely hope that they are not hidden somewhere deep in my 403B portfolio.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:20"},{"nm":"J Grant","rs":"0","ms":"Although Clinton Was President, the GOP controlled the House and Senate during the lead up to this crisis. Phil Gramm (R) from Texas was the leading proponent of de-regulation and limiting oversight of these Financial Instruments. ( his wife was an exec @ ENRON) This is the GOP mantra... deregulate everything and let the markets sort it out. If only the TEA- BAGGERS could realize that It\'s not always big goverment but unchecked /unfettered GREED on Wall street that SOCIALIZES LOSSES and PRIVATIZES PROFITS that have led us into RECESSION... WAKE UP PEOPLE, STOP VOTING AGAINST YOUR ECONOMIC INTERESTS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Corporate GREED is not beneficial to the economy and the citizens of the US.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:19"},{"nm":"Carolyn Szymanski","rs":"0","ms":"Market theory says that a desirable item is more valuable when it is scarce.  That makes PEOPLE something less valuable than money.  I am especially disgusted that Pres. Obama has these greedy \'survivors\' in his cabinet.  As a child of the Depression I knew we were in trouble when Republicans managed to deregulate and trash laws made to prevent another crash.  Business is no more trustworthy than politicians since power makes greed doubly destructive.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:08"},{"nm":"Sally Stephenson","rs":"0","ms":"Could it be that this mess happened because of old-fashioned sexism?  It seemed like the men in charge didn\'t like being challenged by a woman....","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 23:02"},{"nm":"Chris Brown","rs":"0","ms":"Publically traded banks and other financial institutions should be required to disclose all of thier investments, including &quot;black box&quot; type dirivatives.  I understand Greenspans approach to a lack of regulation, but as long as some corporate officers place a higher priority to profits, due to a higher degree of undisclosed risk, in combination of unethical sales practices of selling dirivative products that the public and sophisticated financial professionals alike do not understand validates the need for more disclosure.  Even Greenspan himself admited in another Frontline show that he had access to hundreds of mathematitions but he did not understand the specifics of how a dirivative works.  Too bad our government stopped Brooksley Born and her team from doing thier job.   ","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:52"},{"nm":"Jan Newhouse","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m just one of the little people out here who has been apalled at the greed and fraud that I have read about and watched on TV.  I have to live on a budget why don\'t they.  And I give to charities and environmental causes while living on SS which is way way below the poverty line.  I thank PBS for bringing these stories to us and also C-Span and Book TV.  .  ","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:50"},{"nm":"denise","rs":"0","ms":"John, Mr. &quot;no regulation&quot; I hope would never allow fraud.  Would never allow markets to overleverage.  Would always disclose investments.  They should not use the money of my hard work in my 401k to invest in risky  ventures and then hide the risk from me.  That is fraud.  Many of these derivatives were AAA rated.  This enormous debt in our markets dwarfs the national debt, which bankers will use the interest earned to help recoup their losses, but who will help me recoup mine?  Oh, that\' s right, they will create another bubble to get mine back until I get ready to retire and the bubble breaks................If we allow bankers to steal, why not everyone else?","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:46"},{"nm":"John Rinehart","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline has exposed the weakness of the free market model that assumes that the market is self-correcting.  That would be true only if power were equally distrubuted and if people were always virtuous and acted rationally.  Brooksley Born exposed the weakness of that argument, yet we preferred to believe in our own inherent goodness.  Woops.  There is another matter.  I wonder, how it is that we try to make money by playing with money?  How do credit swaps and derivities add value to the economy?Thanks to Frontline for a very thoughtful presentation.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:42"},{"nm":"Stephani","rs":"0","ms":"Although many are led to believe that the invisible hand does not work as it should, how many are willing to recognize the cyclical evolution of economies. Perhaps placing blame is not the answer but understanding that given the boom of the Clinton Administration this downturn was inevitable. My fears are not for the actions under Alan Greenspan but for the next generation. The promise of a prosperous tomorrow are slim. We have not invested in the future of America, our youth. This poses a much greater threat to the economic prosperity of this country than even the trillion dollar deficit that we now face. Who will be the next great leader and how can we encourage our young to believe in a system that we ourselves view with skepticism? Our youth lack coping skills because they have been taught that the answers lie in a pres\cription drug rather than facing our fears and becoming stronger human beings. We all have a responsibility to help at least one young person understand the power of work and persistence. Can you say that you have made that contribution?","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:41"},{"nm":"Prof M H Settelen","rs":"0","ms":"America must re-engineer it\'s system of Governance sothat Members of Cabinet must be members of Congress(House or Senate) so that they can debate their portfolios,ie; Treasury just as in the rest of the G7, where it\'s actuallycalled Finance! Also, to regulate the derivatives market,incl: the Credit Default Swap Market, some-one who can actually do partial differential equations must be appointed, such as a new Chief Actuary of the United States. This person must have the same guarantees, as the Governor of the Central Bank.Prof M H Settelen, B.Sc.(Edin), MBA(Wharton)","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:38"},{"nm":"Hank Hudson","rs":"0","ms":"What an excellent program.  Gave so much information that 99% of us hadn\'tan idea was going on.  Brooksley Born deserves some formal recognition award.Even if her research and theory might have caused potential financial problems,only idiots would not have pursued it seriously just to see where it mightlead with the banks and financial companies.  Greenspan had no excuse forignoring her -- he did it because of his ego.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:38"},{"nm":"William Reynolds","rs":"0","ms":"I spent the last 20 years of my life in the financial services business and like many professionals in it am acutely aware of its &quot;dark side&quot;.  Happily, the firm that employed me had nothing to do with the derivatives market; but like others we and the people who invested with us were affected by the collapse.  I would suggest that Frontline send a copy of the program to President Obama for whom I voted and was greatly disappointed that he has chosen some of these villans in his administration.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:37"},{"nm":"Ted","rs":"0","ms":"FRONTLINE\'s profile of former Chairwoman Brooksley Born was truly top-notch.  It explained a complex problem accurately and fairly.  Attorney Born should be a household name -- a would-be heroine but not for the staggering stupidity and obviously hugely inflated egos of Summers, Rubin, and Greenspan; (Sen) Graham, and other members of Congress.  Mr. President:  PLEASE appoint Ms. Born to a top leadership role in your administration.  The country so clearly needs her wisdom and courage.  ","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:29"},{"nm":"Patricia","rs":"0","ms":"Incredible documentary and I thank Frontline for having the nerve to produce and document this for historical purposes. What very few have mentioned is that this is typical treatment for a woman in the financial markets and hasn\'t changed in light of the meltdown and loses that everyone has seen. WHEN WILL WE LEARN the definition of insanity is doing the same thing repeatedly and expecting different outcomes. ???","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:24"},{"nm":"Russ","rs":"0","ms":"TRY REVERSING GRAVITY: Derivatives, such as puts and calls, have been used since 5000 B.C., they are the basis of the insurance industry. It is naive to think inexperienced amateurs and Congressional know-it-alls can stop their abuse. WHAT CAN BE DONE: banks and their clients should be REQUIRED to DISCLOSE their use of derivatives. That will make the system work. Example: &quot;The Wall Street Journal&quot; op-ed page began warning of the gross over-leveraging at Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac a DECADE in advance, based on disclosed information. But Barney Frank (D-Mass.) protected F/F from investigation -- when is FRONTLINE doing a special on F/F? BTW: contrary to your story, there were those who did NOT ride the dot-com rocket -- yours truly. Anyone with common sense knew then, that market would have to collapse.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:16"},{"nm":"Clarence Russeau","rs":"0","ms":"Gosh, what does it take for Americans to pull there heads out their @$#$. When will we wake up as a nation and stop listening to the good ol boys","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 22:12"},{"nm":"Bren Besser","rs":"0","ms":"This edition of Frontline shows one facet of what happened leading up to the collapse of 2008. This facet is a good window to see the symptoms of the problem, but I believe it does not actually reveal, expose, and explain the underlying disease. Although it isn\'t explicitly stated in this presentation, it is completely consistent with the notion that the people in power who represented the interests of &quot;Wall Street,&quot; primarily the banks, specifically the New York Fed, planned and executed this financial operation with military precision, with the full intent and with the primary objective of creating a bubble and benefiting from its collapse. Brooksley Born\'s closing comments suggest we will eventually learn from our mistakes. I contend that the banks have learned too well, as evidenced by financial history of staging expansion followed by collapse engineered for the accumulation and consolidation of wealth at the top, with savage disregard for the other human beings affected by their greed and lust for power.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 15:09"},{"nm":"john","rs":"0","ms":" Markets should not be regulated; however, in accepting this sound philosophy we must accept the fact that we cannot establish a financial system where  industries privatize their profits and socialze their losses--no institutions should be considered too big to fail. Greenspan\'s problem was that he lacked the courage to live up to his convictions. Had the markets been permitted to weed out the losers the economy would have recovered by now. What we now know is that we do not have capitalism or lassiz-faire; we have a corporate economy where the government and Wall Street are in cahoots for their mutual benefit.These executives who walk about in their $5,000.00 suit, with Adam Smith accessories, pretending to be alpha males run to suckle at the government breast when things go wrong.","pt":"Feb 16, 2010 11:47"},{"nm":"jay allain","rs":"0","ms":"Human beings, I believe, have an innate sensitivity and vigilance to entities and institutions which pose a distinct threat to their well-being and survival. So we seldom hang out in unfamiliar neighborhoods, attempt physical feats beyond our capabilities, or seek admittance into prisons, crack houses, or Al Qaeda cells. In short, how can one fully relax when someone, or some group, however remote, threatens our well-being and can upend our world? Alas, Wall Street has become such a fundamental threat. Unregulated, it\'s a cross between a massive star capable of exploding at any moment and a black hole which can absorb prodigious amounts of other people\'s money with virtually no accountability. Thus, by its very nature, Wall Street is fundamentally volatile, anti-democratic, and anti-egalitarian. Yet like the Pentagon, it has a constituency, an established, albeit capricious, history, and a web of apologists ready to vouch for its right to operate without the normal restraints of common sense, law, and social conscience. And like George Orwell, who Britain\'s literary establishment calleded, &quot;not one of us,&quot; Ms. Born was ostracized. Perhaps a key lesson here is this: Countries (read: the U.S.) and institutions (read: Wall Street) which provoke widespread displacement and anger should learn to heed concerned members of the loyal opposition - if even for their own survival. Meanwhile, we, the people, must insist the greedy never put at risk the responsible many ever again.","pt":"Feb 15, 2010 17:35"},{"nm":"Michael E. Russell","rs":"0","ms":"The fundamental problem with our Modern American Economy is that it is founded upon Federal Reserve and it\'s ability to unilaterally print \'debt-money\' which our government must pay interest upon forever. The fact is that we are borrowing against our own future, and we shouldn\'t be paying interest to private bankers. Until this changes, our future is in jeopardy. The fact that so few people understand the system well enough to realize this, demonstrates the scheme\'s underlying motive. Stop paying your taxes to private bankers.","pt":"Feb 15, 2010 01:55"},{"nm":"Edward  Small","rs":"0","ms":"I would like to thank frontline for bringing the Brooksley Born stoey to the American people.The story shows that Greenspan knew when the headge fund LTCH WENT UNDER WITH THE RUSSIA FINANCIAL CRISIS which caused a Wall Street panic of the Derivatives market.  Which cost 14 Wall street banks over 3 Billion to stop the melt down.  Greenspan knew at that point they neede Derivatives Regulation.  That is when Greenspan sold his soul to the Deviel for a little gold.  It is at this point he failed the public trust he was to uphold.  This is Wall Street greed at it\'s finest.Edward Small","pt":"Nov  6, 2009 01:23"},{"nm":"Andias  Gore","rs":"0","ms":"to Marc Mc Rae: You look so blind and shallow in your comment. On the contrary, the video is one of the best of its class, its very factual, brave and reveals secrets of elite manipulations behind the curtain. Where is your common sense? We need change in this country, it looks like political shift is inevitable , sooner rather than later. For years Greenspan and the others have lived in glory and fame. The time of judgement has already arrived. ","pt":"Nov  5, 2009 17:04"},{"nm":"Bob","rs":"0","ms":"The only way to effect true &quot;Change&quot; is to hold these people responsible. Why are they allowed to walk away with fortunes and big pensions?  They are able to rob and steal with no consequences.  Nothing will really &quot;change&quot; until these thieves really pay for their actions and are held accountable for their impact on the American People.","pt":"Nov  5, 2009 11:52"},{"nm":"Josh","rs":"0","ms":"J.P.  Your comment reminds me of an excellent quote by Frederic Bastiat:&quot;If the natural tendencies of mankind are so bad that it is not safe to permit people to be free, how is it that the tendencies of these organizers are always good? Do not the legislators and their appointed agents also belong to the human race? Or do they believe that they themselves are made of a finer clay than the rest of mankind?&quot;I also agree with the last commenter on the hypocrisy of Greenspan concerning his recent revelation on the inability of markets to regulate themselves.  The reality is to the contrary.  The recent massive bankruptcy of several leading institutions is perfectly illustrative of the markets recourse to unsound investment practices - it is called failure.  The response by the federal government and the federal reserve to problem has prevented the market from carrying out its just processes.  These firms deserve to fail.  They should be removed from the human socio-economic fabric.  It is a failure of the American people and PBS to not recognize central bank manipulation of interest rates via &quot;open market operations&quot; for what it really is - massive intervention into the marketplace for the sole advantage of large banking interests.   Our society is not free, nor are our markets.  ","pt":"Nov  5, 2009 10:23"},{"nm":"anarchist","rs":"0","ms":"The notion that this period was marked by a lack of financial regulation could not be further from the truth.  The intense and irresponsible regulations of the most important piece of any type of financial transaction, namely interest rates by the Federal Reserve under Greenspan ,was the fundamental problem with the time period in question.  Throughout his tenure, Greenspan pushed to lower interest rates, thereby creating massive bubbles in credit, which fueled the appalling behavior within the derivative OTC market and more obviously in high-order long term projects such as housing construction and business loans. The question should not be, &quot;Why would the banks behave so recklessly with this money?&quot;  The questions we should be asking is, &quot;How did the banks get enough credit to even make these bets in the first place?&quot;   One should not be fooled into believing that millions of businessmen and investors independently arrived simultaneously at the forsaken place we are now.  Obviously, some force had to be present which could effectively cause so much failure in concert.  This force is called the Federal Reserve.  Any talk of regulating wall street is misguided and naive when it avoids talking about the credit spigot.  It is no wonder today that so many wall street luminaries are encouraging regulations of derivatives and bundled securities.  The greater the regulation, the greater the entrance-barriers for competition.  Never will  you hear a wall-street insider calling to regulate the Federal Reserve.  ","pt":"Nov  5, 2009 09:39"},{"nm":"jim","rs":"0","ms":"The oligarchs want to keep liberals and conservatives fighting each other, often over issues that don\'t really exist, or by stirring up a social issue that has no effect on most of our lives.  If we stopped fighting each other we would be looking more closely at them and their 535 employees in congress.","pt":"Nov  5, 2009 03:21"},{"nm":"MGA_1","rs":"0","ms":"And these guys are back in charge?","pt":"Nov  4, 2009 19:47"},{"nm":"Leah Gerhardt","rs":"0","ms":"I agree with the last person:   the nation is at a precipitous place, --we have no real funds, only borrowed monies to work with;  since the deficit is so high. We didn\'t heed the warnings, just kept spending---as the whole nation did. Now we are all going to have to &quot;bite the bullet,&quot; and learn how to use money as a means of trade rahter than to borrow. I say regulate each and every type of spending, and prevent more corruption before the nation goes bankrupt!!!  ( this coming from a liberal! ) ","pt":"Nov  4, 2009 15:05"},{"nm":"Ding Tacto","rs":"0","ms":"Wow I noticed that Jon Stewart, and Frontline have been the only people to expose Wall Street for what  it is.","pt":"Nov  4, 2009 11:56"},{"nm":"Paul-André Larose","rs":"0","ms":"No Bruski,these clowns were not idiots. They were a-moral political gangsters who gambled it all, knowing full well that eventually, the US taxpayer would foot the bill.Effectively, this amounts to a confiscation of private capital with having to resort to measures that can be seen as confiscatory.This shows that the bulk of the leadership of the US is morally bankrupt, like most of the society around it.It is no surprise then that, given such circumstances, the U.S. has lost its moral authority across the world.","pt":"Nov  3, 2009 13:49"},{"nm":"Public citizen who cares","rs":"0","ms":"Why aren\'t these monsters in jail. I am talking about Clinton, Gramm, Leach, Paulson. Paulson got 600 million from Goldman Sachs that he was able to sell tax free stock to take the Treasury job and Rubin got 100s of millions to drive Citi into the ground. Not to mention the neddless suffering he\'s inflicted on millions of American\'s who have been laid off in this down turn. The worst of all is Clinton, in who promotes selfishness to the Nth degree. He lies and stays in office to protect himself. How is Monica Lewynski a private matter when it happened on government property, on government time, with a subordinate emyployee. It isnt! And they give this pervert a statue? Why isn\'t he in Jail? He was impeached that should mean he loses his healthcare and freebies and pension shouldn\'t it? He disgraced the Office of the Presidency and his repealing of Glass Steagal has caused the too big banks and the domino effect. Sickening!!! ","pt":"Nov  3, 2009 01:22"},{"nm":"Jay","rs":"0","ms":"Hindsight is great. Let us not forget the root of the problem - The Housing Bubble - which was just a fancy mask for good old fashoned greed. We did it to ourselves.","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 23:51"},{"nm":"eagleblue","rs":"0","ms":"Chairman Greenspan said he was wrong in the belief that markets could regulate themselves. An honorable man would, for the rest of his life, hug each and every taxpayer on his way to cash his retirement check. Ivy league schools.....lol nothing more than cliques for the new masters of slavery. ","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 20:48"},{"nm":"rsg","rs":"0","ms":"I am a huge Frontline fan and, overall, I enjoyed the program.  Derivatives contracts are an important part of the economy, and it\'s important that Americans of all walks of life understand how they can be used and misused and get involved in the debate over how they should be regulated.  There were two critical things missing from this Frontline edition, however.  First, it ignores how threatening Ms. Born\'s Concept Release really was to global financial stability.  Far from helping to avoid market chaos like we got when Lehman collapse, her proposal risked far worse.  Why?  Her agency only had jurisdiction over products called futures, like the ones traded on exchanges in Chicago.  The only way her Concept Release could have been legally valid (which it wasn\'t - Rubin was right) would have been if OTC derivatives (swaps) were indeed futures.  Her proposal thus created strong arguments under U.S. law that all OTC derivatives (and there were already trillions) would have been illegal and unenforceable.  Suddenly, contracts that protected institutions, including municipalities and nonprofits, against market risks (interest rates, foreign exchange, etc.) could be repudiated because Ms. Born had attempted to grab new jurisdiction.  It wasn\'t so much a question of whether to regulate them, it was that the only way her agency could regulate them posed a tremendous risk under the law at the time (this was later fixed).  Ms. Born could not acknowledge that her agency was the wrong one to regulate these because these derivatives were not futures.  Under her incorrect &quot;exclusivity&quot; theory, the CFTC used ambiguity in the law at the time to say that swaps were hers and her alone to regulate with potentially astronomical losses to the taxpayer.  The Lehman collapse was a small taste of the Born disaster avoided.  It was her or nobody, even though there was far more at stake for the government and economy as a whole.  This brings us to the second missing aspect. While Frontline is much lauded for its critical thinking, it accepts uncritically the revisionist and impressively coordinated spin regarding Ms. Born\'s motivations at the time.  She was not the first or most articulate in government to raise concerns about the unregulated nature of OTC derivatives.  Many in Congress, the SEC and banking regulators had already done so compellingly.  She did not predict the LTCM or 2008 crises -- that came only with recent hindsight.  INDEED, THE FRONTLINE PIECE AMAZINGLY OMITS THAT MS. BORN REGULATED LTCM LEADING UP AND DURING ITS COLLAPSE.  Yes, LTCM was registered with and regulated by the CFTC, which did nothing to detect and avoid its collapse!  What her agency wanted to do was replace their statutory jurisdiction over shrinking and out-of-date exchange floor traded products with jurisdiction over the new privately negotiated markets that taken market share from exchanges and dwarfed them in economic importance.  Bold CFTC turf expansion was a big part of her strategy to make the small agency she got as consolation prize instead of the Justice Department more important in DC circles, and it was tremendously disruptive to government and markets alike.  Greenspan and Rubin may well have been somewhat zealous and misguided in their belief in the mystical powers of the market place, but they deserve tremendous credit for preventing Ms. Born\'s reach for new jurisdiction from creating legal uncertainty that could have caused a blow-up worse than Lehman and AIG (and, yes, that is possible).  It is good that the regulators are finally collaborating to address systemic threats posed by privately negotiated derivatives with (hopefully) less of the kind of DC turf-fighting that those in Ms. Born\'s time, including she herself and the other agency heads descended into -- turf fighting that ultimately distracted us from rather than helping us fix the real derivatives threats to the system.  ","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 20:38"},{"nm":"DA","rs":"0","ms":"It is with great interest that I viewed this program.  I thought the most interesting portion dealt with the influence of Ayn Rand on Alan Greenspan and consequently his economic policy.  Clearly one might conclude that Laissez-faire capitalism both on an individual basis and at the corporate level has contributed to our current economic state.  While overregulation is a real entity; unbridled greed is a problem for our society.        ","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 19:40"},{"nm":"Bill Peerman","rs":"0","ms":"I have now watched the show twice. I have many financial advisory designations including CFP, CIMA, and AIF.I say that only to add weight to the statement that I have never seen a better Frontline on any subject. I am generally a fan of the program especially it\'s handling or the US involvement in our current slate of foreign wars. Yet, this program is a must see for anyone living,studying, or invested in our system. Brooksley Born is a remarkable human being showing both wisdom and grace. Now, Mr. President get to work please.Bill Peerman","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 16:21"},{"nm":"Jim Ahlquist","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan economics was a political mindset not a sceintific one.  My question for Greenspan, Summers, and Rubin: What were you thinking and what needs to change?","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 14:04"},{"nm":"Randy Atkins","rs":"0","ms":"The banksters and the congress are the most corrupt bunch of criminals. It\'s unbelievable that the worst of the lot always get the BIG bonuses and promotions but those who try to do an honest day’s work or expose the white collar criminals always get the shaft. Americans beware!","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 11:55"},{"nm":"LTK","rs":"0","ms":"I am ashamed and fearful that this is how our economy is being handled...to this day. When in Gods name are we going to wake up and shout; &quot;We\'re mad as Hell and we\'re not gonna take it any more!  Too many people seem to accept the status-quo and until the bankers stop writimg economic policy ie: sommers etc. we are doomed","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 11:26"},{"nm":"Miles","rs":"0","ms":"It is a complete travesty that congress couldn\'t comprehend the risks associated with derivatives in the 90s, but even more of a travesty that Summers and Rubin still have jobs in office. Since when do the democrats need free market ideologues to tell them how terrible big government is? Isn\'t that what the Republicans are for?I do wish that legislation gets passed to regulate or ban complicated instruments like Credit Default Swaps, because their existence means that the failure of any industry, not just financial, could create a systemic risk. For example, what would happen if AIG had sold CDOs on GM for example. Regulate or ban or tax these markets.I actually wrote a letter to Larry Summers suggesting a .1% tax on the $57 Trillion derivatives market which would have created 57 billion in annual revenue for the federal govt. I still think that is a great idea. Why not tax speculation, as well as regulate?","pt":"Nov  2, 2009 01:58"},{"nm":"David","rs":"0","ms":"A cautionary tale, to be sure, but the most interesting aspect of this program, from a foward thinking perspective, would be the financial industry\'s lobbying effort post depression/reccession.  They apparently want to continue unhindered, and the White House is probably being subjected to an argument which stresses the economic benefits of the derivitives market, which is a market controlled primarily by American financial institutions.  At a time when emerging markets in China, India, and Brazil threaten industries such as steel, automobiles, cellular telephones, services, petroleum, medicine, and multiple financial instruments, which have historically, at least in the near term, been American dominated industrial sectors, perhaps the derivative market will appear more attractive.  In the end this type of logic seems to ask the American people to embrace a short term victory in return for a long term risk, of another similar reccession, a poor gamble.","pt":"Nov  1, 2009 21:55"},{"nm":"Eric ","rs":"0","ms":"Nine years after the passing of the Commodity and Futures Modernization Act how is it that this legislation has not been repealed? From Enron\'s manipulation of the natural gas market to the spike in gas prices being  linked to oil futures, it is unbelievable that no meaningful change has been made to date. The Elephant has been in the room for WAY to long. Our president needs to take action on this IMMEDIATELY. While I am all for healthcare reform, resurrection of Glass-Steagl or some current version is long overdue. ","pt":"Nov  1, 2009 19:16"},{"nm":"Mike","rs":"0","ms":"This documentary offers two clear examples of the continued decay of the american democratic system that will impact your freedoms in the future.Firstly the dilution and erosion of democratic process by the lobbying system within Washington and secondly the fact that such pertinent analysis of problems by a program such as this(like many frontline doc\'s) is lost in the polluted haze that is the current media environment.","pt":"Nov  1, 2009 15:38"},{"nm":"Khalil Muhammad","rs":"0","ms":"This whole fiasco is a result of greed at all levels of society!!!! no matter whatever checks and balances you put in place the same influencing group will come with another set of products working around the system and fulfil their ulterior motive","pt":"Nov  1, 2009 10:34"},{"nm":"Elliott Carter","rs":"0","ms":" It is what I always had suspisions of. That there are groups of very wealthy and powerful people that rule this country. Most of them are heads of leading corporations in the Financial Services, Military and Defense, Insurance, and Banking industries. The vote or outcry of the ordinary American means nothing, because the &quot;corporate aristocracy&quot; hand-pick the politicians to do their bidding. These people work in the shadows, outside government and the watchful eye of the public, to bend,side-step or even outright break any law that stops the fleecing of the American taxpayer. How can you trust the &quot;market&quot; to regulate itself, when the market is made up of greedy corpoate profiteers? Born was ostrisized for doing what she was appointed to do. Frontline is a godsend. I hope the American public wakes up!! But it might already be too late. ","pt":"Nov  1, 2009 00:37"},{"nm":"Yves","rs":"0","ms":"\'Lots of people buying houses they knew they couldn\'t afford\'--this is a myth.\'Lots of banks selling people mortgages they knew the people wouldn\'t be able to afford in the long run\' (ARM\'s) (and knowing they, the banks, would make a lot of money on those mortgages)--that\'s what happened. Think about it a little. Who is going to move into a house knowing they will have to move out in a short time, on purpose, when they can avoid it? A house move is a gigantic, expensive, and exhausting task--not something people voluntarily plan on doing several of, just for the hell of it.","pt":"Oct 31, 2009 23:34"},{"nm":"Bogeyman","rs":"0","ms":"Why, after the disaster these derivatives have brought upon our financial system, these things are not properly regulated is obscene. And, to think that the rascals that undermined Ms. Born when she was predicting the problems to come are now firmly entrenched in the current administration is a good indication of what is happening to our economy at this time and what will occur in the future. Thank you Frontline for a very informative program!","pt":"Oct 31, 2009 19:07"},{"nm":"paul moser","rs":"0","ms":"I believe the real value of this disclosure is not so much as who is to blame, but what needs to be done to prevent this from happening again.","pt":"Oct 31, 2009 11:23"},{"nm":"GREG","rs":"0","ms":"It is very apparent that the deregulated environment across the board was a deliberate action designed to create money making opportunities against the backdrop of a changed US economic landscape.  Since we as a country really weren\'t producing anything to make money, pushing paper became the new way to make money and artificially low interest rates and deregulation were needed to support that.  Unfortunately, all of this paper pushing has produced nothing and we\'re going to pay dearly until we figure out a way to get back to basics.  Getting back to basics means less financial alchemy and more of making things that the world wants.  It will require a dramatic shift in our economic philosophy as a nation. Unfortunately, I don\'t see any signs of movement on this front.  ","pt":"Oct 31, 2009 00:55"},{"nm":"Mike","rs":"0","ms":"The two episodes Fronline had on the economic crises led us to belive Credit Default Swaps and Deritives were the real reasons for the crises. And not Sub Prime loans; as most of the public believes. My question is this. How much real value was lost by Sub Prime loans, and how much value was lost through CDS\'s and Deritives? Frontline never addressed the issue. Just wondering. ","pt":"Oct 30, 2009 20:30"},{"nm":"SGD","rs":"0","ms":"Another triumph for Frontline.  Nobody tells a story better.  It feels to me that the Untied States is literally on a precipice.  Our balance sheet will, if we\'re very clever and very lucky, afford us perhaps one more chance to work our way out of this mess.  It\'s my sense that (one short year after the collapse) the CDS market has once-again ballooned right under the noses of regulators that still lack statutory authority to do anything about it.   If we\'re going to save ourselves and what\'s left of the nation\'s ability to borrow, the derivatives markets must be flushed out into the open and banks must have a solid wall between themselves and the markets for these complex instruments.Hooray for Brooksley Born.  Obama is an intelligent man and I support him.  It\'s my hope that he\'s aware of her story.  If he should invest time having a beer with anyone, it\'s her.","pt":"Oct 30, 2009 19:26"},{"nm":"Jenny H.","rs":"0","ms":"This program was terrifying.  Now put together a program that gives the Average American Citizen the fundamentals of fighting back.  I myself feel powerless.","pt":"Oct 30, 2009 18:01"},{"nm":"Dr. Robert R. Gaines Sr.","rs":"0","ms":"We have had way to many private interest driving this nations economy. We need to understand that when we do not oversee people greed and personel interest take over and decission are made that do not have the best interest of the people in mind. In other words without inforced regulations people become loose site of their moral obligation and become self serving as they take advantage of the situation and do things that are illegal.","pt":"Oct 30, 2009 11:39"},{"nm":"Ronnie","rs":"0","ms":"I hope the President receives a copy of this documentary and that he watches it with his wife! What an outrage - I vaughly remember the hearings on the topic - Ms. Born didn\'t have a chance against the big guns. Why are NPR and PBS the only stations that look into these matters indepth? Will anything get accomplished this time around to end the madness of a few rich powerful controlling the country\'s future. ","pt":"Oct 30, 2009 09:24"},{"nm":"Tommy","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline is a fantastic show. If I had it my way each episode would be on for at least 90 minutes.  In regards to Brooksley Born, she is a true American hero.  She should be working in some capacity in Obama\'s administration.  I do recall Obama\'s 2008 campaign motto of &quot;change we can believe in.&quot;  How is this change possible if Larry Summers and perhaps Tim Geithner, are the top two financial Obama advisor\'s?  So much for the idea of trying to be the one who will change the politcal environment in Washington D.C. We may as well have Rubin and Greenspan back in the fold, especially if some concrete regulation is not enacted upon soon.    Back to Brooksley Born- what Greenspan, Rubin and Summers did to her and to the American public is appauling. If they have not done so already, they should apologize to her and to the American public for their ignorant actions. This includes members of Congress (Democrat & Republican) as well. Those three men may be blessed with financial intelligence but their judgement and their behavior lacks some sobering thoughts.  There has to be some sort of structure, balance and discipline in anything you do otherwise, there is anarchy.  Capitalism without structure, balance and discipline is a scary thought. Add greed into this mix and it\'s recipe for the next financial disaster, as Brooksley Born suggests, may be around the corner sometime soon...","pt":"Oct 30, 2009 04:17"},{"nm":"Dan","rs":"0","ms":"the next assignment for Frontline is to do the story on the Credit Default Swap (CDS) and other associated financial junks. The Warning is like the warning  before the storm; the &quot;Breaking the Bank&quot; story is some of the aftermath of the storm. Logically, this audience is curious to know what happened during &quot;the storm&quot;.... and what was the fallout? who got hurt and who escaped unscathed. ","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 21:31"},{"nm":"Factual","rs":"0","ms":"The answer is yes they should be regulated!  The real question that should be asked is:  Why are derivatives being used?  They are an insurance policy to be used in the event that the transaction to be insured, fails.  Why would a financial transaction be expected to fail upon its outset?  Because it was not a sound transaction but one of undesirable risk!  Like a mortgage underwritten for an unsound mortgagee!  Mortgage Derivatives are the yen, to the community reinvestment act, yang.  Balance to both is needed for either to meet its intended success!  Regulation and forms of deregulation should be used for balance.  In the mortgage derivative market such was created out of a need to follow,  government regulation in the community reinvestment act.  Financial institutions were forced into lending to mortgagees whom would otherwise not be underwritten.  To counter this pressure the mortgage derivative insurance market boomed.  The balance tilted when the value of those mortgages surpassed the intrinsic value of the derivatives insuring the mortgages.  The flood gates opened up and what was at first in need of insurance became seen as large profits with at some point viewed reduced risk.  If government is going to regulate business it needs to provide balance with compromise to each the yen and yang.  Forcing the banks to underwrite risking mortgagees with the compromise that doing so would garner the banks unregulated insurance in the form of derivatives is not a compromise but a payoff. ","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 20:22"},{"nm":"Bee Diddy","rs":"0","ms":"Mark McRae -- you might be the only reasonable and half-way intelligent commenter on this board. This program was a mash-up of some complicated economic issues into an substantively incoherent narrative.  It also seems to have escaped Frontline\'s notice that (a) it wasn\'t clear Born had the legal authority to regulate OTC derivatives, which are private contracts, (b) part of her failure appears to be attributable to her bull-in-a-china-shop approach, and (c) her solution might very well have created more problems than it solved, particularly by casting doubt on the enforceability about $100B worth of swaps contracts. This Frontline program was not ready for primetime.  ","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 17:55"},{"nm":"Carole","rs":"0","ms":"I feel that we have an ignorant Congress regarding financial concerns.  To think that Obama would have Geitner and Summers as his advisors now is just horrible.  Obviously Obama wants more of the same black box, flawed, unregulated markets; despite what he says.  Obama says one thing and does another.  I feel that Americans were forced to bail out the banks because of their underhanded dealings with the OTC derivatives.  What a shame that we can not control the corruption in this country.God be with us all,Carole","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 16:59"},{"nm":"Fireman1979","rs":"0","ms":"Does Obama think that the American electorate is stupid? I voted for Obama on the promise and belief in change.  He has become a disappointment in speaking candidly.   He campaigned on &quot;change you can believe in.&quot;  Economics is the common denominator of this country.  I have voted only one other time for a winner in the presidential election and it may be a minority point of view but Jimmy Carter has proven his integrity and greatness by walking the talk of his values.  You only have to contrast his ego and post presidential  actions with that of Bill Clinton who in retrospect has to be viewed as a poor little insecure man around people with money and power.  It wasn\'t only Republicans in our legislative branch that brought this deregulation concept but the most powerful Democrats such as Schumer, Dodd, and Frank who willing sell their beliefs and votes for campaign contributions.  Even after the crisis started Schumer and Mayor Bloomberg on January 22, 2007  released a financial study on NYC that contained among other suggestions less regulations for derivative market and less oversight on leveraging in banking.  Frontline should and all news media should never let any of these people make a PR announcement without asking them for their culpability in this crisis.  Arthur Levitt\'s &quot;mea culpa&quot; at least let us know that he is aware that he should have stood up as an individual and not become part of the herd but where are the &quot;mea culpa\'s&quot; from Rubin, Summers, Geithner and our congressmen?","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 12:20"},{"nm":"Scott Mauney","rs":"0","ms":"No publicly traded company should be allowed to use corporate funds to invest in non-tranparant contracts.","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 10:38"},{"nm":"Colin Morris","rs":"0","ms":"Dear PBS Frontline,I am always drawn by you presentation and insight to relevant and current presentations.I watched the show &quot;The Warning&quot; but was surprised upon visiting the Frontline website! Not a single image of Brooksley Born is presented on the main page! Instead, the only woman I saw was a small promotion of Olfa Bikel\'s &quot;Close to Home&quot; hair salon entrepreneur Deborah Boles (another fabulous insight, I must add).  The web really needs to act as companion to the broadcast story\'s heart and soul! Brooksley\'s story shone hope and future within a troubled Establishment. It is unfortunate that it takes so long for these stories to unravel enough for us to experience. Hopefully producer Michael Kirk will see how much the show\'s ongoing presence on the web not only carries the themes and messages beyond the televised schedule window, but truly augments the story for those who have experienced the broadcast event.Carry on the geat work, and please take this criticism to heart! Let\'s see a big glossy of Brooksley from now on!","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 05:20"},{"nm":"Paul","rs":"0","ms":"The constitution states: &quot;Congress shall have power to regulate commerce with foreign nations, and among the several states...&quot;  The key words here are &quot;regulate&quot; and &quot;commerce&quot;.  Regulation, a constitutional mandate, is not a nasty word. Without regulation you have a degenerate form of capitalism-- survival of the most devious and moral bankrupt.  The purist capitalist who argues the self-interests of a few, left to themselves, will benefit society as a whole is very, very naive about the human condition.  Regulation is a constitutional obligation and duty of all public servants they cannot escape.  They cannot turn away from their calling to watch over the interests of the public, giving it to some other institution whose true interests and motives are questionable. Banking obviously involves commerce among the several states and foreign nations.  And yet, the United States government gave the president and governors of the Federal Reserve System enormous, unchecked autonomy in running the world\'s most powerful central bank. Shame on our government for giving away their birthright in 1913. Cheers to Born for her courage and foresight to take up the calling again.  Born for president in the next election! ","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 02:53"},{"nm":"J.V.Hodgson","rs":"0","ms":"Derivatives have to be regulated,in part because they were almost a clubby type of product for Banks, Hedge funds and Insurers. They were also wrongly in many cases given credit ratings by S&P, Fitch or whoever that were totally unjustified. The result was that when the US property bubble burst ( remember Japan 1989-1992) the underlying security disappeared and because there was no real open ( free) market to trade in there was no option but to re-value down to the underlying security value and difficulty there with mark to market because the market was not a real open free market.But regulation overall must deal with Leveraged lending and borrowing and restrict the muliple to underlying capital, stop usurious credit and Mortgage practices i.e ARM\'s by capping the maximum mortgage rate, for either domestic or commercial property.Also, we need to get back closer to real free markets with a simple guideline of unless there is economic benefit you cannot do it. The idea that I can deal enormous FX with a minimal margin amount ( big players even less)other than to make wooden dollars paying for an underlying &quot;trade&quot; is essential. It is nonsense equally so if you want to &quot;trade&quot; oil you have to literally buy it in full/pay for it and sell it ( other commodities as well) if you want to speculate or &quot;deal&quot; without ownership that is a separate market = get back to &quot;Trading&quot; and not &quot;dealing&quot; is the underlying theory, then fundamental economics will stop &quot;dealing&quot; greed from getting out of control which is what happened. There was no real supply/ demand economic,or cost to market justification for oil at $147 a barrel. It was greed and speculation and = money for the few and cost to the many.Regards,Hodgson.","pt":"Oct 29, 2009 02:29"},{"nm":"Altman Christopher","rs":"0","ms":"My concern is that it appears that there is a hole in the accounting for derivatives.  FasB needs to take a look at how investors were not aware of the true size of the balance sheets of institutions employing exotic contracts.        ","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 19:41"},{"nm":"Gula","rs":"0","ms":"Nobody was watching who was doing what. No one in his or her right mind could keep track of all the worthless contracts even if the banks employed the geniuses of computer technology. I\'d throw these 3 men into the pitbull\'s den, because they avoided being responsible for taking the heat. On what? On doing the right thing! The only person man enough between these 3 and B. Born was Born! She should have worn the pants and these 3 men- pink skirts! I will bet that majority of the left party still blames GWB and have no clue on who Brooksley Born is.   ","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 18:15"},{"nm":"Mark","rs":"0","ms":"This story rings true with many of the other stories that Frontline produces about our government. Whenever any agency head resigns under any administration, we the people (as well as the reporters) should see an immediate red flag and look into the matter. ","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 17:55"},{"nm":"NND","rs":"0","ms":"This just goes to show that systemically the United States of America is broken in more areas than are even fathomable. ","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 14:56"},{"nm":"I.D.LeBLANC","rs":"0","ms":"Government doesn\'t listen to the people who put them in to represent us, they only listen to lobbyists, it\'s all about the money.Bush has been blamed for all the financial meltdown yet history shows us that it was under Clinton\'s watch with an egotistical Greenspan.Brooksley Born [whom I had never heard of] is to be commended for her attempt to protect the American public. I really liked the expose.  Thanks","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 14:26"},{"nm":"Steve B","rs":"0","ms":"The toxic assets buried in SIVs were not there as a result of inadequate government oversight.  They were there because of government insistence that threatened lenders with redlining prosecutions is they didn\'t provide mortgages to people who couldn\'t afford to repay them.  Because of the housing bubble, price inflation gave the banks a false sense of securitization of these assets in foreclosure scenarios.  The unsound lending practices became more widespread and were extended beyond low-income borrowers.  The opacity of risk exposure was the elephant in the room at the time Ms. Born tried to sound the alarm.  When the Fanny finally tipped over and the Chinese got nervous, the cascade failure began.  Unfortunately we will be doomed to repeat these mistakes unless an honest and apolitical post mortem is done.  We need to regulate opacity and disclosure better but we also need to remove social engineering from our financial system.  And I personally would like to see the behemoths broken up. No one should be too big to fail.  Paraphrasing Milton Friedman: losses are just as important as profits in disciplining capitalists.","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 13:41"},{"nm":"Rodney Whiddon","rs":"0","ms":"I was a major Greenspan fan until recently - and this report sealed the deal.   Greenspan could have made a difference but was too motivated by getting rich on Wall Street.   Even then, he knew that regulation of derivatives would interfere with his personal profit motive.    Mrs. Born is a hero and should be credited with raising the warning flag 11 years ago.  Greenspan policy has failed but the story does not end there. It began in 1907 with the inception of the Federal Reserve.   The federal reserve system has devalued the US Dollar by 400% since 1907.  The US Constitution specifically forbids the government from acting as a bank, yet the Fed is the worlds largest bank and political banking force.  By auditing the fed and ultimately eliminating the fed, Americans may have a prayer of hope for their financial future.  \<a href=&quot;http://www.auditthefed.com/government/federal-reserve-in-capitol-hill-crosshairs/&quot;\>http://www.auditthefed.com/government/federal-reserve-in-capitol-hill-crosshairs/\<\/a\>  If nothing is done to regulate Wall Street and the actions of the Federal reserve the US Dollar will be worthless in ten years.","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 13:20"},{"nm":"J.P.","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s interesting how we skewer our leaders for their vulnerability to corruption and mismanagement, without spending too much time in front of the mirror.  The same vulnerabilities exist in all people as the result of being human.  Some control it better than others.  How many people bought houses they couldn\'t afford, or *assumed* their income would not go away?  How many used equity lines of credit for vacations, cars, and more junk?  That\'s a form of power that is abused on the individual level, and is just as dangerous to the family unit as the bigwigs\' bad decisions are on the national level.  If we want to &quot;vote da bums out&quot; we had better produce people that can deflect the temptations of corruption, otherwise we just get a new set of bums.  That process starts by taking a hard look in the mirror and applying something called &quot;intellectual integrity&quot;.","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 05:14"},{"nm":"Mo Weinzapfel","rs":"0","ms":"Why isn\'t Frontline on earlier in the evening?  Why is it not a prime time offering?  It\'s too important a program to be pushed to past our bedtime, past the larger population in this country who need to be educated in prime time.","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 01:34"},{"nm":"Mo Weinzapfel","rs":"0","ms":"I just e-mailed the White House on their web site.  I suggested they watch this Frontline program.  I shared my concern with President Obama that he has two key figures, on in each of his ears, that helped bring about the current financial crisis.  I asked, why them? Are they holding him hostage?, these foxes in the hen house.  I told him I felt we\'d all be better served by Sheila Bair and Berkley Born at his side instead of the present criminal element.","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 01:29"},{"nm":"Jeff Barnett","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is an American hero!","pt":"Oct 28, 2009 00:14"},{"nm":"Gabriel","rs":"0","ms":"This whole discussion of regulation vs. deregulation dumbs down the conversation.  For instance, the health insurance industry is exempt from the sherman anti-trust act.  This exemption is government regulation.  Yet, this regulation helps the health insurance from not having to compete.  In other words, regulation can help greedy bastards in the banking and corporate world.  Everybody is for regulation, even libertarians.  The question is what regulation is needed.Also, Greenspan may pretend to be libertarian, and many greedy people misuse libertarian ideology, but libertarians hated Greenspan during his tenure.  While all these pro-&quot;regulation&quot; economists were cheering him on.Finally, when one thinks about the Aynn Rand comment about the seperation of the economy and the government, after watching this program, the rational observer has to admit that it was precisely this corrupt connection between Wall Street and both political parties that was the heart of the problem.Real conservatives and real liberals need to unite to peacefully overthrow this corrupt one Party (Wall Street) system!!!","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 19:52"},{"nm":"Pavel Pluhar","rs":"0","ms":"The President is a powerless puppet. Congress is inept and corrupt. The party put these cabinet members in place after the election and the Fed. and the big banks are the ruling oligarchs of the country. We are not free. We live under a fascist regime. What will it take for the American people to wake and see what is happening?","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 19:29"},{"nm":"andrew sessa","rs":"0","ms":"my question to commentor Mark McRae are you delusional or just in denial....oh... wait maybe you were watching another Frontline episode or maybe this was just too much of a wake-up call for you to handle","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 18:47"},{"nm":"Jeff","rs":"0","ms":"How are markets supposed to work when the participants have no idea what risk exposure exists in the other participants in the market? It\'s one thing to tell participants what they can and can\'t do but what theory holds that a secret and opaque market is conducive to market efficiency? And even more amazing is that in that non-transparent market, Greenspan expected market force to take care of fraud. Greenspan\'s ideological blindness, shared by others, has done immeasurable damage to millions of people. ","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 18:18"},{"nm":"Bob Olson","rs":"0","ms":"I think it was ludicrus of Greenspan, Rubin and Summer\'s to dare call those shadow market derivatives a market at all. Itwas a game - a game with no transparency, super highly leveraged and no precautions for potential fraud. It was not an example of what a free market is and should be. It was an elitist game for the in crowd of big banks, bankers and the assorted politicians in their pocket. And we know how every scam artist with half a brain took advantage of the fact that there were no rules or regulations. Of course we need regulations and regulators but we don\'t need necessarily tons more regulations....but better trained and honest people (like Ms Born)that can be heard and understood.","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 16:33"},{"nm":"Bruski","rs":"0","ms":"Those clowns ought to be drawn & quartered for their greed and mostly stupidity.Cheers,Bruski","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 15:56"},{"nm":"Camille Chavez","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent work!  I\'m helping to organize an action to bring more attention to the need for derivatives regulation. First, please prepare a postcard or letter with the following information (include your name and address): --Brooksley Born --Frontline:  &quot;The Warning&quot; --http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/Then, please send the postcard or letter to: The White House / 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW / Washington, DC  20500 / ATTN:  President Obama","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 15:26"},{"nm":"Thomas Blackwell Reitano","rs":"0","ms":"The fact that she wont speak out against crime in high places, Brooksly Born has lost my respect. No big deal to her I am sure, but never the less, a moral person out here thinks what she said on camera is Despicable. Missed placed loyalty is as destructive as the crime itself. ","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 13:45"},{"nm":"Joan","rs":"0","ms":"My father was given the same medal Greenspan received.  Greenspan should return his.  Levitt better be doing something behind the scenes today to rectify his role in the lynching to which he was party along with its aftermath and as for Summers, I hope the President watches this Frontline program.  Ms. Born, I hope you are engaged in something worthy of your courage and intelligence which heals in some measure the humiliations to which you were subject and which you endured with such dignity.  I apologize to you for the outrages of those people. They were more than wrong, they were wicked.Joan","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 13:00"},{"nm":"Tosczak carol","rs":"0","ms":"Ms. Born is to be commended; I cannot imagine the stress under which she functioned, having to stand up against persons who blinded themselves to even consider that she had a point.  It heartens me to see another public servant with the good of the public as their first consideration.  I worked in state government for an engineer whose job it was to guard the public water supply and saw him stand firm against some powerful contractors wanting the rules bent in their favor.  I know the world has changed since my parents time, but they invested in farm land which kept us fed, clothed and educated and it was &quot;real.&quot;  I think Pres. Obama kept some of the old guard because they knew where the &quot;bodies&quot; were buried, but now it is time for Rubin and Summers to GO.","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 09:55"},{"nm":"bwillis@greenville.k12.sc.us","rs":"0","ms":"GOD BLESS BROOKSLEY BORN THIS WAS GREAT INFORMATION I HOPE THE PRESIDENT WATCHES THIS. BRENDA WILLIS","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 09:50"},{"nm":"experiment1776","rs":"0","ms":"Atlas Shrugged.  A fictional novel that was set in an America that never existed, which said that in a time where banks were ejecting people from their houses by the millions, people were starving and the economy had completely melted down, your individual responsibility was to one person, yourself.  This is what the so-called greatest economist of our times based assumptions on.  this was his personal philosophy.  Personal greed and selfishness was the cornerstone of his world view.  A world view proven wrong I might add.  How interesting that such a conservative viewpoint be proven to almost cause the collapse of the worlds financial system when the enlightened view of one person who believed in government oversight could have stopped all this from happening.  Conservatism, kills a healthy mind, DEAD!","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 08:44"},{"nm":"Monte Moire","rs":"0","ms":"I agree with PeteMcDaniel, we gotta look at term limits. When some of these leaders have been in office, or position of power, for 20 plus years, they get comfortable and that is where problems began to come up. We, as citizens, have to start holding these congressmen/women accountable. Stop falling for party tricks and fillers. No matter what political party you are connected with, start holding these people accountable. ","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 08:09"},{"nm":"Bob Ransdell","rs":"0","ms":"One thing they didn\'t mention is that some of the working group went on to make big money off of the deregulated market they fought for while in office. After their time in the Clinton Administration Larry Summers ran a big hedge fund and  Robert Rubin made 100 million dollars at Citigroup, which benefited from the repeal of Glass Steagal that Rubin lobbied for while in government. The other thing that occurred to me while watching the images of Greenspan testifying after the 2008 crisis was the old french (?) saying: After you pass the age of 50 you have the face you deserve. I also thought the influence of Ian Rand on Greenspan was particularly interesting. If you have a masochistic streak you would enjoy reading one of her novels. Turgid prose, wooden, two dimensional characters. I tried to read one once and didn\'t make it more than 3 pages (and I didn\'t have any particular ideology back then so it wasn\'t that I didn\'t like her philosophy). I think her major claim to fame is her position as high priestess to a cult of greed and selfishness. Another thing that occurred to me was how idiotic a lot of &quot;smart people&quot; are. Can you imagine anyone, post 1929 stock market crash and Great Depression (not to mention many smaller incidents), believing that &quot;markets&quot; can regulate themselves?!? I think if you suggested to most average americans that off shoring manufacturing or not regulating something that was as dodgy and as big as the derivatives market was a good idea they\'d think you were nuts. Our cultures cult of &quot;smart people&quot; really deserves a good examination. ","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 01:20"},{"nm":"george","rs":"0","ms":"Yet another facet evidencing that the Glass-Steagl act must be resurrected!!Would that Wall St., and its miscreants, join the house and senate in the domed outhouse and be flushed down and out !!!!","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 01:12"},{"nm":"Laurie","rs":"0","ms":"Let me see, the Federal Reserve manipulates interest rates which leads to bubble after bubble. Force via mandates from the government on the banks to make risky loans that in turn feed the insatiable appetite of the fraudulent derivative market and those who control it AIG, JP Morgan Chase, Goldman Sachs, Bank of America. Free markets....who are they kidding? Rand is turning in her grave. ","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 00:59"},{"nm":"Robert","rs":"0","ms":"It is a normal process. we are being led to a slaughter house an the problem is we are holding the rope. I am not as savvy as many, but I do understand..If you want to see the future, just look at history, 1929 and so on, we are no longer nor have we been in control of our own money or country since the day the FED\'s (around Christmas I believe the large money in America and Europe JP Morgan, Warburg, Rothschild and Rockefeler the big banks took over our system and we pay them interest for the money they print) developed the Central Banking system.. Yes Iam sure the end is closer then we think---welcome to the New World Order and a one world goverment.","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 00:26"},{"nm":"ehswan","rs":"0","ms":"I would like to know how much Greenspan is NOW  worth?","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 00:07"},{"nm":"Roland Herberg","rs":"0","ms":"I have read a large number of the comments and they suggest the nature of the problem, namely the opinions expressed display the full gamut of extremes of: ignorance and sophistication; relevance and irrelevance; bias and innocence; absurdity and realism; focus and scatter.  In other words the weaknesses of Democracy and free markets and the absence of anything better.  Rollie","pt":"Oct 27, 2009 00:03"},{"nm":"Bill","rs":"0","ms":"Since Greenspans\' hubris has been on display in Congress, Ayn is deceased and Ken Lewis is gone from B of A, why not defer to the real Defender of the public trust, Ms. Born, and promote her to the forefront of the fight to real reform? The later day Bucket Shops and the roaring twenties mentality since the demise of Glass-Steagall should shake us to our core that poverty, strife and ruin may once again be the norm in America. The other writers have it right, Why isn\'t she on the Cabinet? I used to think that President Clinton had served our country and the economy well; elevating economic matters, but the swinging door of DC-Wall street amd K street criminals has gotten us to a rotting system. Ms. Born\'s chilling epitaph of the reccurance that is to come has been echoed by Bill Moyers guests as well. Frightening and sobering is the fact that the monster Weill craved and Greenspan helped institute with Clinton\'s and his Cabinet\'s help has now come home to roost. God Help us.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 23:48"},{"nm":"ehswan","rs":"0","ms":"It amazes me that you leave out what these people have gained in dollar terms. ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 23:41"},{"nm":"ehswan","rs":"0","ms":"systemic corruption leads to systemic collapse.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 23:33"},{"nm":"ehswan","rs":"0","ms":"I\'ve had this argument with an old friend: Which comes first, ideaology or greed? That is, which would you take first, an idea or money? Greenspan &quot;claims&quot; ideaology led him astray as he got wealthy as did his friends. Wake up! The so called ideaology is greed driven. Greenspan is driven by greed not ideaology. And yet he claims he was driven astray by IDEAOLOGY which he claims absolves him.  ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 23:07"},{"nm":"Patty","rs":"0","ms":"This Government and those really running it---The Banksters, do not care what happens to us useless eaters, they are only interested in their own GREEDY plans for domination!!!  When are we, as Americans, going to get the fact that we loan these banks our money and then they rob us to loan it back to us--in reality, we are loaning them the same money over and over to use in various and sick ways to break us.  Without bring us down, they cannot have their real PRIZE---ONE WORLD GOVERNMENT---THE ULTIMATE DICTATORSHIP!!!","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 21:57"},{"nm":"Smith","rs":"0","ms":"Gaming Control Board or &quot;GCB&quot; is a governmental body or agency charged with regulating casino and other types of gaming in a defined geographical area, usually a state, and of enforcing gaming law in general. Wall Street is in the same business of chances. it should be regulated. at least, some rules should be in place for risk control (especially, those systematic risks).","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 21:46"},{"nm":"Joyce Nelson","rs":"0","ms":"I believe our economy has indeed crashed and won\'t be brought back. We, the working class, have paid for this with our jobs. Historically, we average 11% of our incomes in taxes as opposed to 3% of the &quot;weathier&quot; citizens of our country. Since approximately 1998, our jobs have been exported by the multinationals and these jobs aren\'t coming back. So, essentially, they\'ve killed the goose that laid the golden egg. And now, we dead geese get to foot the bill to bail out those who killed us? It\'s over, wake up. The sheer arrogance of the &quot;good ole boys&quot; and their merciless attack on Born...pride goes before the fall...and they\'re still doing it!!! I\'m not surprised they wouldn\'t talk to Frontline. Obviously, they still have something to hide, or protect, or both.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 21:37"},{"nm":"Dick","rs":"0","ms":"One of Frontline\'s better efforts.  Too bad the message will be lost on the vast majority of Americans.  And too bad there is not the will within congress to resist the power, money and influence of Wall Steet.  There will of course be regulation, but my guess is it will be weak and ineffective thanks to the power of wall street lobbyists.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 20:57"},{"nm":"R. J. Bracken","rs":"0","ms":"Greed will always trump regulation, and the proof is right in front of us. Whether it\'s derivatives, sub-prime mortgages, or Ponzi schemes like the one Maydoff had been executing for the past twenty years or so. If people can make a lot of money, they\'ll do it at whatever the cost is to the general public. As for Born, good on her for doing her job to the best of her ability, and following a code of ethics that serves the American public. Something that is, no doubt, lacking from the rest of Wallstreet. Very informative (as always) FRONTLINE. ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 20:24"},{"nm":"Dick","rs":"0","ms":"No one will ever convince me that those at the top didn\'t see what was coming.  They lined their pockets before the roof caved in and they are lining their pockets on the so-called recovery.And it isn\'t over yet.  Madoff was a piker compared to these greedy pigs.  He should be having some company in the slammer, but of course he never will.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 19:51"},{"nm":"Mark McRae","rs":"0","ms":"As a long time viewer of Frontline, I have finally encountered an episode that, in my opinion, was weak and borderline ridiculous. It was disjointed and implausible; attempting to connect disparate storylines. It appeared as if there were some desperate need to produce a story pertaining to the economic crisis --and it was hastenly adhered with schoolhouse childrens glue rather than the editorial concrete I have grown accustomed to. Frontline --shame, shame, shame!!","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 19:35"},{"nm":"T. Wiley","rs":"0","ms":"President Bush tried on three occasions (that I know of) to oversee Freddie and Fannie.  His TC was ridiculed and Pres. Bush was accused of trying to keep the poor out of their new homes.  Maxine Waters (an avowed socialist), B. Frank, Obama, et al were les than receptive to oversight (filbuster comes to mind).  One look at the money given to them (Waters, Frank, Obama et al) from FM and Fm explains it all.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 19:17"},{"nm":"Steve","rs":"0","ms":"I liked watching this program, after all PBS  is about the only honest media left out there.  There are protests in Chicago Right now, protesting the banks and wall street, but yet you will not see it on main stream Media News, only online like in a 3rd world country where you have to look up U-tube, twitter etc...!  Check out  www.stopbankgreed.org  or showdowninchicago.org  ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 18:46"},{"nm":"robert owens","rs":"0","ms":"t is clear that we can not trust our current leaders to run our countrys finances and do what is right for the American people. We must have a change in the guard, Our front line is weak and corrupt. vote no incumbant, to be put in office . thank you","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 18:23"},{"nm":"Mike Arnot","rs":"0","ms":"Fascinating documentary that leaves one wondering why the CNN and others haven\'t picked up the storyline and turned it into to prime time news. Instead they drone on for days about baloon boy and other idiot stories. Why would Obama pick Geithner and Summers when he could have picked someone like Ms. Born - or at least brought her back in to keep the good ol boys further inline. ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 17:37"},{"nm":"Tim T","rs":"0","ms":"The core problem is never mentioned.  The government forcing banks to make risky real estate loans, and then force the Fanny\'s to buy push those notes into the market, is the fundimental cause of the crash. If the government would get the heck out of the way and allow Banks to lend money money to whom they view as a good risk, none of this would have happened.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 16:22"},{"nm":"PeteMcDaniel","rs":"0","ms":"I’m surprised that no one has brought up term-limits. Some of these congressmen have been in office 20-30 years; let’s vote out all Democratic and Republican INCUMBENTS in the 2010 election and every other election.The message must be perfectly clear. We the American people will no longer permit the U.S. Congress to do business as usual.Vote all U.S. Congressional incumbents out of office in November 2010.More at: \<a href=&quot;http://uscaip.blogspot.com/&quot;\>http://uscaip.blogspot.com/\<\/a\>","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 15:23"},{"nm":"Kurt Weston","rs":"0","ms":"It would have nice to know what Ms. Born is doing now.  Maybe we can convince her to run for public office?","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 15:14"},{"nm":"Sebastian Walter","rs":"0","ms":"I found this documentary extremely informing and interesting. It is obvious that there is a strong need to have regulations put in place in Wall Street. The only issue with that is that it has to be the right regulation at the right place. In the case of derivatives, regulations are needed. One can tell when something needs regulation when Greenspan himself says so.I did not find this documentary bias at all, because it just focused on 1 issue that contributed to the Recession. Never did it blame all of the recession on this single incident.Frontline is and remains my most trusted news/documentary outlet.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 14:15"},{"nm":"Les H. Kern","rs":"0","ms":"I think ego\'s got in the way and the boy\'s club could not stand a woman telling them anything...","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 13:57"},{"nm":"mark brown","rs":"0","ms":"The scary this is Larry Summers is still pushing derivatives to Obama. As of the second quarter 09 there is 203 trillion of those things still on the books in the US and China is likely to not honor the losses they have because gov\'t sach may have rigged the system.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 13:25"},{"nm":"Dick","rs":"0","ms":"Great work by frontline.  Too bad the rest the main stream media would rather report on balloon boy, Michael Jackson, etc.  But then, I suspect they are giving the general public what they want.  ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 13:08"},{"nm":"Ednoisin","rs":"0","ms":"This was an excellent documentary providing exposure to overdued TRUTH.  The sad thing however is the perpetual american hypocrisy being exhibited by &quot;Frontline.&quot;  This information was clearly known by the news media.  The media however conveniently waited for this &quot;sordid rape&quot; to take place before exposing such demonic crime.  Those of powers in america love to present &quot;Truth&quot; only when benefiting from the &quot;Lie&quot; is no longer profitable. American news media has shamefully and sadly departed from television news pioneered by Edward Murrow; one that valued integrity and responsibility in reporting news &quot;during the fact&quot; rather than &quot;after the fact.&quot; Such integrity would have exposed the Greenspan-Summers-Geithner-Rubin criminal conspiracy in due time, and perhaps would have initiated swift and efficacious actions against them as it once did against Senator Joseph McCarthy.  The level of corruption in this nation is an embarrassment to the universe and THE MOST HIGH YHWH of what this nation professes to be.  Peace and Shalom,","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 12:19"},{"nm":"turtlehat@aol.com","rs":"0","ms":"FRONTLINEYour presentation “The Warning” in my opinion is excellent.  HOWEVER, there is one small section that I feel is not accurate. While you correctly portrayAlan Greenspan as a disciple of Ayn Rand, Alan Greenspan left the fold. Specifically, Ayn Rand knew that gold is money and money is gold.Alan Greenspan also knew that gold is money and money is gold. In fact, Alan Greenspan wrote an excellent essay “Gold and Economic Freedom”in the Ayn Rand  book, “Capitalism, The Unknown Ideal” (page 89, essay #6).BUT, Alan Greenspan did not adhere to this principal of money is gold and gold is money in his role as Fed Chairman.Alan Greenspan went the route of fiat currency called Federal Reserve Notes, and this departurefrom the concept  equating gold equals money to a massive fiat currency system is the failure.  If Greenspan would have maintained his stance against fiat currency, then he would have agreed with Born since the swaps are also a fiction similar to the fiction of fiat currency. This is the point not captured in the Frontline presentation.  As a consequence of this failure toadhere to the Ayn Rand philosophy of gold, that Greenspan understood well, is the change of concept in thinking that allows the funding mechanism of  trillions in debt and the derivatives fiasco.Born was obviously correct, Greenspan obviously knew Born “hit the nail on the head”, but Born did not make the connection with fiat currency vs. gold . Greenspan as the head of The Fed at the time was a turncoat away from the Ayn Rand philosophy on gold.  You might say that the gold standard  was dead, but it is the philosophical change in thinking that is the culprit and significantas it relates to derivatives, “something out of nothing”.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 12:11"},{"nm":"Jun","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers are contemptible.  Mrs. Brooksley Born is truly a brilliant, courageous hero.  Why is Summers still advising Pres. Obama?  Let\'s write to the White House until they explain that:\<a href=&quot;http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact&quot;\>http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact\<\/a\>","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 11:21"},{"nm":"Tim Baird","rs":"0","ms":"The bottom line has never changed.  Sadly, greed continues to run rampant. Great Show, thanks Frontline!","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 11:05"},{"nm":"Xcorps","rs":"0","ms":"Leave it to Frontline to remind me of just how stupidly, in this case greedy, human nature still is! Such is the job of journalism-to inform society of how really ignorant we are and by telling these stories hopefully we can learn. Three bloody cheers to Brooksley Born! The Planet could use a few more like her!  The fact that Rubin and Summers are advising president Obama is disquieting. All of them should watch this Frontline in an IMAX theatre! ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 06:49"},{"nm":"CatGut","rs":"0","ms":"Less than five minutes into this documentary my BS meter went off big time.  It\'s clearly a hit piece on a free market paradigm and a half-truth attempt to cover the failures of the &quot;progressive&quot; movement, which has, in full truth, held dominating sway over this entire financial debacle, and is only one of many such failures so far experienced in the American culture as a result of their incessant meddling influence.  There has been NO &quot;FREE MARKET&quot; or anything of the sort in existence world-over for many decades.  Markets are controlled by the collectivist elites, their subordinate criminal elements...and liberal progressive, useful idiots.  The laws of the land have been abrogated and regulations trashed to accomodate these criminal elements and their masters.  The American Congress, which has been under one-party machine rule for decades, is to blame for this, the media...for being truly uneducated, ignorant and bought off...but it is ultimately the American people who are to blame, for going so quickly slovenly and soft in the head. ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 06:05"},{"nm":"Terry G McKinney","rs":"0","ms":"The real story is not that Ms.Born raised the issue as early as &quot;94 but in that she was powered out by the old boy network.The pressure that was used to remove her voice from the picture is still in place in the Obama white house and they are still in charge of the countries finances.Just who is dumb enough to think that change will come from the very voices that were responsible for the situation that allowed the collapse in the first place.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 04:25"},{"nm":"Will","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m pulling my money out of the bank and putting it under my mattress.","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 04:10"},{"nm":"Clutch","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m tried of all the GREED,,what we need is a &quot;We the People Uprising&quot;","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 03:44"},{"nm":"scud farcus","rs":"0","ms":"We need:  1)  term limits for elected people and they get no money for what they do;  2) fire 90% of the govt. workers at all levels;  3)  abolish unions;  4)  do away with taxes and fees of all kinds;  5)  outlaw lobbists;  6)  enforce our  borders;  7)  bring  &quot;ALL&quot;  the troups home;  8)  get rid of the FED;  9)  all derivatives are made invalid andd illegal;  10)  back our money with gold and silver again;  11) throw this latest group of  &quot;robber barrons&quot;  in jail;  12) force balanced budgets of all 50 states and our country.  There are 12 things as a starter to right the wrongs of the last 70-80 years.  How many can you come up with.  Just think about it for a while.  Stop crying about it and come up with some ideas.  The damage is done.  We need to clean house and change course now.           ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 00:27"},{"nm":"Gary Neely","rs":"0","ms":"After the vewing of this program I am glad I have started reading Glenn Beck\'s Common Sense.  Glenn Beck a Thomas Paine of our now time.  ","pt":"Oct 26, 2009 00:00"},{"nm":"AJohnson","rs":"0","ms":"Shame on Greenspan,Ruben,Levitt and Summers.I want to know when is Brookley Born going to be appointed to President Obama\'s Adminstration?  She obviously has the intellect and common sense.Thanks for showing this program.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 23:55"},{"nm":"Gregg","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m a huge fan of Frontline.  This episode may have been one of the most compelling I\'ve seen.  I agree with one of the previous posts about Greenspan\'s twisted allegiance to the ideologies of Ayn Rand.  Rand\'s work is making that cyclical comeback it always does during Democratic administrations.  This week I actually overheard a woman at a coffeeshop mention to a friend she was reading Ayn Rand and I chuckled to myself.   I wanted to tell her one of Rand\'s biggest fans has even accepted her worldview was wrong.  That person being Greenspan, of course.  I didn\'t bother, my comments would have been wasted on the Arizona Republican.  God I need to leave this state.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 23:47"},{"nm":"Jon","rs":"0","ms":"At least we have some free press left in this country! Thanks frontline. I\'ll be watching for further development. Funny how were all learning how the madoff scheme was just the tip of the iceberg. The bigger ponzi scheme is now in it\'s last inning. ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 23:32"},{"nm":"JERRY B","rs":"0","ms":"As simple as it sounds, all parties are mixing the use of REGULATION and TRANSPARENCY. Blakesley Born was(is) simply trying to to improve transparency-- regulation, if needed(and it indeed was/is), is the second step. The confusion between transparency and regulation fogged the discussion and allowed the shell game to continue. Greenspan\'s flawed(by his own testimony) world view would have been exposed in a timely manner. Transparency is the antidote to arrogance. ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 23:12"},{"nm":"Jason Stone ","rs":"0","ms":"WoW! Looks like Hindsight is still 20/20. Here\'s the problem, Do we not learn or do suffer fools choices once more. I think that the American Economy needs to be trusted but within boundaries. Greenspan wasn\'t wrong just ill informed. You can\'t have such huge secrets about where the money is or isn\'t and expect to be able to anticipate the out come. I like the fact that we can look back this much like the 911 out cry of connecting the dots, needs to be done in the financial sector. There must be risk and loss, that\'s the way of true growth. Let the best succeed but don\'t allow all monies above a certain percentage point of any companies value exceed  11 percent in loss capabilities. There should always be a cash matching fund of the monies risked.  100% of the amount risked should be on hand and not backed by a policy or property. Cash = to the risk - capital necessary to sustain the organization. Risk only last year\'s profits taken and set aside to be risked and lost. New year\'s revenue used for existing productivity.  ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 22:35"},{"nm":"Lene","rs":"0","ms":"President Obama should sack those of his advisors who have already failed us.  He could hire Born and allow her to guide the choice of other advisors and policy makers. No institution, including the United States, is too big to fail.  That nonsense needs to be exposed for the Big Lie and hubris that it is.  We should examine the idea of a National Bank that belongs to the people.  If the junk assets we citizens purchased were contained in such an institution this whole International Robbery would feel less excruciating and frightening.  I have been, and remain, strongly opposed to The Big Bank Bailout.  We had some slim safeguards.  Our government simply choose to take care of the weatlhiest.  We had insurance for bank accounts and certain stock market accounts.  Such insured losses would have tested the system, but given financial institutions the capitalist correction and learning experiences they desperately need.  ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 22:01"},{"nm":"Louis Solomons","rs":"0","ms":"Surely this must be aired on all channels and viewed by the President.These markets must be regulated fully.Summers, Geithner et al must go - preferably to prison but into shame and obscurity might suffice.Born should be decorated, compensated and given the relevant senior post.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 21:57"},{"nm":"Tama Paine","rs":"0","ms":"The whole Ayn Rand thing blows my mind. Greenspan\'s allegiance to these ideas (and his groupie-like worship of his &quot;mentor&quot;) always struck me like the Secretary of Defense and Joint Chiefs basing our nation\'s entire strategic and tactical plans on science fiction books by &quot;that genius&quot; L. Ron Hubbard. The loopiness of Randites never fails to amuse and horrify me. They\'re like a pit bull puppy with a chew toy; the harder they chew, the more they like it...and don\'t you dare try to take it to launder when it gets smelly and diseased. You could tell them that your pet squirrel Skippy has the flu, and they\'d come back and blame the free markets.As for Greenspan\'s &quot;admission&quot; of being wrong, c\'mon. This is the oldest narrative in Judaeo-Christian mythology: power, sin, redemption.What we need is a return to the AMERICAN narrative:One nation, under the Constitution, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Of the people, by the people, poor the people. Otherwise we will see our nation\'s promise snuffed out, and a return to Old World despotism, superstition, violence, and devolution.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 18:12"},{"nm":"Logan Harshbarger","rs":"0","ms":"Born was definitely right concluding that Wall Streets’ scandals need regulation.  The SEC is understaffed and under-funded and therefore, cannot adequately do their jobs.  Greenspan’s beliefs in the free markets working itself out may work to a certain extent; however fraudulent acts like derivatives need regulation.  How could their be such contradictory views on this subject?  The United States needs to learn from their mistakes to fix the economy.  After the first couple major market crashes (the Great Depression and the crash just a few years ago), how could the United States not know how to effectively run the economy now?  It amazes me how Born and Greenspan were both so set in their ways with totally opposite perspectives on our economy and never thought to meet in the middle.  With a compromise on how the United States’ market is ran our market would be effective.  Including Born’s perspective, our market needs the hedge funds and derivatives regulated.  However, including Greenspan’s views if every aspect of the market has strict rules and regulations our economy would not run efficiently.  ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 18:08"},{"nm":"Jon Martinez","rs":"0","ms":"Two questions:Why isn\'t Brooksley Born a key Obama advisor or administration official?Why are Lawrence Summers and Timothy Geithner anywhere near the levers of power?","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 16:35"},{"nm":"Lorinda Pullen","rs":"0","ms":"I am still surprised that the Congress and the White HOuse has not done more to stop this blatant misuse of the markets. I knew part of what was going on but I had no idea that it was so rampant. I think Ms. Born deserves our great respect and a place in the Obama White House. Why isn\'t she there and the present guy who was a part of it out on his backside? Was I hearing right that Greenspan didn\'t believe that fraud in the stock market should be punished? That is so ludicres that I can\'t believe people would buy into it.   I am still not sure I truly understand what a derivitive is but is sounds like something that should be outlawed.L. Pullen","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 16:08"},{"nm":"Mike","rs":"0","ms":"Audit the Federal Reserve NOW! Support those in Congress who are pushing for it. The Fed & Treasury, at the behest of the Presidents Working Group on Financial markets (yea, the &quot;Plunge Protection Team&quot; as they are called), have almost surely &quot;juiced&quot; the Stock Market since March this year by actively buying equities and S & P futures complicit with the likes of Goldman Sachs and other big banks using our taxpayer money. They are re-inflating the bubble market and fiercly trying to re-instill the massive loss of confidence by the retail investors (you & I ) and doing everything possible to entice as much money as possible back into the market - ESPECIALLY here at the top! However, it isn\'t working too well as the big banks and machines simply trade against each other. This balloon will again POP soon.....don\'t let them steal more of your hard earned money. Where is the TRANSPARENCY Obama promised? What a total lie! ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 15:57"},{"nm":"zippythepinhead","rs":"0","ms":"Please. Greenspan, Rubin and Summers are not capitalists no matter what they may say directly. This is old news, central bankers have controlled this country directly for the last 100 yrs. The whole system will collapse all fiat money will be repudiated, the dow and gold will reach a 1:1 ratio and we will have an abolishment of the FED. Derivatives? Boring. What about all the dark pools of liquidity and the naked short selling going on at COMEX? Wait until China demands payment on contracts that can\'t be made. Yes Frontline is ahead of the MSM but your not that far ahead of the curve. See you in the soup line.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 15:57"},{"nm":"Alvari40","rs":"0","ms":"The scary thing was that the rest of the world started to believe in the American economic model and to embrace its practice.  Reminds me of the Fable of the Snake.  Other countries for years had refused to fully embrace capitalism because it had snakelike qualities that they detested.  However, favorable PR and glutinous U.S. life styles over the years had softened this view and made other countries desireous of the U.S. way of life.  Of course, Corporate America was waiting patiently for the switch to embrace American capitalism to happen and then once it did - it struck. The attack to the rest of the world (and, of course to our own country) was heinous. We took advantage of our own - yes.  However, we have been conditioned to accept this and, in fact, blame government for the ills rather than Corporate America.  So, the powers that be knew we could deal with that backlash: however, the attack on the rest of the world just as they were wholeheartedly embracing Capitalism could not go unresponded.  Especially since they hold our debt.  Capitalism failed in 2007-2009.  No one can deny it.  It wasn\'t the Repulicans or Democrats - it was the concept.  The failure to hold Ms. Born up as a hero to Democracy during this egregious period is an absolute sin and against everything that I identify as being truely American.    ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 15:04"},{"nm":"John","rs":"0","ms":"  Excellent show Frontline. I can always count on Frontline for a fact based and intelligent investigative report. They make the U.S. MSM look like a bunch of 1st graders.  You\'re right about China. They would put Summers, Greenspan, Geithner,Bernanke, Dodd and Franks on trial. With a speedy trial and a speedy sentance. Deservedly so.  In the U.S., these self-appointed Gods get re-elected or re-appointed to even higher positions. They get medals.   We watch as bored spectators.  Uh....Hello!.....America???  ....Are you really gonna sit there forever, ignorant to the loss of your combined wealth, health and freedom? The sad reality is that Obama is just the new bag man. Clearly nothing more.  How\'s that &quot;Hope and Change&quot; working out for ya\'? Even the most ardent conservative and the most left-leaning intellectual, could agree that our country has been damaged greatly by the greed of both political parties. It\'s not just Wall St.  No, Washington has been an invested enabler and cheerleader. The portfolios of every career politician show the clear story.  Conyers, Franks, Dodd, Reid, Pelosi, McCain, Spector, Burris and the rest, all have made huge sums of money by gaming the system. They\'ve cheating on taxes, made fortunes in shady land deals, get sweetheart mortgages and report half of what they scam. They have the ultimate insider information because they design the laws and regulations. Even the ones on Banks.  We can debate changes, term limits, revolution or any other methods to make things right again. The sad fact is, it\'s too late. It\'s game over time.  More collapses are coming. Many Banks are dead men walking. States are going bankrupt. Union pensions are gone and consumer debt is deplorable. Unemployment will stay high and wages will be further depressed by competition. Inflation is just around the corner. The U.S. government is nearing 100 Trillion dollars in debt and promised liabilities. Obama intends to add 10 Trillion more in the next decade. Probably more.  With U.S. government healthcare, cap and trade and immigration amnesty, it will be the final nail in our collective coffin.   I would love to see Frontline do an expose on U.S. Senators and Congressman, in the realm of their investments, connections, insider deals, lobby dollars, and hidden wealth. (It would likely need to be a 8 part special)  ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 14:15"},{"nm":"Bil_Hsch","rs":"0","ms":"If I did not contribute to PBS before, I plan to start now. Thank you and the producers of this documentary for the enlightenment of the common citizen on how incompetent our leaders can be and their resolve to be right. I plan to spread the word about the, if not criminal, immoral acts of our leaders  Greenspan, Rubin, the SEC chairman at that time and less not forget congress (leave Old Bill Clinton out since he had other problems at that time) and the bravery of Ms. Brooksley Born. She should have been named if not attorney general the Federal Reserve chairman instead given the raw deal of resignation. I would have felt more confident in our government and the system if more people like her were calling the shots and watching out for my best interest.  Neither parties or people of interest have recently proven they are worth the salaries that they are paid in our government prior to September 11 2001. What is real disturbing is that the Obama Administration that I voted for has hired the same incompetent idiots as financial advisers ( Like Larry Summers).  I am sending a copy of this opinion to my district’s congressional heads to let them know their time is short unless they repair the watch dog systems (CFTC, SEC, Fed Reserv, FDA….etc). That is what failed. That is what lets me sleep at night. The rule of law is what brings people to this country. The fact that a “crook” does not prevail, at least not forever is what America should be about.  Yours trulyPanama City, Fl ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 13:45"},{"nm":"David H Norton","rs":"0","ms":"How can Alan Greenspan and his philosophical ilk see an approx 570 TRILLION dollar derivitive market operate without ANY regulation in a &quot;black box&quot; hole and not say that there may arise at some time some systemic risk to the system.  Surely it must have crossed their minds at least to make some inquiries as what was to the happening in this huge market.  To make matters worse they didn\'t even care that fraud could occur in this market without detection.  Nor did they think that maybe it might be a good idea to guard against a possible systemic collapse of this market by imposing at least a minimum reserve requirement (such that banks are required to keep in place).  It is easy to criticize in retrospect.  But the action of Greenspan et al in actively ensuring that the light of day was not shone on this black box derivitive market makes one think that Greenspan et al either were personally benefiting from their actions and inactions or that they had become meglomaniacs believing, like Nixon, that they lived in a world beyond and above the law.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 13:43"},{"nm":"William Foget","rs":"0","ms":"Alan Greenspan, Lawrence Summers, Robert Rubin and Arthur Levitt: the Four Horseman of the Apocalypse.It is a shock that National Economic Council Chair, Lawrence Summers now speaks of financial regulatory reform. It reminds me of Dick Cheney advising Pres Bush Senior to not wage war and then turning around to advise Pres Bush Jr to do the opposite. It suited his purposeArthur Levitt (SEC) was the only individual with the integrity to acknowledge his error and apologize to Brooksley Born. This is seldome seen anymore. My hat is off to him. Unfortuanately, that integrity appears lacking in the rest.Like Dick Cheney, Lawrence Summers is still in the White House undermining regulatory initiatives; it suits his purpose.The President should appoint Brooksley Born before Lawrence Summers allows the crisis to finish off the world economy. He will never allow the effective regulation that all other industrialised countries have. We are nowhere near to being clear of this crisis. Born can bring the courage and foresight to adress these comlex issues. Our finacial system can no longer function as a financial wild west.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 13:10"},{"nm":"SeaDragon","rs":"0","ms":"I agree 100% that it is OUR fault and until we start learning to vote out these &quot;career politicians&quot; it will keep happening and America will get worse. It is time for fresh patriot faces who will do away with the lobbyist and special interest who are really running this country. You saw by the eveidence WHO has been behind the scenes and WHO is STILL behind the scenes running his really big show. I saw this morning on Fox news that the risks are STILL THERE and NOTHING has changed. How can it when the same one world order elitist are still there running it. Come on what a joke. I am tired of hearing the words &quot;wake up America&quot; what I want to know is WHEN are you going to wake up. Now that most of you have had to sell off your toys in order to survive over this mess, maybe now you will have more time to PAY ATTENTION to what is REALLY happening. When you have the career pols who have been around long enough to CREATE all this mess, maybe then you will see we need term limits AND A HOUSE CLEANING. God put good and evil in front of your faces and you chose evil. You remind me of the acient Hebrews when they wanted a KING to rule over them instead of God and he warned them what would happen if they chose a human over him...Sure enough to this day his words are true.Quit whinning and do something construtive about what you do not like. STOP THINKING the other guy will do your work for you.  ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 12:24"},{"nm":"Uroboros","rs":"0","ms":"How is it that men like Greenspan, Summers and Rubin, so devoid of a sense of consequence or responsibility, who show such a blatant lack of regard for the effect their dictatorial decisions have on the lives of common people around the globe, are able to continue to walk around as freemen? Let alone own any property...? I don\'t get it? For is not the Randian credo,  which Greenspan offered a deathbed confession to Mr. Waxman at the end of &quot;The Warning&quot;, little more than the Protestant work ethic on steroids, where the &quot;righteous&quot; amass wealth as a birthright, and by means of some one-size-fits belief in market forces that remain just, all by themselves, without human intervention? Isn\'t there a certain madness to this? Like corporate personhood? Where this sort of laughing-all-the-way-to-the-bank cynicism is really just the exploitive basis any profit based system, where to exist, someone has to lose? Because as any true believer must ask themselves once they wake up from their delusions of choice, and the carcass has been picked to the bones, so there\'s no need to hang around anymore, can any one person be so wise as to speak for the totality of human experience, let alone any one aspect of reality without having to rely on fable? Are we really that gullible? Well, ask Timmy Geithner and Larry Summers--they\'ll tell ya. &quot;Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain.&quot; And as far as Mr. Greenspan\'s rude awakening--what\'s good for Maddoff, is too good for him, or maybe even what happened to Benedict Arnold.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 12:22"},{"nm":"jim malone","rs":"0","ms":"liked the show very much   where was it when we needed it?  economic reporters are very compromised when they use only the players with vested interested interests as sources   they allow these interests to game the system.  perhaps the system needs to change.  Initially the old rules in place ten years ago could be reinstated.  The next move I would like to see is bonuses being paid in financial instruments that individual traders promoted,  with an appropriate holding time for allowing liquidation.  Then each individual would have a vested interest in products that are solid to the best of their knowledge.  They would then  reap the same rewards as their customers.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 12:06"},{"nm":"Joe Bluish","rs":"0","ms":"I would never trust PBS","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 12:04"},{"nm":"Bess","rs":"0","ms":"Is it not strange that the same old guys who started this and let the debacle grow are now in the present Presidents advisory positions,wolves guarding the henhouse, except the coward Greenspan and Rubin, who tucked his tail and admitted he was wrong and dropped back into obscurity  with no doubt millions stuck under their mattresses. Wasn\'t it Paulsen who worked for China in a big position for 7 years and now you still have Bernanke, Geitner (tax evader), Summers and other thugs who now have prime position to take this country into the worst depression we will ever have if they are elected for a second term. God forbid!","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 11:36"},{"nm":"cswordie@bellsouth,net","rs":"0","ms":"wow","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 11:21"},{"nm":"Steve Day","rs":"0","ms":"Obama has the same advisors in place, who were part of the cover given to OTC\'s. (No lobbying allowed by the way during the education of the Congress on this matter.) OTC\'s are to be regulated without the loopholes that continue to insult our intelligence. Opensecrets.org shows how much money the financial lobby is spending. $50 million is a small price to pay for a return of trillions. Not a bad bet on a bet that\'s insured against any loss.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 10:36"},{"nm":"Kenton R. Brown","rs":"0","ms":"It becomes more apparent with each crises (punishment)that our leaders have abandoned the principles our Great young country was founded on. Instead following the erring ideology of the &quot;Collective&quot;.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 08:24"},{"nm":"GCK","rs":"0","ms":"It appears many roads to and from the crisis involve GOLDMAN-SACHS and its alumni.  Is GOLDMAN-SACHS actually running the country?","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 02:57"},{"nm":"Quiet","rs":"0","ms":"I believe we are not out of the woods yet.  This country will take second place to China, Russia, Brazil, and India.  This financial crisis will linger for many years to come.  We also risk the next 2nd Great Depression.  The calmity will soon affect all of us.  Prepare for the next slow down.  Our kids will suffer these ill effects for many years.  Every politician in office should be fired and we should elect 3rd party candidates.  My 2 cents.....","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 02:53"},{"nm":"stephen graber","rs":"0","ms":"Loan derivatives brought this market down and nothing has been done to regulate this market yet?  This shows how out of step and pathetic the banking lobby is and how dumb and influenced our congressmen are by the corrupt.  The whole episode is disgusting and regulation is needed badly to keep it from happening again. The question is how stupid can this scam to the American public get and who is watching the thieves?  It is high time for Congress and Obama to act to protect the American Public.  ","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 02:24"},{"nm":"Ken in Camarillo","rs":"0","ms":"This presentation makes the case for regulation, but if the wrong type of regulation is applied, then you just have a different form of graft and corruption via government corruption. Greenspan made a good comment about regulation limiting the creativity of people in industry (I forgot his exact words). The first approximation that gives a proper balance would be &quot;truth in labeling&quot; regulation, in which information about the investments must be provided in a uniform manner so prospective investors can make reasonable assessments of the risk vs opportunity. Saying &quot;you can\'t do investment types A, B, C, or D&quot; is bad regulation. Saying &quot;you must fully disclose the facts behind investment types A, B, C, or D&quot; is the proper type of regulation.","pt":"Oct 25, 2009 01:33"},{"nm":"Ed Campbell","rs":"0","ms":"Okay, so let me get this straight, Ayn Rand is playing the part of Sam to Greenspan\'s Berkowitz? She\'s the one who told him to crash the US economy? I just shrugged.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 23:50"},{"nm":"Ron Halverson","rs":"0","ms":"Derivatives are gambling and serve no purpose has a legitimate means of acquiring wealth or building an economy. Put them were they belong in a casino. ","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 22:46"},{"nm":"Erwin","rs":"0","ms":"Another fine example of American exceptionalism. Exceptional ignorance and incompetence. ","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 22:35"},{"nm":"Edward Holman","rs":"0","ms":"When signing the Gramm Act into law (which repealed the Glass-Steagall Act), President Clinton explicitly stated with raised pen as he signed it, that it &quot;established the principles that, as we expand the powers of banks, we will expand the reach of the Community Reinvestment Act.&quot;  The act would never have passed without an amendment that required government approval of any such mergers by the regulators responsible for the Community Reinvestment Act. This allowed securitization of subprime (and other) loans backed by Fannie Mae, Freddi Mac.  Bear Stearns issued the first subprime mortgage backed security a few months later.  Like heroin, Wall Street went nuts over these packages, sliced and diced them (derivitives and credit default swaps), and a giant sucking sound with TREMENDOUS pressure built up pulling all loosely thrown together mortgages to Wall Street to be packaged.  But since the subprimes were made to people who never should have borrowed in the first place, they fell first, causin the cascade.  The derivitive overlay geometrically increased the slide because the suprime packages were like a 1% cash down to buy 99% more securities on credit - that\'s how it oingo-boingo\'d into Godzilla. But here is the proof: The repeal of Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act of (November) 1999 would remove the very regulation that gives Congress power over banks.  This is why it will not be repealed en toto.   Those responsible for this financial collapse are also in charge of assessing the blame.  This includes the symbiotic relationship between Wall Street, Treasury, the Federal Reserve and Congress.  It is facilitated by the 35,000 registered lobbyists on K Street behind the Capitol.   To buy into the notion that Congress was not a central player in the collapse will allow this body to further separate itself from responsibility.   It is why you cannot answer the simple question: Why won\'t Congress repeal the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act?","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 21:44"},{"nm":"Bob","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan, in his preposterous theory that fraud should not be...detected...prosecuted...and punished has pervertedAyan Rands position of &quot;Hands-Off&quot; American Business. In fact, in sanctioning the interferance of the Secretary of the Treasury in shielding the scurrilous hidden money machine these bankers established was indeed a colossoll interfearance of the government in free and open markets, the very thing anathema to Rand. Greenspan, Rubin and Summers in effect had their thumbs on the scale. Their perverted demands to keep this quiet are inexcusable and perhaps criminal. Geithner and Summers should be waiting tables somewhere...Greenspan turns out to be a double-talking imposter who fooled most of the people, most of the time and Rubin stands as an example of the worst to be found in a BANKER and government insider. Geithner and Summers need to leave our government immediately.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 21:35"},{"nm":"Jon Weiss","rs":"0","ms":"No, derivitives do not need to be regulated, providing those who use them are held responsible.  People should have the freedom to invest where and how they wish, but the taxpayers should not be called on to rescue the investors after they fail.   If you play the market in any manner and lose...YOU LOSE.  The taxpayers should not be held liable for the bailouts which have proven themselves to be nothing more than a windfall for the thieves of Wall Street. ","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 20:56"},{"nm":"David Quinones","rs":"0","ms":"The problem that we face constantly is the belief that the majority have more intellect & understanding of a situation than a single voice of one or a few. Time after time the warnings of greed are sounded but they are silenced by the powerful elite.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 20:30"},{"nm":"G. L. Moahan","rs":"0","ms":"Value at Risk,You are right to point out that Credit Derivatives are not the problem.  They are only one of many financial instruments that are used for investments around the globe.  Metaphorically, I will quote the Gun lobby mantra &quot;It\'s not guns that kill people, it\'s people that kill people.&quot;  I disagree with you that Frontline misled anyone about the rampant fraud in this opaque market, and the need for regulation.                                  - - -  - - -  - - - There are so many problems to be addressed; it is hard to know where to begin.  Our government in the present day is not “Of the people and by the people.”  Our government is run by the oligarchy of Wall Street elites for their own greed.  Whether it is bankers, car manufactures, Agri-business conglomerates or the pharmaceutical industry, each special interest has its own lobby.  In total there are probably ten, or more, times as many lobbyists as legislators.  The first problem then, before any others can be enjoined, seems to be how our Congressional leaders and Senators are elected.  The money they have to amass for each election campaign is so great that they have to start fundraising from their first day in office.   Corporate money demands subservience.  This is a bipartisan issue.  It is an issue that can bring the far left liberals and the far right conservatives together with one voice of the American People.The solution is public funded elections.  Will this stop the corporations from their lobbying?  No, of course, it will not.  It will only slow them down.  But, that is another issue to be addressed at another time.  Progress in a nonviolent, democratic, society, is painfully slow.  We have to start somewhere.   This is the beginning.  The velvet revolution is in its infancy.  Who will join me?  Any suggestions on how we can get together to raise our voices in unison?  I have heard many people speak of the need, and several saying that they are waiting for a leader to rally them and point the way.  We need a prominent, impassioned speaker, or speakers, to form the nucleus of a march on Washington.  I suggest we start by writing to Rush Limbaugh, Keith Olberman, Glen Beck, Arinia Huffington, Katrina vanden Heuvel and Sean Hannity.  I hope that speakers from both ends of the political spectrum can lay down their swords and shields down by the Potomac River side and join hands in this most important cause.I, for one, will start knocking on doors of some of our Congressmen and women in the next few weeks.  I envision a rally in Washington on Saturday, the 10th of April, 2010. I’m mad as hell, and I’m not gonna take it anymore!G.L. Monahan","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 15:00"},{"nm":"reymaravilla","rs":"0","ms":"There exists a minority in economic circles, fixated on a belief that trashing the American economy is a one crucial step towards a unified global economic system; regulated by one central governing body; under one flag, the emblem of a global confederacy. These create and then manage one crisis after another, enriching themselves along the way. Mean while, John Q Public is totally distracted as his reality whiplashes from one extreme to another. Yet, he blindly follows the talking heads and manipulated poll results. So the same, well-lobbied, Washington round-table returns year after year; more of the same. Again and again, we have seen their game. My friends, you and I, we are truly to blame.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 14:41"},{"nm":"James Bothwell","rs":"0","ms":"While generally quite laudable, this Frontline report commits a serious error of omission. The first explicit government warning about the systemic risks posed by financial derivatives was in fact issued in 1994, two years before Ms. Born became chair of the CFTC, in a well-known, definitive GAO report entitled, Financial Derivatives: Actions Needed to Protect the Financial System (May 18, 1994).The report, based on an in-depth 2-year study of the derivatives market, analyzed the significant and growing risks posed by these products and recommended that Congress and financial regulators take a series of specific actions to monitor and control these risks because they threatened the stability of the entire financial system.The GAO report was the subject of a number of high-profile congressional hearings and received widespread coverage in a series of speeches and presentations by James L. Bothwell, the GAO director and principal author of the study, throughout the 1994-96 period.  As the incoming chair of the CFTC, Ms. Born would certainly have been briefed about the GAO findings and recommendations in 1996.  So give credit where credit is due.  While Ms. Born certainly deserves credit for supporting and attempting to implement the GAO recommendations, she is certainly not the one who performed the analysis, or was the first to sound a clarion warning about the risks of derivatives in Washington, or the first to fight to control these risks.  That credit belongs to the GAO. To its credit, the Columbia Journalism Review got the story right this past Spring.See the following links:\<a href=&quot;http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/derivatives_echo_chamber.php&quot;\>http://www.cjr.org/the_audit/derivatives_echo_chamber.php\<\/a\>www.cjr.org/the_audit/audit_interview_james_l_bothwe.php","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 14:07"},{"nm":"statement","rs":"0","ms":"Derivitives are nothing more than insurance collective devices that hide bad risk items..As with all types of insurance some items must be left out, to stand on their own merit or non merit ..Insurance cannot be afforded to certain items of a super volital nature ..Regulation would not be neccessary is these, too volital, items would be made to stand alone at all times..Regulation is overhead & costs money to provide ..Keep the toxic items to themselves would reveal their true merit , which then would afford the invester proper conrol of their investment .. Transparency does not need regulation ..Only manipulation needs regulation.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 13:21"},{"nm":"Ken Hall","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is a true Patriot; she is articulate and smart and really looked out for us. If Washington can destroy her how can we the people stand a chance against the corrupt and powerful on Wall Street and the ignorant and corrupt in Washington who are paid off by Wall Street. I feel this is a bigger giant than goliath faced. A mere stone will not kill this giant and we do not have a community in this nation to come together and change our system. I fear we are doomed as a nation of good people.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 12:59"},{"nm":"David Agnew","rs":"0","ms":"Invaluable journalism. And PBS modestly asks, &quot;Should derivatives be regulated?&quot; Doh!That our economy has been almost fully controlled for about four decades by Ayn Rand devotees is like something out of a bad science fiction novel. Summers, Geithner and Greenspan should be in Gitmo. Without such accountability, our \'democratic\' government will continue to coddle the powerful corporations and super-wealthy that rape our nation and the world.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 12:14"},{"nm":"Mary Colombo","rs":"0","ms":"Since our country is very polarized I suggest that this is one issue that both Democrats and Republicans should insist on correcting. We all lost money in the recent financial collapse. Although the market has advanced since March 2009, we gained nothing from Sept.2008-March 2009.If investors sold because  of fear they lost quite a bit.. We should all insist in transpancy in the derivatives market. I plan to write my representatives and the President.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 12:12"},{"nm":"KG","rs":"0","ms":"History as I see it:1950\'s- U.S only post war major manufacturing power left standing1960\'s- let the good times roll- no competition - high paying union jobs and lucrative benefits1970\'s- Rest of world plays catchup. Arabs use oil as strategic weapon.1980\' Massive transference of wealth to middle east (petro dollars)and Rise of China  as industrial power creates global imbalance which is another way of saying we pay ourselves way too much.1990\'s-We are in trouble-What to do about it:1- Marginalize unions- can\'t compete in global economy2- Begin the erosin of standard of living (freeze wages)2000\'s3- Pass legislation to legalize Credit Default Swaps (Commodity futures modernization Act)(Graham Leach Bliley)4- Purchase afore mentioned insurance(counterparties-who are they?) and let the economy implode-We\'ll collect5- Send this money to Switzerland and put Senator Graham there to watch it. (He\'s a VP at UBS)6- Return when the dust settles- What a plan!The rest is history","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 09:56"},{"nm":"EBH","rs":"0","ms":"I can envision a time in the near future where the citizens of the U.S. join together and slay these despicable politicians responsible for ruining the country. ","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 07:33"},{"nm":"Mackson","rs":"0","ms":"I remember in 1994 getting in a heated discussion with a middle aged white male. His premise was the criminals are the ones stealing the CD and mp3 players out of our cars. I told him it was the bankers downtown who should be locked up for life. Since then we had Enron, state energy manipulation in California, world energy manipulation and now the theft of our financial system. I wonder what that gentlemen thinks now his pension gone, his health care cancelled and sliding back even further on the financial treadmill. My guess he is watching FOX CBS CNN and NBC and sure all our problems come from those brown and black people standing with him in-line at the unemployment office, or maybe those men wearing white dresses racing camels on top of our oil.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 05:30"},{"nm":"Edward Phillips","rs":"0","ms":"It was the &quot;Government&quot; that caused the collapse, \'they\' allow this madness to happen \'they\' changed the law.Ms. Born is a unsung hero she should received the Nobel Peace Prize.  However, it ain\'t over yet.  Also there is a bias in the subject matter but that is to be expected.  True, regulation is costly and does not work but that does not give anyone a  license to steal. That is all it was they stole trillions and \'they\' got away with the loot.Won\'t be long now for the next crash, panic, depression or whatever it is called.  Things do not happen by accident there is a cause, now how to figure what the effect will be.95% of all garment are not made in the USA what is next?Can\'t stop it now it is to late.Peace.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 03:43"},{"nm":"Don Perera","rs":"0","ms":"The absolute failure of the Government to protect the financial wellbeing of it citizen/taxpayers. It again demonstrates the power of special interest money and how easy it is to buy off politicians.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 02:55"},{"nm":"john l","rs":"0","ms":"Wonderful program!  It has set the record straight.  Brooksley is my hero and she is such a lady.In contrast, the threesome played rough, ignored LTCM incident that demonstrated the danger, with the Senate and Congress succumbed to financial services industry lobbyist are absolutely shameless and irresponsible.With hindsight, if the threesome had humility after the LTCM incident, they have the smarts to work with Brooksley to devise ways to have something better than how the 14 banks were forced to cobble together to ride out the LTCM incident.Do we have humility after the hubris?  Do we have transparency as advocated by Obama?  Do we have ways of holding irrisponsible parties accountable for their behavior?  Not as of today.We, the people, will have to save ourselves.  The stimulus package is the largest transfer of wealth in history, from every tax payer to the irresponsible parties.","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 01:48"},{"nm":"Dee Jay","rs":"0","ms":"Bravo, Frontline--you deserve the highest awards for this piece.  Glad to see most responders \'get it\' about what a hero Brooksley Born is, and that Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers deserve orange jump suits.  In a fair society, this would be so.  I shake my head at the Kool-Aid drinking Ayn Rand apologists, as this reflects the deep effects of the propaganda machine.However, what should we do?  (Don\'t expect Obama to about-face anytime soon--he could never have gotten to wher he is without the constant backing of the Big Money crowd).  What we could do is go to Michael Moore\'s web site where he gives us 15 things we can do right now to start fixing the problem.  If anyone can think of others courses of action, let\'s share them on this forum.Dee Jay","pt":"Oct 24, 2009 01:40"},{"nm":"ROBIN YOUNG","rs":"0","ms":"HOORAY FOR FRONTLINE AND BROOKSLEY BORN.  KEEP UP THE GOOD WORK AND HAVE FOLLOW UP TO THIS PROGRAM SUMMARISING THE ACCOMPANYING COMMENTS AND INCLUDE THE ORANGE COUNTY DERIVATIVE INVESTMENT FIASCO.  ALSO BROADCAST SPECIFIC RECOMMENDATIONS OF PROPOSED REGULATION LEGISLATION.  ITS OBVIOUS STRICT REGULATION IS NEEDED TO PREVENT FUTURE DISASTERS.  ALL LARGE INVESTMENTS SHUD BE MADE PUPLIC INFORMATION AS A PART OF PUBLIC FINANCIAL SAFETY.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 16:59"},{"nm":"Mary","rs":"0","ms":"I watched your piece on the advice of Rush Limbaugh.  This was fabulous!  I agree with Jim that I would like to see Frontline tackle the story on Raines, Dodds, and Frank regarding Fannie and Freddie.  This is just the first of many secrets to be unraveled for all of us.  Thank you and I am grateful to Ms. Brooksley Borne for her courage.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 16:57"},{"nm":"Michael","rs":"0","ms":"The GOVERNMENT is supposed to be &quot;Of the people&quot; where at least the people should be able to effect change. CORPORATIONS are in business to make profit, over and above the welfare of the people. HELLO !!! The only way a person can effect change with a private Corporation, is to put into place policies for control on the front side or to boycott them on the back. We as citizens, need to educate ourselves and be involved in our politics. We cannot trust corporations to govern themselves appropriatly, when they become so big, that what they do effects our national economy, there needs to be regulation and oversite.  ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 16:51"},{"nm":"Larry Radtke","rs":"0","ms":"To connect Ayn Rand or her philosophy Objectivism with Alan Greenspan and his role in the current economic debacle is to admit that you know nothing of Rand, Objectivism, or economics.Yes, I am an Objectivist. No, I am not a Republican.Larry Radtke","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 16:34"},{"nm":"Baron","rs":"0","ms":"Terrorism is not from abroad, but from within.  The greed that continually prevails in our country will be our doom. The present administration is nothing more than an extension of the past. When will it end? ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 16:31"},{"nm":"G. Bend","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you, PBS and Frontline. Sadly, some people are commenting on which side of the Titanic the gash is on. Listen: &quot;Our Treasury&quot; has paid over a $trillion to float a casino that has $595 trillion in failing bets. Our GDP is $14 trillion. Prognosis from a national financial oncologist: &quot;What Me Worry?&quot;","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 16:04"},{"nm":"Jason Hommel","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan Misapplied Free Market Theory(My Comments on &quot;Frontline; The Warning&quot;)\<a href=&quot;http://silverstockreport.com/2009/greenspan-misapplied.html&quot;\>http://silverstockreport.com/2009/greenspan-misapplied.html\<\/a\>In my opinion, futures contracts, like debt contracts, lead to compulsory performance, and thus slavery.  And slavery is the exact opposite of freedom!  That\'s Greenspan\'s big error, the failure to see that slavery is the opposite of freedom!Again, as an example, allowing people the freedom to trade slaves does not promote freedom, it promotes slavery! Allowing banks to enslave people with too much unpayable home loan debt is a fruit of that error. Allowing banks to enslave one another so that if one topples, they all topple, is another fruit of that error. Allowing people to enslave banks to perform what they cannot, so that they &quot;need&quot; bailouts, is another fruit of that error.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 15:52"},{"nm":"Peter Maier","rs":"0","ms":"Again we seem to close the doors of the barn, when the horses are out. Where was the media when the doors were opened? ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 15:35"},{"nm":"jim","rs":"0","ms":"Free markets work if you\'re willing to let people fail. If all these clowns weren\'t bailed out, I\'d be fine with it. We\'d be hurting for a year or two, but we\'d get through it and the fools who hosed the nation would be in the poor house, instead of collecting their multimillion $$$ bonuses.I\'d add that I don\'t buy the gender slant this story has. Does anyone believe that if a male tried to enforce regulation on the big dogs of DC/Wall Street, that the end result would have been any different?Please...","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 15:29"},{"nm":"PAT RENFRO","rs":"0","ms":"I think that it is a travisty that Ms. Born is not in a position of power in the Obama adminastration. She of all people has the insight and knowlege to steer us out of this financail crisis. Mr. Obama should reconsider his choices of the people he has in power. And if he doesn\'t we should remove him from power.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 15:10"},{"nm":"m.wright","rs":"0","ms":"Congratulations! The show was riveting. Send copies to every member of the senate, congress,and especially Greenspan, Rubin and Summers. I would be more than happy to contribute to the cost. Maybe the &quot;brilliant minds&quot; will realize they are not and also accept responsibility for the chaos created.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 14:29"},{"nm":"deanbob","rs":"0","ms":"Mike, how would the purchases of homes been affected by (much) higher interest rates?  You asked the Greenspan impact. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 14:25"},{"nm":"Value atRisk","rs":"0","ms":"To Jason Davis—our $85 billion did not go to AIG; that money went to Goldman Sachs. AIG blew up not because of derivatives, but because they sold insurance contracts on real estate deals without sufficient collateral backing the contracts. AIG went down like MBIA and all these other monoline insurance providers. Incidentally, AIG was regulated, by the insurance regulators! Again, there are really smart people like Janet Tavakoli, who have been criticizing the entire sham that’s securitization for years. Janet Tavakoli gave the real warning a long time ago. Brooksley Born is nothing more than a false prophet who warned of war, while we received pestilence. This is why this is a horrible documentary.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 14:19"},{"nm":"Justin","rs":"0","ms":"I love this magic word, REGULATE!!  As if all we had to do was push one of those EASY buttons and all of this mess would have been avoided.  Keep in mind, Madoff\'s firm was heavily regulated.  The SEC was given numerous, lengthy des\criptions of exactly what he doing (which was probably the oldest and most basic fraud we know of) and they couldn\'t catch him.  Do you honestly think a couple of rules about derivatives would have stopped the growth of a $500 trillion market?There was one intriguing comment in this program and that was highlighting the irony of attributing a free-market stance to the head of the most counter-market force in the economy, the Fed.  Regulated or not, the OTC derivative market could never have grown the way it did without the virtually free money given away by Greenspan.  Let\'s just say Greenspan\'s views regarding free markets changed long before that hearing with Waxman.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 14:13"},{"nm":"Bee Diddy","rs":"0","ms":"Iconclast: explaining the causes of the financial crisis is a book-length subject. But here are some key facts. The $500 trillion number is notional value: it\'s not the actual amount at risk, which is something like one-tenth of that amount. Moreover, it includes derivatives like currency swaps that had little if anything to do with the financial crisis. In any event, OTC derivatives are a red herring. This basic tale of the financial crisis is that the Fed\'s unprecedentedly loose monetary policy created a surfeit of cheap credit, which found its way into the housing market. Why housing? B/c the explosion of securitization allowed banks to write loans, collect fees, and then pawn the loans onto other investors via mortgage-backed securities. Having moved the loans off-balance-sheet, banks would begin the cycle again. In theory, mortgage-backed securities should have dispersed risk. But it didn\'t work that way. For one, ratings agencies mis-appraised the securities, which lead many investors (perhaps carelessly) to mispercieve the level of risk they were taking on. For another, swaps (i.e, the dread OTC derivatives) allowed investors to hedge their risks by effectively buying &quot;insurance,&quot; but this insurance turned out to be illusory b/c the &quot;insurers&quot; (i.e., AIG) didn\'t have adequate reserves to cover losses. Add into this mix the public frenzy to dive into the housing market (&quot;flipping houses&quot; was the new way to get rich quick) and the presence of two behemoth companies (Fannie & Freddie) that vacuumed up housing debt like whales eating plankton, using subsidized capital (a whole \'nother story), and you\'ve got the ingredients for a financial disaster. So, yes, OTC derivatives played a role. But not a starring role. Unfortunately for Frontline and populist liberals, that\'s not quite as simple a storyline.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 13:55"},{"nm":"Angelo Serignese","rs":"0","ms":"I resent the emphasis on Alan Greenspan\'s association with Ayan Rand. This piece is typical government run TV propaganda. Somehow Frontline has managed to stretch and pervert Greenspan\'s limited bias towards Ayan Rand as an indictment of free markets -- markets free of government manipulation. It\'s impossible to get the truth from any journalistic outlet that receives government or corporate funding. If you\'re ready for for a real breath of fresh air pull your heads out, search Yoo toob for &quot;The Fall of The Republic: The Presidency of Barack H. Obama. Oh, and I\'m not a conspiracy theorist. I worked for one of the banks that owns the private corporation, called the Federal Reserve. So I speak from first hand experience. If you want to see where this is all headed search &quot;Joan Veon, When Central Banks Rule the World&quot;. It isn\'t stoppable. It\'s is unfolding now and it will come to fruition. The whole purpose of the 2007-09 meltdown was to centralize $64 trillion into the hands of the ruling elite. We haven\'t seen anything yet. God bless Ms. Born for her integrity and courage. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 13:48"},{"nm":"mary jacobs","rs":"0","ms":" I was hoping for change when I voted for Obama.  But Ithink we got a lawyer, who does not understand the crookedways of banks and wall street and is being led by them, rather than unseating them.  The same for the health carebill,  a boon for those who don\'t do preventive care for themselves (since it\'s not tax deductable to buy organic foodand eat right, albeit it costs more than eating badly);a boon for those who push drugs over healthy foods,  a boonfor those who do surgery rather than attempt less drasticmeasures, first. and we are all forced to pay for drugsand surgery, when what we need is decent organic food and anFDA that encourages food grown without pesticides and hormones and undue use of antibioltics.  I am rapidlybecoming suspect of centralized control of our lives, including healthcare, the Fed Reserve, and congress people who don\'t understand what they are doing.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 13:14"},{"nm":"David Marshal/r8dmarshall","rs":"0","ms":"As the American Government Fiddled”There has been an economic dichotomy in America that has grown in recent years to the extent that the economic stability of the nation has been brought to it’s knees. It has been precipitated by the difference in perception and of equality predicated on the premise of unequal accountability. It was nurtured by the de-regulation ideology held by previous administrations.The standard of accountability for the populous is one standard, and for the government and industry there has been a self conceived standard of only a perceived accountability.De-regulation and loopholes have been the increasingly disastrous feeding trough for Industry, Wall street, and some government officials. It has denied workers job security and equality by not abiding by legal labor contracts and law. CEOs made their own rules and flaunted them with the raises, bonuses, and Golden Parachutes they gave themselves while they made poor business decisions, robbed the workers of job security and their companies of the ability to survive.The economic structure , a large pyramid filled with smaller pyramids, each contributing and depending on each other for that upward flow of products, earnings, and profits. Each higher level consumes a share of the products and earnings with the net profits accumulating at the top Level. The major flow of profit and product must be upward. The foundation is based in the supply of raw materials and the workers supplying the energy for the upward flow by consumption of those productsIf the earnings flow is diverted and circumvents the worker, consumption falters and future production inertia stagnates and threatens the economic engine’s survival. That is the connection to the imperative that the health of corporations and that of the nations economy depends upon the ability of the nations workers to maintain a healthy ability to consume products and progressive education to supply future workers skills needed by industry.Education is the co-factor in the level of skill possessed by the worker that increases or decreases the inertia of production. The ability, or lack of ability to acquire higher education skills is related to the earnings of the parents of the worker. Thus each generation’s ability to have incremental increases in earnings ,education and skills depend heavily on the previous generation’s successes. The requirement for higher skills is a constant in industry and mandates equal need for higher education just to maintain sufficient skill levels to supply industry needs for more highly skilled workers for increasingly technical jobs. That applies whether for Grey, blue, or white collar positions.When corporate demands convert production inertia into profit from production energy, it decreases production and decreases worker access to earnings, stagnating production demand. Slowing product demand squeezes working capitol and accumulated profit in that industry and each related supply industry all the way back to the raw material vender.Sign on bonuses, stock options, yearly bonuses, and severance pay has insulated CEO’s from the consequences of their own poor business decisions and rape of their own companies to squandering of worker jobs, pensions, and benefits, leading to the ultimate loss of ability for the very company to survive.That has been happening at the same time that workers have been getting wage freezes, wage cuts, give backs, increased health insurance premiums, increased deductibles, lay offs, and lost or decreased pension benefits. the workers have been getting all and or some of those consequences laid directly on them by the same CEOs that get paid to make bad decisions They then leave with millions in the past and today it is not millions, but billions; and then move on to do it to another company with no consequence.“And the federal Government fiddled“.D. H. Marshall/r8dmarshall  June, 1992","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 12:52"},{"nm":"Jane","rs":"0","ms":"As usual, FRONTLINE attacks the problems and explains in lay terms what we face today as truly the most critical of our countrys basic problems. After watching &quot;The Warning&quot; and seeing Michael Moore\'s &quot;Capitalism-A Love Story&quot; I cannot deny this situation any longer. We need new responsible financial minds in the current administration not just men such as Geitner and Summers who now have &quot;changed their philosophys&quot; to go along with current thinking.We need people like Brooksley Born!!!!","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 12:44"},{"nm":"Mike","rs":"0","ms":"Since the show was about a woman and her attempts to prevent security fraud. Why didn\'t they at least have her explain her friend Hillary Clinton\'s 1000% profit in her only year trading derivatives?  Like most people watching I knew nothing of Brooksley before watching. Shortly after her introduction as a self proclaimed expert on derivatives they announce she is long time friends with Hillary. Like most people watching I knew of Hillary\'s derivative controversy, so why not address it? I watched the rest of the show speculated why the didn\'t and probably missed most the points they were trying to make. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 12:18"},{"nm":"Warner H","rs":"0","ms":"Great job Frontline!We \'The People\' should all email the Whitehouse for resignation of people like Larr Summer. Do we want him advising on regulation??Warner","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 12:00"},{"nm":"FED UP","rs":"0","ms":"When will the American Public step up and take back our country? Cleary our great nation has been taken over by a small group of bankers. The time is now to stand up and hold them accountable and take back our nation. It\'s not just our kids that will have to worry it the entire country now that should be worried. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 11:48"},{"nm":"MDM","rs":"0","ms":"Big government is scary, but big business is truly terrifying and what is even more terrifying is the US government is simply a subsidiary of corporate America. The people in charge (Government and Wall Street) epitomize pure evil.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 11:34"},{"nm":"Mike Hihn","rs":"0","ms":"Why blame Greenspan for the housing bust?  Yes, he was associated with Ayn Rand.  But he also testified strongly for regulating Fannie and Freddie, while Democrats defeated the attempt.  Fannie paid a civil fine of 400 million.  Former CEO and Clinton Budget Director, Frank Raines, wound up settling his civil case for $24 million.Even the New York Times predicted, in 1999, that Clinton\'s pressure to greatly increase subprime mortgage was VERY risky, and could cause a mortgage catastrophe like the 1980s, in the event of a general downturn -- which is precisely what happened.Actual C-Span videos leave no doubt that the collapse was caused by  Democrats  -- and even show them verbally assaulting the regulator who blew the whistle on Fannie and Raines.  Hard evidence.  Undeniable evidence.\<a href=&quot;http://politicallyhomeless.net/?p=283&quot;\>http://politicallyhomeless.net/?p=283\<\/a\>  &quot;Those of us -- left, right and center -- who hold principle over partisanship.&quot;","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 11:29"},{"nm":"George Fergus","rs":"0","ms":"I don\'t think we should under-estimate the role of Lawrence Summers in shutting down Brooksley Born and creating this financial debacle. While President of Harvard University in 2005, he took it upon himself to explain that women do not have a larger role in areas like economics because they are simply not as smart as men! But now this wolf has again been put in charge of the hen-house as director of the White House\'s economic advisory council. As always, actual &quot;hens&quot; need not apply.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 11:25"},{"nm":"Carla j","rs":"0","ms":"“the warning” is a riviting story about a woman who saw all with clarity and wouldn’t flinch when the big boys bulled her. And Clinton allowed them bully her. And now guess who hired Summers for treasury again? I hope Obama watched the show.This story reminded me of the saying, “If you say a thing with enough authority, people will believe you.” That, and the power of incomprehensible jargon can ruin a nation’s economy. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 11:21"},{"nm":"a-Citizen","rs":"0","ms":"of economic matters, a few years back, I accepted some economic booklets given by some Lyndon LaRouche members. I read some idea catching points of mind, since then I have looked at the stuff put out by that group and that old boy- LaRouche, saw these things- economic problems, coming. The LaRouche bottom line; monetarism is the destructive problem it is not the remedy.  ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 11:07"},{"nm":"Peter","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent expose on the basis of the financial crisis we are still trying to get out of.  We will be paying for this era for the rest of our lives, childrens\' and grandchildrens\'.  I was not aware that the OTC Derivative market has absolutely no oversight or transparency in the 90\'s  Rule #1 in B-school was accountability and there being at least some semblance of normalization in the financial community.  We must all heed the warnings that Brooksley stated at the end of the show that this will happen again and again if we don\'t learn from our mistakes and get control of derivative markets...  ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 10:35"},{"nm":"jim","rs":"0","ms":"Good article, shedding more light on our &quot;imperfect&quot; system.  I would also like to see PBS do a  documentary regarding gov\'t (Dodd, Frank, etc) sponsored allowance of mortgages offered to people who could never pay for them.   ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 10:32"},{"nm":"Mr.M.Bingham","rs":"0","ms":"Absolutely a brilliant program, why on earth did no one take her seriously in the White House. Lets hope that lessons have been learned, and that all Financial institutions are regulated in the future.I live in England.....we have learned our lesson of not having regulation on the Banking and financial institutions, its a bitter pill to swallow.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 10:19"},{"nm":"Laura O\'Shea","rs":"0","ms":"Well done Frontline! What some people dont understand is that people will act in ONLY their best interest. Thereisa book by John C Bogle called &quot;The Battle for the Soul of Capitalism&quot; written in 2003. Mr Bogle founded Vangard Mutual Funds and ran them for 30 years. He points out that real free markets need to be regulated but not crushed. And he talks about the incredible bonuses the CEO\'s take home are stealing from shareholders. This book predate this latest crash.The government isnt the problem it is the corrupt, soul-less, and conscience-less people that are running. People like Larry Summer and Robert Rubin.It is my understanding that Australia isnt having as bad a time because their banks are much better regulated than the USA\'s and Western Europe\'s are.Now for an encore teach us about the difference between counterinsurgency war strategy versus the mess the USA made in Iraq and Vietnam. And how we can easily lose the same way in Afganistan. If we let the Taliban survive in Afganistan then they will continue to host Al Quaeda and we have lost any hope of decreasing our exposure to Osama Bin-Laden. See books by David Galula, H. John Poole, Ahmed Rashid and talk to Paul Van Riper and give us the real truth of one kind of war vs another.Thanks","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 09:40"},{"nm":"Bobsr","rs":"0","ms":"Well done. THANK YOU, FRONTLINE. NO ONE ELSE had this story.   Now, like riding first class on the airplane, and solving all the world\'s problems with your seat mate, and then landing and realizing nothing has changed, and we can\'t make anything change, WHAT CAN WE DO ABOUT IT?   Larry Sommers?     Little Timmy Geithner?   In China they would know what to do. They would SHOOT THEM for this kind of treason. We don\'t do that here obviously, but is there no one else this Administration can rely on to run the Treasury? We do still have a court system. These guys who were PART OF THE PROBLEM are now guardng the chicken coop?    Frontline just ZEROED OUT THEIR CREDIBILITY!   The Wall St Journal said recently that Obama & Crew HAVE NO BUSINESS PLAN to solve this crisis. But I am sure THEY have a plan, which is EVERYTHING FOR WALL STREET and NOTHING FOR WE THE PEOPLE.    HOw about getting Brooksley Born in a key roll for Obama?    And how is &quot;Helicopter Ben&quot; Bernanke involved here? Oh, he had no ideas about this? Please... One would have to think he should NOT be re-appointed again as Fed Chairman. Maybe Frontline can look into some of the cover ups and non-information here for the last 2 years. How about some facts that can be presented at the &quot;Helicopter Ben&quot; confirmation hearings? Well done, Frontline, but don\'t stop now! WE THE PEOPLE are counting on you. Let the chips fall WHERE THEY MAY. WE THE PEOPLE THANK YOU!","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 09:39"},{"nm":"Barbara","rs":"0","ms":"I still think Ralph Nader has the total picture.  I do believe we should have some type of watch over The DERIVATIVES MARKET but it shouldn\'t be someone that is bought and sold by &quot;Financial Lobbyist&quot; it should be watched over by a group that has pledged poverty, and have nothing to gain nor want anything except for the betterment of the society as a whole. Not for the privy elite.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 09:36"},{"nm":"Slatan Beinski","rs":"0","ms":"One this shall be done. One REAL action should be performed NOW. Today.The ONLY ONE - Stop bailing out the BANKS and Shut Down THE FEDERAL RESERVE. They bail out all the banks, that have being playing with fire for 20 years. FED has being born in SIN and should be shut. There have being 8 attempts in USA for establishing similar institution like FED. All were unsuccessful except ONE - the FED that exists today. The law for it has been passed with very few senators in the Capitol Hill - most of them bought.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 09:16"},{"nm":"Greg0658","rs":"0","ms":"me (Greg0658) at 9:30am (on TheBigPicture) .. “What or Why didn’t Brooksley Born say to the world finance paper pushers “OK you wanna do that all off the record behind closed doors - DONT COME CRYING to the USG courts .. PERIOD”no one called me on it (here or PBS) .. last night was thinking how that comment relates to me and my business .. with BRs post on NDAs .. well mia-culpa timefor some reason me thinking that because we are talking about $550T* in “off the record behind closed doors” transactions (* I’ve heard that / but how could we know) that $550T is to big to reasonably police that Brooksley should tell folks who signed contracts “your on your own” or somehow imply by not dealing with the issue at all that the USG would not address the issue (sort of like the Supreme Court can do) … But all the contracts in my file cabinet are behind closed doors .. not run thru some market - in the open mechanism .. and I would hope that if I get stiffed .. that I could have the option of going to courtSo .. I’m sorry Ms. Brooksley Born for calling you unfairly for doing your job in an area I should stay out of because its not mine .. sorry. Please accept my apology .. please.* coda - there is a bit of difference between a wedding photos contract and insurance hedges (I guess .. maybe .. )","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 08:08"},{"nm":"Richard","rs":"0","ms":"Is regulation a answer?If only you can regulate the regulation. Absolute power controls absolutely.The Republic of the U.S.Constitution & Bill of Rights, gave & gives us the answer. But human spirit doesn\'t allow it to flourish.Democracy is an idea that cannot keep itself in check. The free market is a great idea, but, life isn\'t fair. Bulling takes place. Free market would work, in you allow into the equation,corruption,deception,manipulation,biases,agendas,schemes.So, this is my follow-up message to my prior writing,I finish by saying this,&quot;Buyer Beware.&quot;   ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 08:04"},{"nm":"Hugh McIsaac","rs":"0","ms":"An outstanding program!!!!  Thank heaven for Frontline speaking truth to power!!!!Hugh","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 08:04"},{"nm":"Richard Gay","rs":"0","ms":"I for one salute Brooksley Born, in this time & age, for actually doing the job she was assigned to do. This is the exact reflection of our countrys\' state of being. Be forced to resign from one\'s position for doing their job, this is the lunacy that has permeated our culture. No one does what they are being payed for anymore in this culture, they just show up and collect a paycheck for nothing. In the very early sixties, with a ten cent cup of coffee in hand, I recall the old men talking, &quot; They just installed their 1st robot to assist in assembling cars. Yell, and if you leave it up to them, they\'ll build the whole car by robotics. It\'ll put people out of work, and then who\'ll buy the product. Retirement plans gone, everybody will count on the stock markets for their incomes. But, with no one working, and no one buying, how can your stock go up?&quot;According to your &quot;THE WARNING&quot; presentation,Brooksley Born said, &quot;Nienty per cent probably don\'t know what derivatives are.&quot;(Referring to the politicians of D.C.) I was only a child of eight at that coffee bar, but I was mathematically gifted. I understood what they were saying. And it don\'t surprise me of anything that the Obama administration does. Keeping parasitic & hiring parasitic staff to go against the American way. He\'s yet to prove unless I missed it, Obama & his crew has yet to prove his actual qualification for him to even hold the office of Presidency. So for me,this current administration it has been a cauldron of deception from the get go. 400 hundred words is not enough anymore,to speak for the mess this country is in. For the way the government treated Brooksley Born, and the last 50 years, the U.S. bureaucracy has destroyed the U.S.A. Should we regulate derivatives, I don\'t know if that is the answer, but, what we have doesn\'t work.So we should at least, give it a try.Then if it doesn\'t solve what it needs to,then we try something else.If I could meet Brooksley Born I would personally thank her for attempt at the truth.May God Bless us all with It.      ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 07:40"},{"nm":"Stuart Badley","rs":"0","ms":"We own this mess so let us, the public know more about derivatives and let us decide through the voice of Brooksley.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 07:17"},{"nm":"Alan Vincent","rs":"0","ms":"These people are nothing more than sophisticated criminals. This is all about greed and personal gain and using their power in government to gain more personal wealth for themselves. They have no concept of being public servants. Government in America is nothing more now than the old boys network hidden behind the facade of the White House. This is a brothel of Freemasons and a den of demons. Revelation 17 & 18 spells it out quite clearly. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 07:07"},{"nm":"Stuart Badley","rs":"0","ms":"I think the public should have a better understanding of derivatives as we own the banks involved in this mess. Let us decide through the voice of Brooksley Born.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 06:01"},{"nm":"Michael M.","rs":"0","ms":"The follow-on segment should expose the Hedge Funds, Market Makers, Large Brokerage Firms and clearing houses.  The reason you won\'t see said segment is because the entire editorial board, staff and its counterparts would suddenly disappear one at a time.  Cutting executive pay?  Let\'s talk about HOW they make illegal profits not how MUCH they make.  Goldman makes $40BIL a year just from Investment Bank Groups TRADES.  Here\'s a start - bring back the uptick rule, expose rampant naked short selling, eliminate the secretive nature of DTCC and let\'s have on demand audit capacity of the Federal Reserves books! ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 03:51"},{"nm":"charles woo","rs":"0","ms":"Another great coverage by Front Line.I hope it will create a groundswell for the Waning reform of our financial system. Unfortunately it wont.How many CEO\'S attended Pres Obama\'s address when he visited Wall St to beg them to coperate to reform the system? Zero. The same people that almost destroyed the syatem are still in charge.Except for Greenspan and Robert Rubin. Thank God!Our best people like Ms Born are dicredited and thrown aside and the servants of the greedy are still in charge.I see little hope for the American way of life. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 03:28"},{"nm":"fwappy","rs":"0","ms":"The real question is why are some of these guys working as top Obama advisors?","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 03:17"},{"nm":"Ted M","rs":"0","ms":"Some progressives such as myself felt betrayed when Obama appointed Summers and Geithner to head his economic team.  This piece by Frontline helps to demonstrate why.  Here\'s an idea: lets hire drug lords to win the war on drugs.  &quot;Oh, but they\'ve had a change of heart&quot;...right...  Nice work, Frontline team. ","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 02:52"},{"nm":"Bill Knotts","rs":"0","ms":"The more time goes by the more it seems the Bush Obama transition is seamless. Like a veneer on furniture, it\'s what\'s underneath that really counts. Robert Gates, Larry Summers, Timothy Geithner, Ben Bernanke....Keep voting peoples, it\'s making a big difference.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 02:28"},{"nm":"Rodger Beard","rs":"0","ms":"I live in Orange County, California.  I moved here in 1998 from Northern California 4 years following this County declaring bankruptcy.  From my reading and research, I am reasonably certain that the precise cause was of a then unique catastrophic event (but sadly, soon to be a very common event) was investments of surplus cashflow into the derivatives market, via the good old boys at Merrill Lynch.My question is this: how was this very significant news event overlooked during the years following, especially during the Clinton Administration &quot;Working Group&quot; hubbub during 1998?  Further, why was it not even mentioned in the EXCELLENT PBS story?This really puzzles me.  As aside, I find it eerie and to be frank, quite scary how a reasonable, rational and well educated society can be pushed into subs\cription to irrational behavior such as &quot;the best government is no government&quot; (Quoting Ronald Regan here, who I would put in the same sentence as Adolf Hitler.)","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 01:26"},{"nm":"doug coop","rs":"0","ms":"professing to be wise they became fools....read the book","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 01:07"},{"nm":"mark","rs":"0","ms":"If the feds thought that the markets would take care of itself, what lesson was learn from the 1920\'s. There is ample evidence that the reasons why they wanted the markets to stay unregulated because they had a vested interest in the market.As long as the wolves are guarding the hen house who need a guard dog.Every investment firm that is invested in derivatives need to disclose the amount. Truly those that are investing in deviatives are playing a dangerous game with this nation economic system that is bound to destroy this country.","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 00:54"},{"nm":"Jeff Montgomery","rs":"0","ms":"Although I found some of the interviews interesting, I found the show drastically lacking from an analytical point of view. With regard to derivatives, there was absolutely no analysis of what contract and fraud law *should be*, or whether it might be perfectly acceptable for companies to not notify the government of every contract they engage in. The derivatives market was presented as an immense evil conspiracy, as if nobody could *possibly* conceive of businesses engaging in voluntarily activity without the involvement of government or without being criminals.Now, if there *was fraud*, that was wrong and could be prosecuted. However, my understanding is that the way fraud ought to be handled in a free country is by lawsuit from an injured party, not as part of snoopy oversight by an all-knowing government. The show actually did mention that a company filed a lawsuit over the derivatives, but it was mentioned in passing as if it had no significance whatsoever, i.e. that it might be a possible answer to how to handle such markets. The only important point was -- gasp! how could we let people act freely without government knowing what they are doing!Think of it this way: imagine if we treated private citizens as badly as we treat business. Imagine if you had to file a form with the CFTC to go grocery shopping, because you are not to be trusted and you might commit a crime while you are outside your home. Nobody would stand for it. Yet we treat business worse than criminals, as guilty until proven innocent.Artistically, although the show was well put together, you could take video of a toddler crawling across a living room floor, and set it to the ominous music you used throughout your show, and you\'d think it was going to grow up to be Hitler. Please spare us the melodrama and replace it with critical thinking that is outside the &quot;big government&quot; box. In addition, please read a good book on capitalism, such as Ayn Rand\'s Capitalism: The Unknown Ideal.Jeff Montgomery\<a href=&quot;http://funwithgravity.blogspot.com&quot;\>http://funwithgravity.blogspot.com\<\/a\>","pt":"Oct 23, 2009 00:54"},{"nm":"Luciano Pedota","rs":"0","ms":"Dear President Obama,Please, fire Summers and Geithner, hire Ms. Born and regulate derivaties a.s.ap.An admirer,Luciano Pedota","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 23:51"},{"nm":"Cab02149","rs":"0","ms":"The &quot;Confessions&quot; of Greenspan and Leavitt sounded like those of reporters who blew it on the phony build up to the Iraq war. What has degraded so sharply with the people managing  the federal government and media?  I suspect we are led by too many who are &quot;disconnected&quot; from ordinary life. We are no longer &quot;social. We are &quot;encapsulated&quot;. In addition we are &quot;specialists&quot;. So we have lost &quot;Street smarts&quot;. It is that loss which is going to destroy what remains.We have fewer and fewer leaders who feel what is right for the people and the country for the long term.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 23:26"},{"nm":"Bob","rs":"0","ms":"Seems to me that the public is still being mislead.  THERE ARE REGULATIONS TODAY THAT WOULD HAVE PREVENTED THE CRISIS including the the derivative market.  For one - GAAP!  More reglations won\'t prevent regulations from being enforced - enforcement will.  The exisitg regulatins have been AND CONTINUE TO BE every day ignored.  As an example the huge naked shorting of comodities, especially gold and silver. The bad boys have not suddenly &quot;seen the light&quot; - they beleive the control the light! The question is not why aren\'t they in jail - a better question is why aren\'t Americans in the streets with pitchforks taking back what has been stolen?","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 23:21"},{"nm":"Michael","rs":"0","ms":"Where is the popular outrage at a government that is clearly of, by and for the wealthy? We have just witnessed the biggest transfer of wealth to the upper 1% in our nation\'s history at the expense of our industrial base and the middle class that was our magic and yet we are complacent. Stop eating the bread! Stop going to the circus! We are being had! All authority belongs to the people (Thomas Jefferson)--AUX BARRICADES!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 22:25"},{"nm":"Mainesprocket","rs":"0","ms":"The system is crashing in slow motion in front of our eyes.  The dollar is plunging and the FED continues to quantitative ease and keep intrest rates at essentially zero because the banks are holding over 150 trillion in toxic derivatives.  They have no choice at this point to do anything different.  They are buying us, probably more like them selves, time before the dollar goes into free fall.  It\'s game over folks and it will become acutely clear to you in the next few months.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:54"},{"nm":"Eric Slaughter","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for this excellent report.  When David Stockman was betrayed by corporations promising to reinvest tax breaks back in the 1980s, at least he had the moral honor to quit.  How dare Rubin and Summers advise our President on anything.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:50"},{"nm":"Uncle Joe Mccarthy","rs":"0","ms":"many of the comments here prove that no matter what truths are presented, many will choose not to hear.blaming acorn? blaming victims of a credit market created by cheating banks? blaming victims of unscrupulous lenders? denying that unregulated markets leads to outright theivery?and yes...ms born shouldve been given a role in this current administration...and im afraid that obama may be making the same errors as clinton did","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:46"},{"nm":"Jason Davis","rs":"0","ms":"All the defenders of derivatives who have commented on this edition of Frontline, where is my $85 billion that went to AIG.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:31"},{"nm":"Polly Hough","rs":"0","ms":"The Frontline Story about Brooksley Born\'s courageous attempt to warn of the approaching Derivatives Blowup andensuing Great Recession was absolutely riveting and deserves the widest possible circulation.  The horror is that some of the same people are advising President Obama and we may see him succumb to Wall Street\'s manipulation just as Clinton did, and that\'s only to mention the men who wanted to give a fair shake to the American people.Understandably, Obama could not be prepared for this nightmare and had to take the advice of folks he didn\'t perhaps know well, but he should try to wrap his brilliant mind around this sort of problem fast, and get disinterested advisors.  Thanks for this -- hope it gets to the administration pronto.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:18"},{"nm":"wilberforce e. brooks","rs":"0","ms":"thank you brooksleyi hope president obama make a priorty to regulate the finacial industry ,and reinstitute the Glass-Spiegel act. excellent , excellent.webrooks 22/10/2009","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:18"},{"nm":"Elaine Holleran","rs":"0","ms":"After viewing The Warning, I have tremendous admiration for Born.  Her brilliance and guts against the powers of sexism, classism, and Wall Street greed are inspiring, while those forces that fought so fiercely against her concerns and work at the CFTC are frightening, especially when considering the accolades bestowed upon them and the fact that some of the players are still involved in government oversight of Wall Street.  She is an unsung American heroine.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:10"},{"nm":"Boomhauer","rs":"0","ms":"Why doesn\'t Frontline hire this guy (see comments &quot;Donald Rodbard Oct 22, 2009 14:24&quot;) to write a show countering this documentary.  It would be a good perpective from the other side instead of portraying this &quot;good vs. evil&quot; rubbish.  Read his commentary!  Good comments Donald!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 21:00"},{"nm":"Value atRisk","rs":"0","ms":"I don’t understand why all the commenters think this is a great documentary. I quote Joseph Stieglitz (see the interview section):“So I think it\'s too simplistic to say that if we had done this one thing, we would have avoided the crisis. ... I view her experience as a dramatic illustration of what was wrong with the system and the power of the financial markets to resist doing what should have been done. But they did it with predatory lending; they did it with mortgages; they did it in area after area. And it would have needed a comprehensive attack to stop that.”It’s as if Brooksley Born warned us that we must buy hurricane insurance because a hurricane will hit and destroy our homes, and lo—our homes were destroyed by a strong earth quake! And what does Frontline do, but call Ms. Born a prophet who warned us of the impending doom! Really? She warned us of the WRONG THING. OTC derivatives was far from the ultimate cause of this mess. I know for a fact, that the credit derivatives desks of both LEH and BSC were doing very well up to the minute they collapsed. Lehman and Bear both blew up due to over-leveraged bets on real-estate, not because of derivatives!This documentary is simply not up to normal Frontline standards, and implies something that is absolutely false!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:59"},{"nm":"Elias Ahmdin","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s amazing and sad that the people who are responsible for this crisis are the one who are still in charch. I am a stong suporter of the president but what happen to that slogan &quot;change&quot; and &quot;hope&quot;? How many trends of financial meltdown are we going to experience?","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:55"},{"nm":"Edward","rs":"0","ms":"If this country can not learn from its mistakes it is doomed to the status of 3rd rate nation sucking up to any other country(India, China or Finland) that has cash. John Adams said, &quot;All democracies commit suicide.&quot; And he should have added that the preferred method is a cyanide pill of debt. I am deeply disturb by President Obama\'s appointment of the fox to guard the hen house (CFTC). Are Geitner and Summers the new Presidential &quot;Working Committee&quot;? The answer to this question will shown by how well funded any regulation that is passed, if any. This Frontline report makes me want to run to the movie theater and watch Michael Moore\'s Movie on Capitalism! Ed Warren ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:40"},{"nm":"Michael A.","rs":"0","ms":"Even in 1998, Greenspan/Summers/Rubin knew the derivative (dark) market was fueling growth on Wall Street. By 2007, the OTC derivative market was, what, valued over $500+ trillion? I dare say if Congress had adopted Brooksley Borns recommendation to regulate derivatives, it could have prevented the big crash of 2008, but the NYSE would never have reached 14,000 pts. We would have had a less exuberant market... and grown slowly to say.. 10 or 11,000 points.. about where we are now. Market = truth. Regulation flattens the rollercoaster ride to that end.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:39"},{"nm":"Ema ","rs":"0","ms":"We have been conquered, and Frontline put a face on the conquerors.   The few people who had the courage to stand up for the welfare of the voting public are ridiculed, marginalized and systematically worked out of power by these Marie Antoinette\'s of Wall Street and their crowd.    I recall that shortly after President Obama took office, Charlie Rose did several interviews with Larry Summers, Robert Rubin and Tim Geithner.  All three gave a sickeningly phony display of contrition and  empathy for the plight of those suffering because of the economic crises and swore to correct the wrongs.  I was stunned that not once in the interviews was it brought to our attention that these men were the perpetrators of the crises, though their records were well known to anyone with some familiarity of their past.   In fact the show came off like an infomercial to get Geithner and Summers in their current positions.   Democracy is dependent upon accurate and complete  information in order to make the correct choices for our welfare, and that  foundation is broken and that is why this can happen over and over and will happen again.  No one is representing us, and the few who try are marginalized or surrounded by duplicitous advisers.  Our children have the right to ask &quot;what were you doing when we lost our future?&quot;","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:22"},{"nm":"Hannah T","rs":"0","ms":"Take a look-see through &quot;Culture of Corruption&quot; by Michelle Malkin.  It will blow your mind how many crooks and unapologetic socialists are in the White House right now. Hope and change, my butt.  Transparency?  Having the locks changed on Harry Reid\'s office door.  I\'ve never seen such a lot of hypocrites in my life","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:19"},{"nm":"Mary Woodward","rs":"0","ms":"This story is an argument against group think whether it is the private sector or the government.  It is also a condemnation of those who used their power to block the actions of Brooksley Born rather than welcoming and investigating her concerns.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:17"},{"nm":"Gabe Ochoa","rs":"0","ms":"CALL IT LIKE YOU SEE IT...  THEY ARE CRIMINALS!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:14"},{"nm":"RJ","rs":"0","ms":"If it’s not transparent it’s not a market, it’s fraud. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 20:10"},{"nm":"BILL DEVLIN","rs":"0","ms":"When are we - the dumb public - going to learn that the Big Money folks and the Big Healthcare Insurance folks  are not working in our best interests.  What does it take? Wake up America this a World War III between the powerful and greedy and the rest of us. We need to demand regulation of these subersive groups who have undermined and endangered our whole society.  Unless we the people control them we are doomed to suffer the results of our ignorance and lack of courage to save this country.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 19:32"},{"nm":"Iconoclast","rs":"0","ms":"Bee Diddy, that is nonsense.  Please explain to me how &quot;Loose monetary policy, lax mortgage underwriting, reckless borrowing, failures at ratings agencies, the implicit govt guarantee of Fannie & Freddie&quot; created a bigger problem than the $500+ trillion derivatives liability problem.  All those things you blame don\'t even come close to anything that big as the derivatives mess. The mortgage mess was only a trigger for the financial WMDs, but it was not the financial WMD itself. The people who caused the trigger event did not build the financial WMD that just exploded. We would need 5 more earths in the solar system contributing 100% of their financial output to us just to cover the derivatives liabilities (the GDP of the planet is 100 trillion). The mortgage problem is nowhere near that level.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 19:21"},{"nm":"Rod Chav","rs":"0","ms":"Spectacular; FRONTLINE has hit a home run with this kind of journalism. The interviews show the kind of savage hostility that goes on in Washington. Politicians do not care obout the people more than their own survival in office. But then I guess we need thos markets fluctuactions for some people to do well. I we have another downturn we better be proper to take advantage of it.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 19:11"},{"nm":"Peter Rolfe","rs":"0","ms":"Peter here is the Frontline show you mentioned to me.  Incredible!!!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 18:07"},{"nm":"ophiuchi","rs":"0","ms":"Some here have mentioned that there should be prison time for those involved for their complicity in fraud against investors and the American people.  A new law should be passed concerning itself with &quot;financial terrorism&quot;.  What these self important men have done to this country has caused more damage than 9/11.  They should be indited for terrorism and treason against the United States.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 18:03"},{"nm":"mysterioso","rs":"0","ms":"When Obama took campaign money from the banks and investment houses there was a caveat, he had to take the Three Stooges as well.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 17:58"},{"nm":"dweeb","rs":"0","ms":"Once again Frontline has hit a homerun with the bases loaded.  Anyone wanting more information, background and history of the modern US financial industry and the FED must read &quot;The Creature From Jekyll Island&quot; by G. Edward Griffin.  It tops this Frontline edition.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 17:53"},{"nm":"D.Vandergriff","rs":"0","ms":"Where are the consequences for the arrogant males who decided they would not only refuse to listen to Born--they would ruin her! Now we see that she was correct all along, while those &quot;good ole boys&quot; had their own free feed.Why have they not been fully investigated, brought to trial and had THEIR millions confiscated? The least that should happen to them is that they should go to prison for a very long time. They completely forgot what Brooksley Born knew all along: that they are here to protect the welfare of the country and its inhabitants. What they got wrong was far more fundamental than economic theory.So now they think they can shrug their shoulders and say they were wrong--and walk away? Lock them up for a very long time. Strip them of all assets they now have or ever will have. That should be the price of their complete arrogance.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 17:22"},{"nm":"John Cappola","rs":"0","ms":"     Brooksley Born and I are on the same page.  The Dark Matter of the financial universe has always been the Mortgage Backed Security market created by the dismanteling of the Glass-Stegall Act. The original track on the radar screen was the failure of Long Term Capital Management. They highlighted what devastation counterparty collateral can do to a financial ecosystem.       Senator Phil Graham played his Ayn Rand part by deregulating the Market.  Investment Bankers ran wild peddling Credit default Swaps falsely insuring a positive rate of return.  The ratings agencies gave them AAA ratings. The result is what we see today.        ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 17:12"},{"nm":"M. D. Van Norman","rs":"0","ms":"Again, let\'s not blame the free market for the failure of bad regulation.For those who wonder why FRONTLINE was mostly silent on the G. W. Bush years, look at which party controlled the Congress during that time. Perhaps the Democrats were too busy defending the bad regulation of the mortgage industry to investigate OTC derivatives.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 17:11"},{"nm":"Chawki El Minyawi","rs":"0","ms":"The Obama\'s administration is just doing business as usual in Wakll Sreet by keeping Brooksley Born away. An unregulated UTC Derivatives market will help the same players who caused this financial crisis to continue betting in the dark on the market\'s stability. Gone is the optimism that this new administration will learn from the mistakes caused by Alan Greenspan\'s, and bring in new regulations to control the UTC Derivatives market.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 17:10"},{"nm":"jacob walter","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent...excellent ...excellent!!!!! The question that remains unanswered is why these people are not in jail for life for dereliction of duty!!!!WHY...WHY...WHY...are some of these same people back in government?????AND WHY...WHY...WHY ARE THE DERIVATIVES MARKET STILL UNREGULATED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 16:58"},{"nm":"John Hawker","rs":"0","ms":"The Frontline show appeared to have its biases but the info historically was concise and there is much more that needs to be disclosed. What I find fascinating is the discourse. The framework for our nation is where we should all strive. We the people have lived, in a short period, the centuries of written tragedies. I think of Rousseau over many of the great writers because he was passionately against anything that trammeled individual freedom. We seem to be polarizing a great nation because we have forgotten the great framework our founding fathers of our country. They were lead by their love of God and country. It seems to me that we have apathetically allowed as Plato once said &quot; The punishment which the wise suffer who refuse to take part in the government, is to live under the government of worse menthe importance of Frontline program, I think, is in generating our renewed passion for God and country and abide by our laws, when we had individual freedom, respect for one another, and back to the basics of our Bill of Rights and Constitution and not such an adjective legal system. The complexities of the market place have allowed many bourgeois ideals throughout the world but at an expense of individual freedoms.Ms Born is one of many who warned of the impending failure but the reality is we have to fail sometimes to succeed. Let\'s transform this problem into a better nation lead by wiser individuals and make the world a better place to live in with God and country as our principle value. Hawk","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 16:37"},{"nm":"Janet ","rs":"0","ms":"Yes OTC Derivatives should be regulated.The move toward future regulation is good but it will do NOTHING to reign in the already 500 trillion+ still out there waiting to implode. This is very scarry","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 16:26"},{"nm":"Nlf","rs":"0","ms":"The most logical thought would be, Why is this not being treated like the Benie Madoff case.  It boggles my mind that America talks about justice.  What justice is this?.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 16:16"},{"nm":"Cynthia","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you, Frontline folks, for a great piece of work.Does anyone else continue to distrust the announcements like the one pasted in below from this morning?  I just shake my head and wonder if the real story is that those companies told the Fed what they would do so that the heat would die down.  People at that level of business don\'t need the money as much as they need to be part of the game to feed their ego.  Quote:The Treasury Department on Thursday ordered seven companies that received billions of dollars in government bailouts to halve total compensation for their top executives. But the big reductions will not apply to pay earned before November.Kenneth Feinberg, the Treasury official leading the pay review, told reporters that average salaries for the top 25 executives are being cut 90 percent starting next month.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 16:07"},{"nm":"Rich Petersen","rs":"0","ms":"Not only should derivatives be regulated, sales of derivatives should also be taxed!  US citizens pay sales tax when they buy items, so should the derivatives traders.  A mere 1/2 of 1% tax would generate hundreds of billions while being so small as not to deter trading.  This alone would generate more than enough to pay for the best and least expensive health care plan - Single Payer.Of course this would take real leadership, not feel good rhetoric.  A recent article by Ralph Nader sums the problem quite well.  See \<a href=&quot;http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/08/24-10&quot;\>http://www.commondreams.org/view/2009/08/24-10\<\/a\>","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 15:49"},{"nm":"Rafael Zambrana","rs":"0","ms":"THE WARNING zeroes into a particular obscure and forgotten little battle that happened eleven years ago, and it shows another important opportunity missed by Obama during the first 100 days of his administration, the opportunity to have used his considerable then political capital, today diminishing, to actually do something real about the crisis created by the NeoLiberal ideology and which had been embraced since the eighties by presidents of BOTH parties in the US, and exported as the new panacea to the rest of the world.Barack Obama is a smart man, but as we are finding out, not smart enough to realize his chosen company at the White House, his economic adviser Larry Summers and treasury secretary Tim Geithner are stones around his neck and the collective necks of all people in the USA.The question is:   Why is Obama choosing Summers and Geithner to be the Re-Regulators when they had been the champions of De-Regulation, while the REAL rock start of smart regulation Ms Brooksley Born is left out in the cold???Answer:  Because Obama sold out to Wall Street even before he took office.     It is the only answer to why these pair of scumbags, Summers and Geithner who bullied Ms Born out of her post, instead of being shut out of government altogether, are in today\'s Obama\'s government in such strong positions of power.This film shows the incredible determination and courage of Brooksley Born, and shows who is the real HEROINE of the day, but Obama is too busy bullshitting the nation with his florid speeches to notice her.On the other hand the Obama administration is proposing former Transportation Lobbyst Anne Ferro to head the agency that regulates the industry she was promoting while lobbying!!, again doing exactly the opposite he had promised in his campaign not even a year ago, not to use lobbyists in his government.   Naturally most Obama supporters are upset that he is proposing her at all given her past.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 15:34"},{"nm":"John Galt","rs":"0","ms":"We are living &quot;Atlas Shrugged&quot; now. It is essentially the playbook of how government incompetence and intervention is destroying our economy. It will get worse of course because we are printing unbacked US dollars with reckless abandon. At some point when foreigners can or will no longer foot the bill for our government\'s excesses, then life will certainly become more &quot;interesting&quot; as it were. The only thing we can do is to take personal responsibility by pareparing for the inevitable by getting out of debt, investing in tangibles (i.e. precious metals, arable land, etc.)and stockpiling stores of nonperishable food and in effect &quot;Go Galt&quot; to ride out the economic collapse or the new Greater Depression. Just let it (the economy) crash and burn, so that it may wring out the excesses, bring down corruption in government and hopefully rise like the proverbial Phoenix from the ashes while avoiding a more tolitarian oligarchy if possible.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 15:29"},{"nm":"Bill Talbott","rs":"0","ms":"we stopped what Greenspan said let the market take care of then self , let the banks fall no fed money, think about it? the fools of the Clinton years are so full of then self , how could they give Brooksley Born the time day . Let hope Obama can get the fools out of the room!!!!!!P. S. thank you Booksley Born :) ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 15:16"},{"nm":"Twin ","rs":"0","ms":"Great documentary. Looks like another woman was denounced because she wasn\'t in the &quot;ole boy network&quot;. Absolutely disgusting to think that she was forced to resigned and her authority was taken away because she spoke up about her concerns. Anyone listening now?  ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 15:14"},{"nm":"MissLaVonne","rs":"0","ms":"To: Michael Kirk, Frontline and PBS:  Very impressive in content and laying out the timeline of facts.  This is an excellent program that explains the OTC derivatives regulations debacle, the courageousness of Ms. Born at the CFTC who tried to save the American public from hazards that eerily she forecasted..  Sadly, the plain facts and blind allegience Wall Street and Washington gave to Alan Greenspan, Rubin & crew.  As important is Arthur Levitt admission he was wrong about Ms. Born during 1996-1999 and may have been able to help her had he not been successfully lobbied.  Alan Greenspans admission a year ago he found a &quot;flaw&quot; is his view of the world should be followed up with a financial donation to the fund of victims of this fraud.  Millions of people are living in despair & distress from the carnage from the lack of action or any oversight by Greenspan, Rubin, Summers etc.   Amazingly -- several are still being paid to give financial advice in the Obama administration.  Disgusting!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:53"},{"nm":"Hally","rs":"0","ms":"Notice how the vast majority, if not all, the crooks or those who protect them are men and the whistle blower is a \'bitchy\' woman?  Just like Enron, and all the other criminal schemes that have broken wide open only after wrecking the lives of hundreds, thousands if not millions of lives.  Frontline, how about a story about why men collude together like this? and why men like Arthur Levitt, who seem to be sincere, are so quick to side with men against &quot;difficult&quot; women who won\'t agree to just play along?  Also, why does Levitt think he could have made a difference when Born couldn\'t?  Because he\'s a man?  What is wrong with the American dynamic between the genders in the work place that honest sincere women who try to reveal dishonesty are so cruelly bashed and set aside, only to be lauded after disaster strikes when it is far too late?","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:50"},{"nm":"Thomas Sheridan O\'Keefe, NAIP","rs":"0","ms":"As the founder and current Director of an organization that represented people working in the securities industry I can understand and believe everything that was in this wonderful documentary. Great job Frontline!In John Kenneth Galbraith’s “The Great Crash” (Published in 1954). He said the following:“...The sense of responsibility in the financial community for the community as a whole is not small. It is nearly nil. Perhaps this is inherent. In a community where the primary concern is making money, one of the necessary rules is to live and let live. To speak out against madness may be to ruin those who have succumbed to it. So the wise in Wall Street are nearly always silent. The foolish thus have the field to themselves. None rebukes them. There is always the fear, moreover, that even needful self-criticism may be an excuse for government intervention. That is the ultimate horror.&quot;Now I think it is up to us isn\'t it? We can\'t depend on Barney Frank\'s Financial Services Committee, or President Obama (because he has people in his administration that created this mess). We can\'t depend on the newly created Financial Crisis Inquiry Commission (it seems that all such commissions are created to provide cover for the status quo). Nor can we trust Congress to fix it because they are continually paid off by Wall Street. No, WE must fix it. We must remain vigilant. We MUST call first for serious campaign finance reform with strict term limits and even stronger limits on lobbyist. If we don\'t fix this, as Brooksley Born said, another collapse is coming. Support those organizations like Public Citizen, and others that are working for reform and contact your political reps now about this program. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:46"},{"nm":"Ed Locke","rs":"0","ms":"The left is resorting to an old trick: make so many regulations that the economy is destroyed and then blame it on capitalism. None of the sub prime mess would have occurred without the Fed keeping interest rates too low, without Freddie and Fanny pushing housing lonas to people who could not afford them, and then hepling securitize the wothless mortgages. Stupid bankers cashed in, but they never could have done it unless the government set the stage. Obama is now completing the process of destruction by putting us into debt we can\'t pay, putting on more regulations and pushing policies that temporarily increase spending but do not increase productivity--which is the only way out of the recession--if it is not too late.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:37"},{"nm":"G.Hood","rs":"0","ms":"Great Show..what would we do without PBS? The greed is out of control, we have learned nothing ..this will happen again and it is a shame.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:24"},{"nm":"Donald Rodbard","rs":"0","ms":"I have a for-boding sense that this fascinating documentary is focussed on a perceived need for more regulation - it almost seemed to be advocating more of what we have that doesn\'t work. You correctly pointed out that Greenspan and Ayn Rand were at one time soul-mates and both were firm advocates for free markets and minimum government intervention. But your portrayal of Rand\'s philosophy was incomplete. Yes, absolutely she believed in the power of the market-place to reward the competent and punish the slackers, BUT, she also insisted upon a system of objective laws that would permit society to deal with the dishonest practitioners.We don\'t have either - free markets or a clear system of objective laws. The justice system that we do have is complex, slow moving and crushingly expensive.Neither has any democratically elected government properly resourced its justice system so that the criminals, whether bank robbers, murderers, fraudsters or con artists, can be quickly and efficiently investigated, arrested, tried and locked up or fined if found guilty.It\'s not the philosophy that is flawed, it was the one-way Objectivism practiced by Greenspan et al, ably aided and abetted by unprincipled politicians. Leaving market players to deal with one another is fundamental to continued wealth creation. Not being able to adequately punish the firms that perpetrated fraud is the root cause of our continuing series of financial crises. Free market advocates Greenspan, Rubin and Sommers rushed to bail out the wall street firm that defrauded its clients with its wonky derivatives and computer models. Gutless politicians bail out badly run businesses - true free marketers would have no part of that!Clearly your 3 wise men of finance were not free marketers, they talked the talk, but completely failed to walk the walk. That firm should have failed as should have any bank that got into their racket too deeply. A hands-off solution would have taught everybody a good lesson. Instead they cried and wrung their hands about damage to the global financial system - the recent iteration of that flawed argument for intervention appeared again in the fall of 2008, along with a brand new battle cry from the looters - &quot;they\'re too big to fail!&quot;I think PBS, you let us down. It isn\'t the idea of free markets that failed, it is the meddling by governments and the false sense of security that they have created that has finally led us to the situation we find ourselves in today.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:24"},{"nm":"Vrag Naroda","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline has done a serious disservice to audiences with this program.OTC derivative regulation would have done nothing to prevent the economic crisis, which were caused by a combination of easy credit, too much leverage by banks, bad mortgage underwriting, securitization, bogus credit ratings by rating agencies, and shoddy insurance policies written by monoclines.Also, LTCM blew up not because of OTC derivatives, but rather from too much leverage. Read When Genius Failed. OTC derivatives were an insignificant part, if any, of LTCM losses. Over and over, Frontline does not distinguish between exchange traded derivatives, OTC derivatives, or any other financial instrument, and seems to imply regulation of OTCs would have helped us prevent this crisis when it would have done nothing of the sort. But hey, who cares. Muslims hijacked the airliners on 9/11, therefore we should have attacked Iraq, right?Mind you, OTCs should be regulated, and there are many good examples. Just Google for Jefferson County, Alabama and sewer debt swaps. There are also many municipalities which lost tax payers money due to fraudulent sells of OTC derivatives, but Frontline does not mention any of these examples.This program is far from the excellent quality of programming I’ve come to expect from Frontline. I am very disappointed.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:20"},{"nm":"Barbara Martinez","rs":"0","ms":"Unchecked capitalism is nothing but greed. No system is perfect and capitalism is not a perfect system, by any stretch of the imagination.  Bottom line, making money on making money is just plain greed and adds no real value to any economy.  Just smoke and mirrors.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:17"},{"nm":"Bee Diddy","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s very disheartening to read the comments of most of the posters here, and I hope for the sake of informed debate they are not representative of the general public. Contrary to the distorted story told in &quot;The Warning,&quot; the failure to regulate OTC derivatives DID NOT CAUSE THE FINANCIAL CRISIS! True, it was a factor, but it probably wasn\'t even one of the five or so most important factors. Loose monetary policy, lax mortgage underwriting, reckless borrowing, failures at ratings agencies, the implicit govt guarantee of Fannie & Freddie -- these were all more important factors than non-regulation of derivatives. But don\'t listen to me. Listen to Joe Stiglitz, who is no free market patsy. His comments are posted elsewhere on this site. When asked &quot;What if they had listened to Born and regulated derivatives?&quot;, Stiglitz replied: &quot;if we had restricted the derivatives, some of the major problems would have been avoided. Some of what it has cost American taxpayers -- a great deal would have been avoided. I think there is a very high probability, for instance, that we would not have had to pay out the hundreds of billions of dollars that have gone to AIG, that much of the other financial turmoil we would have avoided. But we still would have had the problems of the mortgages; we still would have had the problems at rating agencies. So I think it\'s too simplistic to say that if we had done this one thing, we would have avoided the crisis.&quot; I enjoyed this documentary, but make no mistake, it is an example of what is WRONG w/ broadcast journalism, which sacrifices substance and complexity to hero-worship and story-telling. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:15"},{"nm":"Robert G. O\'Neill","rs":"0","ms":"  It was like someone hit me in the head with a reality hammer.  Ms Born was not only brave and brilliant, she was horribly abused by a bunch of self-serving insiders from Clinton, his cronies, and a corrupt Congress.  She deserves a national apology for the treatment she received.  Brilliant journalism.  Makes me pessimistic about Obama and the future of America. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:08"},{"nm":"Beppe R.","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s not surprising that the same thieves are still steering the financial ship; they\'re powerful beyond comprehension. What might surprise you is that some of these mysterious derivitive concoctions may well include illegal drugs masquerading in financial pinstripes. The worldwide financial network exists to bankroll any money-making scheme that feeds off the ignorant and uninformed.  ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 14:04"},{"nm":"Mickey Mantle","rs":"0","ms":"Ayn Rand is a lunatic! Her theories and ideals are ridiculous and the 2008 meltdown proves it. Unregulated markets fail, as this one did. Greenspan even stated that he (Ayn Rand) was wrong and unregulated markets do not take care of themselves. This is due to the greed of the human beings that run them and nothing more.  If you think Ayn Rand is a genius, you are highly mistaken.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 13:46"},{"nm":"Robert Higgs","rs":"0","ms":"There is an abundance of bad information on this comment section. Greenspan has admitted that govenrment regulation would have prevent the 2008 breakdown of the financial institutions in this country. Do not think that they didn\'t know exactly what was going on as they (Greenspan, Summers, Rubin, Giethner and Levitt) all had millions in the OTC market. They did not want regulation nor did thier welthy friends. They created a secret group to keep the OTC market &quot;dark&quot; and they all gained from it.  Now the Fed is giving loans @ 0% interest to banks but the Fed is charging our government interest on the money it created out of thin air to give to themselves. The Fed is owned by all the banks that got money from the government and now we are paying them interest on the money they got for free.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 13:42"},{"nm":"Sharon","rs":"0","ms":"De-regulation relies on honesty. GREED is infectious and FRAUD a crime. It\'s amazing that 20 powerful men were and probably still are running the worlds financial markets. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 13:34"},{"nm":"Jack Anonymous","rs":"0","ms":"And what were the creeps like Joe Nocera and the other commentators doing to inform the public about the house of cards Wall Street built?&quot;Deepcapture&quot; expalins why the media did NOTHING......","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 13:34"},{"nm":"WILLIAM HALLORAN","rs":"0","ms":"GREAT STORY FRONTLINE...THANKS FOR EXPOSING THIS MASSIVE FRAUD BY WALL STREET,AND THE COURAGE FOR MR. BORN TO SPEAK OUT...WOW!!!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 13:02"},{"nm":"Steven Rogers","rs":"0","ms":"The reasoning of Frontline (and many pro-regulation commentators, as well as Alan Greenspan) is that we tried freedom, and that didn\'t work - but we have not had a substantially free economy for quite some time in the US. The existence of the Fed, a fiat currency, and a massive banking regulatory system means that one can\'t view current events as a laboratory experiment in free markets. If there\'s any prima-facia conclusion to be drawn from the economic events of the last 80 years, it\'s &quot;we tried regulation, and that didn\'t work&quot;. If it weren\'t farcical enough to treat the Greenspan years as an experiment in Laissez-faire Capitalism, you (and he) attempt to place the blame at the feet of Ayn Rand. If Greenspan ever intended to put Rand\'s ideas into practice, he certainly gave that up in taking a job at the Fed - an organization whose existence was antithetical to everything Rand stands for, and repudiated by Greenspan in his earlier writings. Greenspan\'s pathetic &quot;Capitalism made me do it&quot; excuse doesn\'t make sense. A regulatory &quot;loophole&quot; is not an experiment in freedom.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:32"},{"nm":"Elizabeth Williams","rs":"0","ms":"Free markets are like unicorns. They both only exist in mythology.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:32"},{"nm":"Gilliam D. M. ","rs":"0","ms":"Regulations are placed on people, unfairly! Heavy regulations are placed on the lives of American people from the outset of the constitution mainly through race wars, gender wars, and class wars. For example, in the case of class wars the privileged in this country don\'t need to conform to the type of regulation that underprivileged people require. In the case of gender wars, and race wars this country has a system in place that are making people rich at the expense of others. The constitution has never stood for its intentions, rather the trade markets has always adversity to the founding father\'s principles inherent in how the world should be.   ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:28"},{"nm":"Kari Krohman","rs":"0","ms":"Why isn\'t Brooksley Born and her trusted advisors of 11+ years ago President Obama\'s advisors?  Why is President Obama employing the fraudsters who indirectly caused the collapse of the global market?  They should be in jail or better yet, thrown to the wolves.  ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:24"},{"nm":"david","rs":"0","ms":"frontline is the absolute best!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:23"},{"nm":"Kevin McNamara","rs":"0","ms":"Ms. Born deserves our apology, thanks, a medal and a job with teeth. She did her best to save us. As a Cal alumnus I am proud as hell for the Stanford grad. Take Greenspan\'s medal away and give it to her. Where is Rubin? Hmmmmm","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:16"},{"nm":"Sue Bradley","rs":"0","ms":"I am at a loss for the right words to describe how I feel after watching this Frontline segment. There are just too many elements that come to mind.  I will say, however, it breaks my heart to know that middle American continues to have to pay the price for the greed and personal gain of others who do not care about anyone else but themselves.  Congress should be ashamed of themselves for not digging deeper into this crises.  Democrats and Republicans alike are primarily concerned with getting re-elected. It is so frustrating, because us &quot;little guys&quot; have little power to change the system. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:10"},{"nm":"Roger E. Boswarva","rs":"0","ms":"History demonstrates the financial markets, and in particular, the derivatives markets need stringent regulation.More importantly, this program has revealed, once again, the corrupt and vested interest thinking of &quot;the powers in government&quot;.  Greenspan, Levitt, Rubin and Summers should be sued for Breech of Oath of Office, at a minimum!Roger E. Boswarva","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:08"},{"nm":"Larry White","rs":"0","ms":"Ronald Reagan\'s elite-ist society and all of it\'s continuants finally got their payback for ignoring the lessons that economic history had taught us. The problem is that they created by ,in part, ignoring laws that had been created to rein-in the entrepenurial spirit so that the &quot;common good&quot; could be better served. The ignoring of these laws was willful and therefore criminal. Why aren\'t these people in jail? Because, we in America, don\'t view financial crime as crime. Crime is crime and profit is profit. There are many criminals hiding behind corporate faces of limited public responsibility. It is the marketplace that gives an entrepeneur the ability to earn a profit for ssrvice or merchandise of real value. The stupidest businessman should understand that if you devastate your marketplace it won\'t be there. American &quot;common good&quot; has been violated in the worst way and sadly, we are still being held hostage by the same entrepeneurs and financial extortionists that caused the recent financial crisis.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:08"},{"nm":"Charles Newton","rs":"0","ms":"The derivatives you say? you cannot see the forest for the tree!! A society that uses all the possible means to hide that all the values that were at the root of its birth have been forgotten. Derivatives are the perfect scapegoat!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 12:05"},{"nm":"Jose Roa","rs":"0","ms":"We have to get back to basics in order to prosper. A dollar that is backed by work, products, and services has real value. The labor and honest sweat of America\'s forefathers created a financial system based on integrity, trust and truth. Back in those days if you took away the currency you were left with a day of labor, a field of grain, a painted barn. What a stark difference. The dollar today is so full of fluff, a creamy doughnut devoid of nutrition and wholesomeness. It got this way with empty promises, short cuts, gambles, eye winks, handshakes etc. Money backed by promises backed by assumptions is a time bomb waiting to explode and destroy all that depended on it. If you were to drill down to the truth, it is the greed that exists in all of us that propagates this junk food economy. If it continues down this path, like a person that only consumes junk, it will have a coronary and exist no more. We will be forced to get back to basics, no glitz, no glamor, just an honest day\'s work for an honest day\'s pay. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 11:54"},{"nm":"Ken Richards","rs":"0","ms":"America can never be a great nation in the future because we &quot;great&quot; now. We pay a cost when favor hubris over common sense. As long as those with money, control government, the american public is at risk. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 11:53"},{"nm":"Greg0658","rs":"0","ms":"What or Why didn’t Brooksley Born say to the world finance paper pushers &quot;OK you wanna do that all off the record behind closed doors - DONT COME CRYING to the USG courts .. PERIOD&quot; .. wouldn’t that have shut it down the Maestro way ... and I found the answer to &quot;were you all wrong in the head&quot; answer &quot;Yes&quot; after the drugs had been dealt all over the world ... well I’m thinking about that ... maybe I have more in my corner that I think .. odd (bad) way to go about it tho","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 11:42"},{"nm":"Beth Bridges","rs":"0","ms":"In the Oct. 26th edition of Newsweek, Michael Hirsh reports that last week\'s meeting of the House Financial Services Committee was met with strong opposition to any regulations of the derivatives market from Apple, Whirlpool, Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers and the Business Roundtable. Let us all get a list of all corporations that oppose regulations and boycot all of their products. Wall Street is a ponzi scheme, a \'Bernie Madoff\' scheme. Some people actually made money from the \'Bernie Madoff scheme\' because he controlled all of the 65 Billion, he had the perfect position to decide who earned a profit and who lost their investment. As one of the above commentator states, Wallstreet and these corporations depend on the American Consumer. Let\'s defeat them this way as well as in the political process.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 11:25"},{"nm":"Pete Burnett","rs":"0","ms":"So, my father said that he left us after reading Ayn Rand\'s, &quot;The Virtue of Selfishness.&quot; That cast her in a negative light. Now that I see that her philosophy was the foundation of our economic system, I have further reason to dislike her.Peace and All Good,Pete Burnett","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 11:19"},{"nm":"King Zaboo","rs":"0","ms":"A short history of the derivatives market over the last 20 years.When money talks, people listen. A fool and his money are soon parted.Meet the new boss, same as the old boss.Any questions?","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 11:15"},{"nm":"Charles Broming","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline has provided yet another fine example of the potential this medium has to offer civil society.  This particular program is an insightful, concise and deep view into the way the federal government has returned to the practices that preceded the Franklin Roosevelt administration (with the possible exception of the first five presidents and the T. Roosevelt and Wilson administrations).  Among the factors that created the unfortunate opportunity for this program are: 1) policy makers and their advisers don\'t examine the fundamental ideas that determine their policy decisions honestly, especially regarding their correspondence with empirical evidence and their merits against opposing or alternative ideas, 2) money drives decisions, 3) vetted, academic intellectuals (Larry Summers, for example) are tempted by money and power and 4) current policy makers haven\'t confronted their temptations honestly or they\'ve lied consistently to the public about them and their motives for the decisions they have made.A second point, even more disturbing than the collapse of the financial markets, is that three of the four principal actors in it are at least as powerful in the Obama administration or, in the case of Robert Rubin out of it, than they were in the Clinton administration.  To cast a vote for Obama was to cast a vote for a fundamental change in the way business is done in Washington.  That turns out to have been a mistake, thus far.  The real issue is to return the Congress and the Executive to providing governance rather than &quot;management&quot; or &quot;leadership&quot; (or whatever they think they\'re doing).  I see no substantial evidence of a return to governance by this administration or the current Congress.One can only hope that Summers doesn\'t suffer the fool he is any less lightly than he suffers others who he believes to be fools.  Brooksley Born is a hero.  Where was Bill Clinton is this battle? ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 10:26"},{"nm":"D Graham","rs":"0","ms":"1)  It was never a free market.  Capital was controlled by the federal reserve, a non-government agency, controlling our capital, doling it out to private banks.2)  Obama has kept Summers, Geithner, and now Bernanke, all willing perps of this entirely unethical behaviour.  Where is there ANY hope for change?  Wake up Obama dogmatic supporters.  He sold you out.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 10:22"},{"nm":"Ralph C. Whaley MD","rs":"0","ms":"Government regulations interfere with the freedom of individuals to interact with their fellow Americans by voluntary agreement, in exchanging values each has created, to the advantage of both parties. To blame such trades for causing disasters in the financial markets that would have been prevented by government force is ludicrous.  America became and will remain the most prosperous, benevolent and happy nation in the history of man because of the freedom to think and act in self interest by producing and trading with their fellow men.  Government interference in these actions was the cause of the calamity.  Getting the government out of the economy and leaving men free to think and act is the solution to this horror.  Read Ayn Rand\'s &quot;The Virtue Of Selfishness&quot;, &quot;Capitalism The Unknown Ideal&quot;, learn her wisdom and prosper. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 10:17"},{"nm":"Michael E. Douroux","rs":"0","ms":"It is the trader/speculator mindset that created and dominates the current as well all other volatile economic environments of the past. Since we can\'t expect the historical profits now flowing to the savviest of the trader/speculator type to act as a disincentive to this type of behavior, it\'s anyone\'s guess as to when some kind of equilibrium will be restored to the markets. In the meantime, for financial journalist and the main stream media outlets they work for to continue telling the average investor in today\'s highly volatile and unstable economic environment that they are just going to have to run faster and do a better job of diversifying risks to keep up with the trader/speculators who had them “outgunned” from the start is flagrantly misleading. All power and good luck to those who think they are well suited for the big casino action; however, for the great many who are not so inclined or equipped and whose time and efforts for the greater good of everyone are devoted to making the real economy actually function, the playing field is not level and they remain at a distinct disadvantage.An infinite amount of time and resources are spent in making the language of conservation universal in its reach. As a result, the basic necessity of mindfully conserving and not wasting our natural resources has been firmly established. The Green Message is Everywhere. It is the time and would be a small step, not a great leap, to apply this pervasive awareness of the core principles of conservation to our individual financial resources that are finite and equally important to our basic survival and quality of life on this planet. Let\'s start thinking Financial Conservation.In good faith and good conscience, the mainstream media needs to follow Frontline\'s example and bring more focus and attention to the ongoing disconnect between Wall Street and Main Street. Michael E. Douroux","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 09:26"},{"nm":"Dave","rs":"0","ms":"Great doco and I must congratulate Ms Born for her fortitude. However regulation is a cop out (only increases the power and size of Govt), the only viable solution is the introduction of extensive \'fraud\' laws. Once a few of these bankers / financial gurus have been thrown in jail and their families have been striped of their assets - watch the behavioral change. Then again in order to create this environment you need someone who is not a player. Don\'t like the chances unless someone like Ms Born becomes President.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 09:25"},{"nm":"FRONTLINE Smears Ayn Rand","rs":"0","ms":"Rules for your Readers\' comments prohibit &quot;defamatory&quot; &quot;personal attacks.&quot; You should have required the FRONTLINE producers of &quot;The Warning&quot; to obey those same rules in order to avoid their invalid defamatory personal attack on Ayn Rand. Ayn Rand was a philosophical genius and the supreme defender of America, freedom, individual rights, and free markets. The current financial catastrophe was exclusively created by massive government interference in the free market (Federal Reserve System, 1,000s of Banking regulations, 1977 Community Reinvestment Act, Mortgages to Sub-prime borrowers, ACORN extortion, Fannie Mae & Freddie Mac securitization of toxic sub-prime mortgages, Clinton Justice Dept. blackmail, etc.). Ayn Rand gave the loudest WARNING about the disaster of government interference in free markets in 1957 with &quot;Atlas Shrugged.&quot;","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 09:04"},{"nm":"Don","rs":"0","ms":"The Warning was a very good story that needs to be told over and over until the American people get it and force the Obama administration and both parties in Congress to forcefully remove the knife that the banksters continue to hold to the throat of the global economy.  I only have a couple of mild criticisms.  First, derivatives were not adequately explained in layman\'s terms.  Second, to put Arthur Levitt\'s mea culpa into perspective, it should have been noted that he is currently a consultant to Goldman Sachs.  But all in all it was a very well done piece.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 08:44"},{"nm":"Charles Schroeder","rs":"0","ms":"  No regulations for the market place? The Great Depression didn\'t happen?  All these regulations were probably the result of past abuses. I don\'t want to choke capitalism, but I\'m certainly not concerned with protecting the ability of a few rogue traders to make unimaginable millions at the expense of the rest of us.  Plus I don\'t remember the right of all americans to own a house-especially one they can\'t afford- being in the Constitution.  Please find a job in your administration for Brooksley Born, President Obama. Great job Frontline.Charles Schroeder","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 08:35"},{"nm":"Galina Todorova","rs":"0","ms":"Fraud brings only sorrow and loss - whichever is the field, whoever is in the battle.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 08:34"},{"nm":"Justin Holland","rs":"0","ms":"Another outstanding example of why Frontline is the best television has to offer. Derivatives are but one example of a &quot;blackbox&quot; in our interdependent financial system. What about Hedge Funds? Brooksley Born is an example of the ever vanishing American hero. The current administration should make a show of recognizing her as one.  And kudos to  Arthur Levitt for being the only other person to offer a full account of his error and properly credit Ms. Born. Unreserved apologies are as fleeting today as virtuous financiers.   ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 08:21"},{"nm":"Bob Cameron","rs":"0","ms":"The Warning was excellent. All of us have woken up to the decline of our country. The global community must be shaking their heads wondering why the American people are not protesting.The lobbyists drown out our voices if we don\'t speak up.  Call & write, then do it again and again, and request for Obama to hire 1,000 FBI agents to investigate and the Department of Justice to prosecute Wall Street\'s crimes. This country needs public financed campaigns.  Again call & write again and again requesting that Congress pass legislation mandating no corporate campaign financing.Register as an Independent and vote all the incumbents out of office that you can.Other than pitchforks and torches, does anyone else have any suggestions?  A second American revolution is needed/  ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 08:03"},{"nm":"JP  Atoa","rs":"0","ms":"Kudos to Brooksley for seeing this in the first place, but I have to take issue with the conclusion that government regulations is the answer and the free market can\'t be trusted. Fraud is Fraud ! That\'s not an issue of regulations and the need for government to control the markets, but probably more oversight, so as FRONTLINE pointed out, we are aware of what is going on instead of the secretive nature the derivatives market operated under. The only reason derivatives operated in such as haze was because they had things to hide since it was nothing but a SHAM! ....A one sided gravy train that blatantly took advantage of people with cheerleaders and benefactors in high places.The biggest travesty though is that people like Rubin, Summers and Geithner have been rewarded with promotions and red carpet treatment in another Administration.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 07:56"},{"nm":"Adam Jericho","rs":"0","ms":"I one of the few people who still works in the financial sector and I can tell you that corrupt practices continue to live on in the derivatives sector. You have no idea what a killing the banks are making after all the dust in our economy has settled. Ask any wallstreet guy and he\'ll tell you!p.s. Most banks are letting workers go not because they can\'t pay their workers or they have less business but infact, THEY WANT TO RUN A LEAN ORGANIZATION AND PUT THE MONEY IN THEIR POCKET.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 07:35"},{"nm":"Joe Rogerson","rs":"0","ms":"After reading all the comments on this story, it\'s obvious to me that only those who realize that the U.S. doesn\'t have a capitalist market understand the root cause of our economic dilemma.  Regulators have not discovered any of the most recent examples of fraud perpetrated by manipulators of investment oriented individuals and companies... In every case, it was the market victims who discovered and exposed the fraud.  AIG, WorldCom, Enron, Bernie Madoff, you name it.  In the most recent examples, the perpetrators were rewarded with my grandchildren\'s money.  The current monetary crisis has been predicted repeatedly by many, many Austrian Economists who seemingly alone realize that counterfeiting is fraud whether done by individuals or by the FED and the US Congress.  Fraud is already illegal.  Or is it?  Instead of bonuses, why aren\'t these guys and their complicit, enabling regulators, congressmen and FED criminals on the way to jail?","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 06:21"},{"nm":"Ash Nehra","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you to PBS and Michael Kirk for this enlightening problem.  Every American should know that Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, and Larry Summers under the Clinton administration were responsible for nearing bringing the world financial markets to doomsday in Sept. of 2008.  As Warren Buffet has said, derivatives are the WEAPONS OF MASS DESTRUCTION, and Greenspan and Co. let THIS MARKET grow from less then 30 trillion to 600 trillion over 11 years and A WOMEN NAMED BROOKSLEY BORN warned that we were headed for disaster but Robert Rubin and Summers shut her down.  They and their banker friends didn\'t want any regulation of OTC derivatives, and eventhough 6 weeks later Long Term Capital hedge fund collapsed and nearly took a number of the biggest banks with it, but Greenspan, Rubin and Summers still would not let the head of the CTFC regulate OTC derivatives and forced her resignation.  As a lifelong democrat and now independent, we are seeing the systematic desstruction of Americans financial system due to UBER-GREED BY WALLSTREET AND THE HEDGE FUND COMMUNITY.  They are destroying the American Dream for 95% of Americans and they cannot be stopped.  Obama has proven to be a SERVANT OF WALLSTREET and with Geitner and Summers in key positions, and with the influence of Goldman Sachs, they will continue to destroy America.  Obama has proven to be a HUGE FRAUD and I am disgusted with the whole financial ponze scheme that Wallstreet runs while Obama only gives LIP SERVICE TO ACCOUNTABILITY FOR THESE THEIVES AND CROOKS.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 05:33"},{"nm":"Tom","rs":"0","ms":"Alan Greenspan should have the Medal of Freedom that President Bush, in my opinion, gave him, and it should promptly be given to Brooksley Born along with any other great honor this country can bestow on her ( with a cash reward for blowing the whistle on this scam). The question I have is why aren\'t we throwing guys like Larry Summers,Geithner,PhilGram amd Rueben in jail with Bernie Madoff instead giving them powerful positions in the Obama Administration? They should have ALL their assets taken from them and re-distributed to people who lost money as a result of either Glass-Steagall being repealed or the passing of the Commodities Future Modernization Act. ARE YOU LISTENING PRESIDENT OBAMA? WATCH THIS FRONTLINE DOCUMENTARY AND LEARN SOMETHING AND GIVE US THE CHANGE WE REALLY WANT!!!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 05:32"},{"nm":"Galapo","rs":"0","ms":"The poster below me should at least watch the video before actually spreading rumors. Greenspan is an apostle of Ayn Rand, and Ayn Rand appears on this video with a summary of her philosophy, which Greenspan swallowed without any question. Ayn Rand\'s said in this video that she believed in separating the economy from the state, which means removing all forms of regulations from the market system. This is the summary of her philosophy, and this was at the center of everything Greenspan did throughout his tenure as FED Chairman.  ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 04:18"},{"nm":"Brendan Stark","rs":"0","ms":"Awesome frontline this week. In the future, history books may say of the early 21st century that Greenspan, Wall Street, and derivatives damaged American democracy and the American people far more than terrorists ever did.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 04:04"},{"nm":"Antonio Silva","rs":"0","ms":"Does no one see the obvious?  Certainly none of the above commentators do. This was not merely greed run rampant.  This was an intentional result to complete the destruction of the only country in the world once strong enough to stop the total takeover of the world economy and the enslavemnt of its people.  This could not have happened to Brokaw\'s &quot;Finest Generation.&quot;  But what passes for intelligence and common sense 60 years later makes it easy.  Every federal agency is in the hands of the super-rich.  The Supreme Court consistently rules for corporate powers and against the common man.  Every member of congress and every president is owned by giant corporations.  And you think that votes make a difference and that another result would have been possible?","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 03:43"},{"nm":"Michael Caution","rs":"0","ms":"Ayn Rand summed up the underlying cause for the crisis that derivatives created and which Frontline deliberately dared not question: &quot;One of the methods used by statists to destroy capitalism consists in establishing controls that tie a given industry hand and foot, making it unable to solve its problems, then declaring that freedom has failed and stronger controls are necessary.&quot;What Frontline and other media choose to ignore is the fact that we have a controlled, i.e., regulated, market. We have a mixed economy not laissez-faire capitalism. Basically, Born was wrong in the fact that what was needed was more regulation and Greenspan was even more wrong for not advocating for the repeal of existing regulatory legislation.Derivatives are the legitimate consequence of businesses trying to protect themselves against unnecessary risk that is imposed upon them by government regulations dictating the way they conduct their business, i.e., infringing upon their property rights. If people were to recognize the absolutism of property rights in all areas of society, especially business, then there wouldn\'t have been regulation in the first place to cause distortions in the market which cause it to fail.The solution to this whole crisis is the rediscovery of individual rights and that means ultimately the SEPARATION OF MARKET AND STATE just as there is a separation between church and state.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 03:38"},{"nm":"Kathleen McClure","rs":"0","ms":"Seriously - what does Summers bring to Obama?  What happened to \'Change\'?  Why isn\'t Born on Obama\'s team?  Answers, please.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 03:33"},{"nm":"Marilyn Swatzell","rs":"0","ms":"In any other profession anyone who screwed up even a 1/1000th as bad as this band of economists would never be allowed to practice their profession again. Yet these idiots are recycled into the White House in big important jobs. Get rid of Geitner & Summers.You don\'t bring in a fox to watch the hen house. Send a copy of this Frontline to the Nobel committee. Broosley Born deserves the Nobel for economics. These men aren\'t nearly as smart as they think they are, just arrogant!I have no faith that Obama will change anything. He is enoying the pandering too much. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 03:26"},{"nm":"Jon Buesch","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s high time we let the Confederacy and her political ideals back in.  ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 03:20"},{"nm":"Jon Buesch","rs":"0","ms":"After watching Frontline about OTC derivatives.  I couldn\'t help but think about what is not regulated in our lives right now?  I mean even air is being regulated (smoking laws/rules).  Pretty much everything in life is regulated and yet this problem keeps going on.  It is time to do a complete overhaul of the White House and their lobbying laws.  I have read some of the comments made in here and I agree with some of them where it really is our fault.  We are voting for the senators/congressmen (whatever you want to call them... I have another word for them but I\'m gonna abide by guidelines set for commentary..see even free speech is regulated!) and they are the ones being lobbied by unregulated OTC derivative pushers.  Greenspan and Summers even admit that regulations should be imposed.  What the heck is happening, I keep wondering when someone with courage like Born has will actually do something about it.  I am so fired up and I know that something drastic will happen.  All I guess I can really say right now is, LONG LIVE THE CONFEDERACY AND THE POLITICAL IDEALS THEY STOOD FOR!   ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 03:18"},{"nm":"Ameena Jandali","rs":"0","ms":"Greed is one of the seven deadly sins. Regulation or morality is the only way to prevent it from wreaking havoc. Until the political system in this country is disentangled from money, and our politicians are no longer for sale to the highest bidder, nothing will ever change. Not unlike mediaval times, the serfs (you and me) finance the nobles who get richer and richer while the rest of us get poorer and poorer. It is time for a major change and that begins with each one of us demanding that we practice true democracy and seek genuine reform in our healthcare, educational, legal and other systems, where profit,greed and inequality have too long been the norm.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 03:03"},{"nm":"CHARLES MCDERMOTT","rs":"0","ms":" the bible says the love  of money is the root of all evil. ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 02:57"},{"nm":"Bill Powell","rs":"0","ms":"This troubling documentary and the comments it has inspired, indicate how fractured this nation is at this point in our history. The problems facing this nation are too big to solve. Unless we are attacked by a nuclear power, or devastated by some nationwide natural disaster, we are going to become the new Haiti. People are not willing to pull on the oars together. We are going in a circle at an increasingly alarming speed. I see no hope, no jobs, no healthcare, no life. Do we really need trillions of dollars to enjoy life? Thanks Frontline, for letting us know that there are answers out there, but no one wants to hear them.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 02:48"},{"nm":"brian dadvar","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline for such is important program.I didn\'t know who Brooksley Born was. Great women, we need more public servants like her in goverment. What can I say other than may god help us $500 trillion derivative market and wall street in its control. Why President Obama choised Larry Summers and Timothy Gitner in his cabinet doesnot he know what happened to Brooksley Born.I want president Obama to which this Frontline program. Why he does not listen to Paul Volcer?When you watch CNBC they always praise Greenspan and Goldman Sachs.What hould we do with the strong financial lobby that control\'s the congress and the president\'s office?You can see President Regan, Bush and Clinton also are at fault. Shame on them. Phil Gramm he should be in jail. hepan He was the Mccain\'s economic advisor!! So it does not matter if Mccain or Obama become president Wall Street wins either way.They are helping to destroy this great country. We need Galss-Steagall Act to be reenacted.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 02:45"},{"nm":"Bob Allen","rs":"0","ms":"Notice the spin away from the deliberate theft of trillions of dollars to &quot;Oh, Sorry we made a mistake. We did it for the economy Blah blah blah! Wait till Americans realize the Federal Reserve is not part of the Federal Government. It\'s a bank lending us our own money plus interest. Sweet deal for the banks not so good for America. The greatest swindle in American history and only a handfull of Americans put up a stink. Too bad more people don\'t pay attention or care.    ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 02:33"},{"nm":"LWeiner","rs":"0","ms":"Thankyou Frontline.Your courage and bravery will be duly noted by a more informed American and world.Of Couurse, in part 2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9,etc--we will need more follow ups to get to the guts of the matter.Fraud.Kudos to all the brave souls who are risking their lives to speak out on the matter, especially Brookesly Born, a hero in my world.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 02:32"},{"nm":"Alejandro","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m glad you covered this topic.  It is about time we look at the source of the disease America is suffering from.  It\'s important to know who Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers are and that they are disciples of Ayn Rand.  Rand was a total narcissist, possibly a non-violent sociopath, and her extreme view on laissez-faire economics has had terrible impacts on the world.  She despised altruism and charity, for cryin out loud!  The fact that Greenspan didn\'t even want to regulate fraud tells me all I need to know about him, the Fed and the Treasury.  Thanks for your reporting, keep up the good work.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 02:19"},{"nm":"Michael Hoefler","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born was spot on.  She knew what was going to happen.  She had to be silenced - and was.  It is pretty obvious that this industry needs regulation immediately!  Ms Born, Sheila Bair of FDIC, and Simon Johnson - I would love to see these people drafting that legislation. Glass-Steagall needs to be reinacted in it\'s entirety.  You at PBS Frontline presented a credible and thorough review.  Thank you.  Keep up the good work.Final thought:  Insanity is when you are doing the same thing over and over again - expecting different results.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 01:22"},{"nm":"JoAnn Nevermann","rs":"0","ms":"The recent financial collapse, has been this time been averted But this collapse will reoccur several time till we learn our lesson, In other word the at will suggest our political leadership  pursue insane poltical action It is well known, repeating hat same action expecting different results is fefined as insantityThe contention that the financial market can regulate itself is a very serious fallacy. We only have to look at black friday, its beginning and its out come When i heard that the Bush administration was loosing regulation the results were crystal clear to happen sooner or later. Of course that the New conservative Economic thought would support  this new found financial freedom and the greed of individuals came together to make the collpse possible","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 01:12"},{"nm":"pc","rs":"0","ms":"As a 22-year veteran of wall street, I can say that my own experience proves that this report is accurate.  The hubris of the wall street executives fed by the very powerful financial lobbyists enabling them in Washington was no match for the altruistic and naive Brooksley Born.  I urge all to write their senators and congressional representatives to demand financial reform. True capitalism is dead, social capitalism exist only for the &quot;too big to fail&quot; financial giants.  America, it is time you wake up and revolt against this!!!!  Timothy Geithner and Lawrence Sumners must go.  Sheila Bair should be Treasury Secy.  We need to eliminate the powerful financial lobbyists from poisoning the efforts to allow HEALTHY REGULATION OF THE MARKETS.  The American public will not be called upon time and time again to bail out the financial giants if they were truly regulated.  The U.S. needs campaign finance reform to ensure an end to the powerful lobbyist in Washington.  After having worked 22 years on Wall Street, I am truly disgusted and saddened by our country\'s current situation.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:53"},{"nm":"Attilio Gazzaneo","rs":"0","ms":"This is just why I love PBS.  Gteat progam and it should be shown over and over and over etc.  As far as dismantling the Glass-Steagall Act, by having a personsuch as Phil Gramm attach a bill to dismantle the Glass-Steagle Act to deregulate the banks three day\'s before the Christmas Break so no one had a chance to read it, this practice should be stopped and each bill should stand onit\'s own merit instead of pushing legislation thru by riding the coat tails ofpassable legislation. Of course this would add to the unemployment problem as itwould put many lobyists out of work.Attilio R. Gazzaneo  Oct. 21, 2009   21:40","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:47"},{"nm":"Mahshid Akhavan","rs":"0","ms":"Folks, wake up. Have you ever questioned why your hard earned savings that end up in the so called retirement accounts can only be gambled in the casino named wall street? Who wrote these laws anyways? The plan to plunder the American people is becoming clear now.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:45"},{"nm":"JJvence","rs":"0","ms":"In the twenties, BEFORE October 1929, Two thirds of the American people wereliving at poverty level salaries, while the decadent rich lived very lavishly. Was it not called, Was it not the time when the very rich had everything and the rest of us lived on ten to fifteen dollars a six day week.  If you were lucky to have a job at all.  Why is it that MEN - so many MEN, when they have a little power becomecorrupted.  Will it be the same this time????  GOD SAVE US, I hope not.I was just wondering.?????????  ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:39"},{"nm":"Jim Symons","rs":"0","ms":"10.21.09William Robards has it right.  I would add that I am thoroughly disappointed in Obama regarding the entire economy.  He claimed to bring about a renewed ethics in America.  By his actions, his has shown that he is just one of those individuals who (including Geitner and his cronies) are &quot;all in it together&quot;.  &quot;The Fix Is Always In&quot;!!Jim SymonsSan Diego, California","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:29"},{"nm":"Lauteur Calme","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;The Warning&quot; documentary makes a broader point about the totally indefensible behavior by Wall Street intelligentsia and in particular Greenspan, Summers, and Geitner.  This elite group knew exactly why the derivatives market should not be regulated, and the dangers of the excessive use of credit in the financial system.  Thus, the central questions are:1.)  Why did they let it happen?2.)  Why were they so callous about the impending global effects on everyday people?3.)  Why does the world, including the American tax payer, whose left with the bill time     and time again, tolerate such egregious behavior from bankers?4.)  How could U.S. politicians allow this to happen when their duty is to govern?Some people believe Wall Street is a huge Ponzi scheme and people should carefully begin to withdraw 401 K savings and diversify from monetary assets into real assets.It\'s quite clear that the U.S. economy depends on consumption, and that bankers, including the Fed (i.e, there\'s nothing Federal about the Fed.  It\'s a private bank!) want to perpetuate the debt burden of ordinary citizens. To some degree it\'s refreshing to see that the economic weight of countries have shifted to China and India, but it\'s also sad for the U.S. and its tax payers who continue to be exploited by the greed and manipulation of investment bankers on Wall Street! ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:28"},{"nm":"Tell the Truth","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;... capitalism in its true sense...&quot;  - Ayn Rand was not a libertarianWhat complete gibberish.  When the flaws in capitalism are exposed (whether it is children working for pennies a day or the environment being trashed or gamblers running scams from car trunks), conservatives will utter nonsensical phrases like, &quot;That\'s not \'capitalism in its true sense.&quot;  Hogwash.  Of course it is.Capitalism allows people to make money anyway they can.  Whatever harm it may do to people, animals or the environment, well, that\'s just too bad.Enter the likes of Ayn Rand will more gibberish about &quot;absolute objective law.&quot;  You\'re asking people to be objective?  Really?Rand herself was NEVER &quot;objective.&quot;  Nor can any human being be &quot;objective.&quot;The fact is societies will constantly be a struggle between one group\'s &quot;objectivity&quot; and another\'s.  Whichever wins the day will determine whether regulations are created and enforced or not.For the past 30 years conservatives and &quot;centrists&quot; have won the political day and opted to &quot;let the markets be the markets.&quot;  We learned again why that ISN\'T a good idea, just as the people in the late 20\'s learned.Now that the markets have been &quot;stabilized&quot; thanks to the newly minted cash, it appears no new regulations will be created and the old ones will likely continue to remain on the books - unenforced.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:20"},{"nm":"Bob Koontz","rs":"0","ms":"Well done.....Too bad  Obama isn\'t paying attention....Oh I forgot he has surrounded himself with the same greedy bastards who have ruined our economy...it doesn\'t seem to matter who the President is....They are ALL controlled by the money!!!!","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:16"},{"nm":"GHF Valley","rs":"0","ms":"As usual, an insightful and mostly decipherable expose by Frontline.  Of course, the set up starting with Ayn Rand omits any number of grotesque minipulations of society by the one percenters. The absolute insidiousness and soulessness of the financial system, epitomized by this piece, has been apparent to anybody even partially awake for the last few decades. This is a system rigged by convention and fiat against the true producers of wealth (who,incidentally and purposefully, are conspiciously short-changed of the fruits they generate -- both economic and democratic -- while being largely unaware of what is happening). The periodic calamities, wrought by financial maladroits (including the stablemates portrayed in this piece)have been especially troubling starting with the Reagan regime. The evisceration of a once healthy (however predatory) economy in the name of the free market is everywhere apparent, and the perpetrators are, despite their onerous sins -- both individual and collective -- still treated with kid gloves by those who should be their fiercest critics (eg. Frontline, et.al.).  As evidence, we have &quot;The Warning&quot;, penetrating...but a decade late.  Then, why the insulting question:  &quot;Should derivatives be regulated?&quot; I rue that some of our best efforts, such as &quot;The Warning&quot;, are so tepid in their convictions and so timid in their assertiveness.  We as a nation have come to this sad juncture in the face of the biggest and most entangled crisis of our history.   ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:11"},{"nm":"mike","rs":"0","ms":"Calling Alan Greenspan a Libertarian is just poor journalism. Libertarians want to end the fed not control it.","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:11"},{"nm":"Ronald Huffman","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s unbelievable these people got it so wrong, about half of everyone\'s retirement and equity in our houses worth wrong, plus add on trillions of dollars of debt that we can never pay off. There are no words coined yet to describe what they did, the closest word that that comes to mind is TREASON.     ","pt":"Oct 22, 2009 00:05"},{"nm":"MAC","rs":"0","ms":"The White House leaders and the American Public need to stand up and make Regulation of the financial markets a top priority in 2010.  Out citizens will not sit and wait for the next on-coming financial train reck.  Derivatives Markets need tightened restricktions and stoutlegal oversights which will serve to protect our overall American Economy and other world markets.It is too bad, those who had the authority to change the tides refused to listen to the messenger ten years ago.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:54"},{"nm":"K. Boyd","rs":"0","ms":"We should have listened closer to Ron Paul during the debates and not treated him like a &quot;gladfly&quot;.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:47"},{"nm":"Kevin Hansen","rs":"0","ms":"We keep seeing the same people (let along the same types of people) in the same important positions at the Federal Reserve and we expect leadership there that would actually advocate looking after the middle class?  No, I guess not.  Let me re-phrase.  We keep seeing the same people in the same positions so that the Wall Street crowd can keep tipping over the American cookie jar.  That is except for Ms. Born who was trying to look after us.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:44"},{"nm":"Terry M","rs":"0","ms":"The saddest thing in America today is our devotion to ranting on blog\'s.  If enough people contacted their congressman on this subject and specifically ask for regulation of the OTC Derivatives market it would happen.I am writing mine now.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:41"},{"nm":"Jermaine Holmes","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;This crisis was caused chiefly by shoddy mortgage underwriting, which was stoked by the explosion in mortgage securitizations.&quot; Derivatives were based on real estate prices, so yes OTC derivatives were a chief cause of the meltdown. I don\'t think most people know that this problem occurred 10 years ago. I, for one, didn\'t know it (of course I was in high school). I think that derivatives should be regulated and more transparent; in fact, they should be banned! I liked what Wells Fargo CEO said a long time ago: &quot;Wall Street just keeps finding ways to lose money.&quot;","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:39"},{"nm":"Paul R. Grenier","rs":"0","ms":"I second the many comments above calling for Ms. Born to hold a top economic adviser position in the Obama Administration. For too many years in America, there have been politicians and high political advisers who are either extremely decent or extremely smart, but not both at the same time. Brooksley Born is both. Summers and Geithner should be out of work, tomorrow. If Obama doesn\'t give Born one of their jobs, it will be the surest sign yet that his presidency is doomed. Not to get off topic, but as a Stanford student, she was also stunningly beautiful. Virtue is always attractive. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:35"},{"nm":"Jeffrey Glickman","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;Shell shocked at the fact that Washington hasn\'t even started to regulate the derivatives market.&quot; While I am too - here\'s the bottom line.  Washington wants to be lied to; they need to be lied to and until those in Washington begin loosing their jobs and the lobbyists, who lobby them by \'slipping money\' into the pockets of those they lobby anyway possible, until loose their jobs and homes and family which really, you think will happen, then no, they will always slake their needs.  The fact is this - all we want to do is complain and complain and complain AND DO NOTHING.  You want to do something? Move away from this country - or don\'t and continue to get ripped off because this won\'t stop.  It\'s the United Slakes of America.  Simply horrific, ugly and disgusting. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:20"},{"nm":"RE Mant","rs":"0","ms":"Ms Born and Frontline are incorrect if they blame derivatives, stupid and fraudulent as they may be, for this crisis, because they could not get off the ground or continue without the too easy money policy that sustains the leveraging.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:13"},{"nm":"Gary Wells","rs":"0","ms":"I\'ve sent this message to my congressman and senators:I see that the House Agriculture committee voted against letting the CFTC regulate derivatives positions today.  I don\'t know if you watched the Frontline program on PBS yesterday, but I thought that the program was very informative on the basic cause of the current financial meltdown.As I understand it, the primary cause of the meltdown is that the banks and financial companies have been allowed to use trading in unregulated derivatives to effectively cook their books and show huge short term profits (and thereby reap huge bonuses) and then pass on the resulting losses to the federal government and the taxpayers.I believe that the congress and the last 2 administrations have failed in their responsibility to protect the american public from fraudulent activity by the financial industry.  I\'m not impressed that the current administration\'s chief financial architects were actively involved in restricting the CFTC\'s oversight powers back in the 90\'s.I will not be voting for (and will actively work against) any candidate in the next election who does not work to eliminate unregulated derivative trading.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:07"},{"nm":"LossAngeles","rs":"0","ms":"I loved it. Wow what courage on the part of Brooksley Born , and the strength to overcome what she knew would happen takes even greater strength. She\'s like my newest lady crush ; age doesn\'t matter this woman has guts and conviction I love her !!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 23:05"},{"nm":"matty","rs":"0","ms":"If Brooksley Borne is correct in anticipating several events just like the current crash there will be little left to recover here when the financial debacle is done.  From small foundries scattered throughout the west I hope enough bronze will be found to give her the statue she deserves.  A woman for our times but I\'m sorry my daughters have to hear this story.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:56"},{"nm":"Mark Bajkowski","rs":"0","ms":"Q: What the unregulated  Wall Street and Las Vegas have in common?A: Everything. They both use the mass of willing loosers to pay off few winners.I don\'t have a problem with that as long as I am not forced to become an unwilling looser which is the case as long I remain a Citizen of the USA. Hey Canada, here I come!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:55"},{"nm":"S. Heiden","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan would be walking the steps of the NYSE in a hair shirt with a REPENT sign—had he a conscience. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:55"},{"nm":"John Wakler","rs":"0","ms":"Why isn\'t there anyone in Washington talking about an investigation into this mess?Pisses me off that Summers is still walking the streets!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:52"},{"nm":"Ayn Rand was not a libertarian","rs":"0","ms":"I am disappointed at such an incomplete and distorted portrayal of free markets.  First of all, Ayn Rand was not a libertarian.  In her words, &quot;capitalism is the one system that requires absolute objective law, yet libertarians combine capitalism and anarchism...They are perhaps the worse political group today, because they can do the most harm to capitalism.&quot;  She was a champion of capitalism in its true sense, not how Alan Greenspan claims it to be.  He may say and write that he is a champion of free markets, but the reality is, he controlled and regulated the economy every step of the way-down to probably the worst recession since the Great Depression.  The problem with the American economy is that the government continues to bolster bad banks who made bad decisions via bailouts and artificially low interest rates.  In a true free market economy, these bad banks would FAIL.  These policies continue to allow such irrational and irresponsible financial behavior.  When the next crash comes, the government will again blame it on the &quot;free market,&quot; when in reality, it is all due to their own faulty policies.  America is not a capitalist economy.  In 1913, the Federal Reserve was established.  How can we have a capitalist free market economy when the Fed controls interest rates and the value of the dollar?   For more on Alan Greenspan, \<a href=&quot;http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/alan-greenspan-isnt-a-capitalist-but-he-plays-one-in-the-media/&quot;\>http://blog.aynrandcenter.org/alan-greenspan-isnt-a-capitalist-but-he-plays-one-in-the-media/\<\/a\>","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:34"},{"nm":"John Parlow","rs":"0","ms":"The real question is when are the American people going to take some accountability for their own actions. You can keep blaming Wall Street, the Banks, the federal system, the lack of regulations and the Government, but at the end of the day you eventually need to look in the mirror. Does it really make any sense to anyone that a family with a household income of $100k annually can afford, or better yet, should afford a million dollar home???? At any point in time after the 2nd or 3rd mortgage, did anyone ever stop think how is this possible???","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:31"},{"nm":"Jon Quimby","rs":"0","ms":"Well done piece, but from a Libertarian viewpoint, the question that no one seems to ask is why can’t organizations fail?  For Free Markets to work correctly, the needs to be a needs to be enough risk of failure that bad business decisions will be avoided.  If the Treasury or the Fed is going to bail out failed organization directly or indirectly, there isn’t a risk of failure.  FRONTLINE should have challenged the people representing the “Free Market” philosophy (Greenspan, Summers, and Rubin) why in a time of need LTCM was rescued via support of the Fed and the Treasury Department?  This is going against their “Free Market” hands-off philosophy and created moral hazard in the derivatives market.If the answer is to rescue organization in times of need directly or indirectly via the Fed or the government, then we do not live in a Free Market system.  The people representing the &quot;Free Market&quot; philosophy here (Rubin, Summers, and Greenspan) are simply hypocrites.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:27"},{"nm":"kim from St Louis","rs":"0","ms":"This was a great show AND KUDOs to the Frontline team for revealing how our government is in the pocket of Wall Street elite.  Money commands in our democracy and sadly nothing has changed, even the players. Goldman Sachs-via Rubin and Hank Paulson-continue to have excessive influence in our government.  In the past year, their competition has been eliminated so why the surprise over their record earning, especially at 0% interest provided gratis by the taxpayers, who are funding the Treasury and GUARANTEEING Wall Street debt.   I had hoped more from Obama, but given what he inherited, and his own lack of experience in the business world, I guess it is easy to understand why he has deferred to Geitiner and Summers.  I spent half my career in banking on Wall Street before I started my own business, and I have every confidence that Wall Street  will RUTHLESSLY fight reform that is so important to our nation\'s financial health-making money on money is so much easier than providing a product that has real economic value. It was incredible to me that fraud in the derivatives market was not illegal.  We are truly leaving mines for our children!  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:23"},{"nm":"Barbara Harris","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Brooksley.  It is very heartening to know that there are courageous women who are there to fight for things that are right in spite of overwhelming huberous and male-groupthink that still exists in business.  Any woman who has ever been in a meeting and been laughed at by the established men in the room only to be proven right after they had eviserate her certainly must share the pain and that heavy-head-shaking melancholy that results, ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:20"},{"nm":"Melinda Robins","rs":"0","ms":"Levitt called  her one of the most ethical public servants he has ever known... whatever happened to that!?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:11"},{"nm":"William Robards","rs":"0","ms":"I don\'t for one moment believe that any of this is rooted in anything other than criminality. If you believe that Obama will do anything to weaken the power of the kingmakers you are a fool. What is the sentence for those who destroy a once great nation and its people?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:09"},{"nm":"Howard Hartman","rs":"0","ms":"Unfortunately, the entire political system is (probably) irredeemably corrupt. The Democrats and Republicans merely take turns at the trough.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 22:01"},{"nm":"Ron Brown","rs":"0","ms":"Many thanks & Praises to Brooksley Born for her efforts to warn us and for having the male parts good men should have had and should have used to try and prevent this economic disaster. I have a friend who worked for treasury. During the mid-late 90s, he told me of his efforts to warn both the banking industry and the securities industry. You may remember, this was during the time they had banded together to eliminate Glass Steegle, the wall that separates banking and securities. He warned banking that they were at least 3 - 5 years away from getting up to speed on securities. He also warned Securities, that they didn\'t know banking and they were at lease 3 years away from getting up to speed in it. Of course, neither listen to him, partly because of the love of money, partly because of their pious self-interest and partly because he is African American. After all, what could a black man possibly have to say of value to arrogant rich white men in banking or securities, in spite of the fact that he was securities licensed for nearly 17 years. The love of money and self-interest are such powerful motivators that he was easily ignored. And of course here we are today, a decade later, with the American public screwed over to the tune of nearly 10 trillion dollars in real estate theft due to mortgage fraud. I am surely reminded of the following from Thomas Jefferson.If the American People ever allow the banks to control the issuance of their currency, the banks and the corporations that will grow up around them will deprive the people of all property until their children wake up homeless on the continent their fathers occupied – Thomas JeffersonHow is it that he could see 200 years into the future and we\'re living it and can\'t see? Are we really as dumb as the rest of the world says we are? Further, after they knocked out Glass Steegle, if banking had just listened to him, they would have humbly gone to securities and asked what was the best way to sell mortgages to the securities market. But no… they went to them and just said to securities, sell these for us. Of course, securities realizing their ignorance was too happy to comply; because they were going to make commissions coming and going. And then securities in their ignorance and failure not doing their due-diligence on the mortgages, gladly sold the mortgages, most of which were sub-prime, to Europe, Asia, the Middle-East and even African investors, with no concern for tomorrow. Now here we are a decade later with an economic meltdown that surely could have been averted. Oh, and I here that they are trying to reestablish Glass Steegle again or parts of it. Even so, are we going to make the same mistake again… probably. Ron Brown","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:53"},{"nm":"mike freas","rs":"0","ms":"Well of course they should be regulated. There was an article in the L.A. Times several months ago when gas prices were shooting up yet again quoting Gary Genzler as saying that the reason for the rise in price was not supply and demand, but hedge fund manipulation of futures contracts. Anyone who thinks the stock market or the futures markets aren\'t rigged must have been living on the moon. The whole financial system is a giant scam... does any sane, intelligent person in this country think otherwise? When is this administration going to find some balls and do something!?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:43"},{"nm":"Rich Truett","rs":"0","ms":"The program never once gave a good definition of what a derivative is, or how money is made and lost by them. Early on, an example needed to be given that clearly showed what a derivative cost and how the transaction is carried out, etc. I felt as the producers didn\'t have a clue, just like Congress. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:40"},{"nm":"Joe Huff","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks for broadcasting this show, please run it again and again, maybe every month, until the whole country has had an opportunity to see it, including all members of congress and the administration.  Brooksley Born needs to be brought back into government and given a podium.  Greed and arrogance can be the only explanation for not regulating derivatives.  And she said it is going to happen again and again until enough pressure is brought to bear on congress to make them act. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:30"},{"nm":"M. Moore","rs":"0","ms":"This makes the recent teabagger episodes look like some sort of mass hypnosis. People have identified so strongly with the \'free market\' philosophy that they can\'t tell the difference between their interests and those of big business. The market is Jesus. We can\'t regulate Jesus (church / state) and Jesus will save. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:25"},{"nm":"Robert Albanys","rs":"0","ms":"ALL ABOARD!!!Can we expect change with the same financial/economic crew steering the sinking ship?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:23"},{"nm":"Mike","rs":"0","ms":"The $500 Trillion in Derivatives still out in the Financial system is scary. How is the &quot;system&quot; going to cope with the issue? Why not just make them all &quot;void&quot;. Void all the derivative Contracts. If they fail, they fail. If an insurance company has a life insurance policy written on an individual, and they go out of business, they don\'t pay. There is no safety net. So why should we worry about Derivatives? Since they are based on FRAUD, then outlaw them. Simple isn\'t it? Since Derivatives were &quot;figments of imagination&quot; based on Fraud, why honor them? Seems that we have laws, in place, there is no statute of limitations on Fraud, at least that is what I am reminded by the IRS everytime I submit my taxes. Now I am sure, guys like Rubin, Greenspan, Geitner, Summers, AIG, Goldman Sachs and Wall Street may not support &quot;Cancelling All Derivative Contract Certificates Obligations&quot; as an option, wouldn\'t it be a very simple thing to do, especially since we all know, Derivatives are based on Fraud? So those investments that are tied to them either sink or swim based on performance. No Derivative Insurance plan to guarantee success or failure, just hard work to make it succeed. Think about it. No bailout by the taxpayer and no ticking time bomb. There is not enough GDP in the world to pay for $500 Trillion. Fraud is Fraud is Fraud.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:22"},{"nm":"Matt","rs":"0","ms":"How is it that some of the smartest and most powerful people in the United States don\'t realize that in a fiat based currency economy, the number one priority should be risk control!  The so called over the counter derivative contracts are the most blatent abjudication of risk control that I can think of.  And given their scale, there is absolutely no room for error.  I have an absolutely different opinion of our past and present financial executives then I did before watching the piece.  I thought I knew something about this but now realize how ignorant I was.  Thank you for putting this out there.  Thank you to Ms Born.  We really need to pull together and finally make a difference on this thing.  The power needs to be taken away from these people who continue to abuse it. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:17"},{"nm":"Kevin McGuire","rs":"0","ms":"Oh! Yes, regulate AND enforce and use their profits to fund the enforcement - like is done with drug dealers when they have their cars cash and boats etc., confiscated. This will never improve in the least until the people of the USA stand up and force our leaders to lead and to operate on behalf of the people, instead of the few wealthy and powerful.  Did someone say Pollyanna?  Well, our leadership- regardless of party affiliation is broken and &quot;For Sale.&quot;  Astonishing that we Americans took the abuse of 2008 and 2009 with barely more than a whimper.  I was sure our Country would see riots and uprisings of protest..but nothing!!  Oh well, pass me that donut and my cell phone, I have more important things to do.  Ms. Born is an American Hero and deserves a public apology by the 3 arrogant turkeys and the Congressional committee as well.Rise UP America!  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:11"},{"nm":"Keith Bailey","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Brooksley Born for fighting the good fight. We need more like you. And, Arthur Levitt was right that he could\'ve done better. He should have learned that doing the right thing can be a lonely path from his unsuccessful attempts to get the Big 5 accounting firms to separate from their consulting businesses prior to Enron and Worldcom and the downfall of Anderson.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:08"},{"nm":"John Thomas Ellis","rs":"0","ms":"Companies make less profit from making products than they would investing in derivatives.  So, they sold their manufacturing divisions to Asian companies, fired American workers by the millions and made a short-term killing like General Electric did.  Now, most Americans are facing economic ruin and those firms that invested in those derivatives are being bailed out by elected officials who are not longer answering to the citizens they proclaim to represent.  G.E. no longer makes consumer goods . . . they license Chinese firms to use their name on products that are anything but American made.  G.E. is an empty shell . . . it\'s a company filled with more debt than it can payback.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 21:04"},{"nm":"Dorothy Green","rs":"0","ms":"Please send a DVD to President Obama, David Axelrod, and the leadership in the Senate and House.  In addition to the Program itself, also send them a DVD of the above messages it has generated.  There is a lot of passion there and it should shake a lot of people up. As usual, public TV and Radio are our last bulwark against the ignorance that most of us have about most public issues.  And to think, we have had to beg for funding from Congress for Public TV and Radio stations and have even had to tolerate a bit of advertising in order to keep the stations operating.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:56"},{"nm":"Dot","rs":"0","ms":"What is really perplexing about this is that we still have in our present administration two or more of the people that were on the committee that basically told Born to &quot;take a hike&quot;. Somehow they can flip flop and now say that there needs to be some type of regulation after the damage is done. These are the ones that are making high level decisions concerning our money.  The financial turbulence isn\'t over yet - more bad mortgages and bad commercial property loans are still out there. Excellent program PBS.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:54"},{"nm":"renee mitchell","rs":"0","ms":"Absolutely amazing that the american voter now is in a very powerful position to make a huge difference when the polls open soon and our loyal congressional servants to the people just may not be left standing when the polls close next time round. Combine that with a few criminal charges, term limits and transparent accountabiility and we may take our country back after all. All we need now are more programs like this one to set the record straight for the American people.   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:52"},{"nm":"Rola Cook","rs":"0","ms":"Kudos to Ms. Born for being &quot;our&quot; advocate in the face of so much evil, power & greed.  One can feel the slow, steady undercurrent of unrest and anger continuing to build for the power brokers of Wall Street and banking industry.  I am beginning to imagine the unthinkable should this unabated corruption continue.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:44"},{"nm":"PM","rs":"0","ms":"He won the battle; we, along with Brooksley Born, lost the war.  Rock stars (or wizards) do not endure--Mr. Greenspan is an example of how fleeting fame corrupts us all. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:40"},{"nm":"Mildred","rs":"0","ms":"Amazing program!  Thank you Frontline for covering what everyone else is either too stupid or too afraid to cover.  I\'m a huge Obama person but after seeing this I can\'t help but wonder why are Summers and Levitt in his inner circle and Borns has no position of power in his administration at all? How in the world can we TRUST Summers and Levitt and why does he?  And why for the love of God is this particular market still not regulated?  I don\'t even have words for my disappointment in Alan Greenspan.  Turns out he was running a government controlled ponzi scheme.  The man ran our financials under 5 Presidents based on his love of a science fiction writer? Are you kidding me? Remember how hard we kicked Tom Cruise to the curb (and rightfully so)for forcing his will based on his love of L. Ron Hubbard?  Get your shoes on people...let\'s start kicking Greenspan.  He deserves it. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:38"},{"nm":"Jose Araoz","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for an informative and insightful episode. Appeared to me arrogance and the GREED IS GOOD mentality won out. I hope we demand more of the people we elect and those they appoint, but being a cynic I\'m just bracing for the next economic crisis and planning ahead. My plan is simple, pay off the mortgage, never buy a new car and   if I CAN\'T PAY CASH I DON\'T NEED IT.Fool me once shame on you, fool me twice shame on me. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:25"},{"nm":"H. Christian Floyd","rs":"0","ms":"Here’s what I posted at \<a href=&quot;http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/&quot;\>http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact/\<\/a\>Dear Mr. President,Having just watched the PBS Frontline program &quot;The Warning,&quot; I am gravely concerned about the continuing influence in your administration of economic advisors who were deeply complicit in throttling the intelligent assessment of Brooksley Born concerning the dangers of unregulated derivative investments.  I greatly admire your intellect, candor, and openness in dealing with serious issues and believe that you are motivated by sincere concern for all the people of our country.  Those advisors of yours (including particularly Summers) who were involved in that sorry episode showed just the opposite qualities.  Their poor judgment and their hubris in putting down contrarian advice delayed, perhaps, but aggravated greatly, I believe, the severity of our recent economic distress.  I see nothing in their current behavior, as reported by Frontline, to indicate that they see the error of what they did then; or to indicate that their hearts align with the average working American rather than with their cronies on Wall Street.I urge you please to (1) view yourself &quot;The Warning&quot; and review the thoughtful feedback on the PBS web site from people who are mostly your strong supporters (2) listen more to the likes of Paul Volcker and Paul Krugman (3) make reinstatement of the Glass-Steagall Act and other sound market regulation a much higher priority for your administration (if Summers and Geithner don\'t support this, get rid of them!).Sincerely,H. Christian Floyd","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:25"},{"nm":"Kevin","rs":"0","ms":"This was an amazing show.  I think Brooksley Born would be a great supreme court justice, she would bring a different point of view.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:24"},{"nm":"Dave Zevenbergen","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;The Warning&quot; was excellent even if inclomplete in its coverage according to some.  What was presented should not surprise anyone, but open our eyes to the need for bew regulations of the giants of both Wall Street and the financial industry. While power corrupts, greed is intimately tied to it.  The control of greed was somewhat possible thanks to the anti-trust regulations put in place near the end of the 19th and beginning of the 20th centuries. Something needs to be done now and the American people need to demand it.  I do not care how smart Mr.s Geithner and Summers are, they are part of what caused the collapse and need to leave. I hope the Obama administration sees this program and hires people independent of Wall Street; people like Simon Johnson, Brooksley Born and Shiela Bair. Frontline\'s presentations should evoke action. I hope the people watching this will contact/write their Congressional representatives and tell them to start doing the job they were elected by the citizens of the United States to do - work together to help get our country back on its feet. Lastly, I am in almost complete agreement with M. Rubio\'s comments and the changes he lists that need to be followed.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:19"},{"nm":"brasil61","rs":"0","ms":"Have to agree with most of what Dagney Taggert said ..especially the part about browbeating Greenspan at 81 years old ... interesting not many talk about the hollowing out of America done by the WTO deal done under Clinton for China. I felt as if I was being SOLD ..a narrative ..that is hindsight advantaged attached to a stealth point of view  .Fraud is illegal now ..what new regulations are needed?..Pledging the same collateral to 3 different groups also is FRAUD ..the rating agencies which had the single biggest responsibility imo because they allowed a $1 trillion problem to become systematic by selling Triple A ratings for dreck. There are laws and regulations ..but those connected and in powerful positions need not follow them or worry about prosecution.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:10"},{"nm":"MattH","rs":"0","ms":"William Brondell, I couldn\'t agree more.  Volker broke the back of run away inflation.  That guy more then anyone knows what we are up against here.  From an article I read recently, Volker is saying bring back Glass-Stiegal and split the banks up.  Obama is saying no.  Keep them together and regulate them.  They think they can have their cake and eat it, too.  But you can\'t regulate human nature.  They will hang themselves again.  As responsible parents (taxpayers), we should keep the kids separated.  To me, there is no greater issue of our time.  And unless President Obama reverses his position and splits the banks, he\'s lost me as a supporter.  1 vote.  Anymore out there? ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:10"},{"nm":"Grady Henry","rs":"0","ms":"Great Program!  Frontline took a rather complicated subject and explained it in a way most any person could understand.  I was very much appalled when Alan Greenspan told Brooksley Born that &quot;laws against fraud weren\'t needed&quot; and that &quot;the market could figure out fraud and protect itself against it&quot;.  Thank God there are people in this world like Brooksley Born who, even against impossible odds, prevail against the &quot;powers that be&quot; for truth, fairness, and justice.  She may not have won in the initial struggle, but I do believe that she was vindicated in the end.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:10"},{"nm":"Janice B","rs":"0","ms":"Our financial system has been and continues to be infested with widespread fraud. We have two of the main players who caused this collapse still overseeing the markets! Bravo to PBS for airing this story and educating the public. Please continue to expose the fraud and give voice to anyone else who has the insight and courage to speak. Thank you Brooksley Born! ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:09"},{"nm":"Carol Sandberg","rs":"0","ms":"This was a wonderful program. How much have we learned? I feel concerned that Summers is advising Obama. I hope the President watched \'Frontline\' last night.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:07"},{"nm":"Diane Barnes","rs":"0","ms":"All financial transactions by banks and investment companies should be regulated to protect the signing parties. Where there is no law there is lawlessness. If the government of the United States of America does not take action to protect companies and people from lawlessness they have failed in their responsiblity to govern.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 20:01"},{"nm":"John Seiter","rs":"0","ms":"William Neubeck\'s comments below are right on the money! CRA was enacted in 1977 under the worst President in US history.....Jimmy Carter. Was in the lending business during the \'80\'s and beyond. The pressure put on banks/S & L\'s was enormous. Greed from there on was a problem but it started with CRA!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:51"},{"nm":"Deanna Cox Miranda","rs":"0","ms":"“The Warning” revealed that both political parties are rendered useless when Wall Street is at the helm of the nation. It was appalling to see Clinton’s “insiders” chew up and spit out Brooksley Born, and then successfully advocate for no regulatory oversight of OTC derivate schemes that have made, and continue to make their untouchable class wealthier and wealthier. Such corruption and greed – even Fraud was granted a place at the table. But, most appalling was the disclosure that some of Obama’s financial advisors are the same Wall Street insiders who were behind years of the financial trickery that has trickled down and currently stripped honest, hard-working Americans of their jobs. We have become the living, breathing collateral damage of Wall Street and financial lobbyists. Imagine, even emerging nations are building strong middle-classes while ours is completely disappearing. I often wonder if our president, our elected officials, and the aristocratic “insiders” even care. After all, their families are safe from the fall. Their bellies are full by night’s end. Their teeth are free from rotting. Their homes are heated in the winter. Their phone bills are paid. Their health care is covered. Their limos are filled with gas. They are insulated and pampered. Why would they change the rules of the game when it works for them?  This is very sad moment for America. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:49"},{"nm":"Idella Yamben","rs":"0","ms":"I am consistently amazed by Frontline pieces.  This was shocking, disturbing and frightening.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:45"},{"nm":"Mark Sprague","rs":"0","ms":"There is a really big piece of the puzzle here which was totally ignored. We the people of this nation have bought into the glossy dream of Wall Street through our desires and wants for a better life NOW. We don\'t have the patience to work and save and live within our means; so we borrow money to get a car, we borrow money to get a house, we buy on credit to get the latest greatest stuff, and we put off the payback (at a fat interest rate) so we can get our gratification right NOW. That attitude percolates right up the chain, across all levels of society, shortening our whole outlook politically, economically and socially. We have commercialized and consumerized the American ideal for generations now, focussing on the easy wins and easy money. The powerful \'elites\' who supposedly took us all down were not aided and abetted only by the politicians, financial kingpins and industry big wigs: we all had a hand in allowing this to happen. The best regulation we can enact will have to begin at home: we have to teach our children fiscal responsibility, the value of work, and instill a moral ethic in them, and we have to practice what we preach. We the People can still mean something, if we\'re willing to work at it.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:45"},{"nm":"Todd VanDorn","rs":"0","ms":"When will the public be more concerned about issues such as this and not so concerned about John and Kate . Please wake up people.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:42"},{"nm":"Roger","rs":"0","ms":"It has become clear to me that the general public has been asleep for about 25 years, while the powers that be have been orchestrating their own enrichment. The very idea of average people investing in a market, which is NOT a free market, at all due to graft, greed and corruption committed by the major Wall Street players, is a self defeating gesture which has now proven beyond a doubt that the general public is USED as a general policy, as fodder for the self enrichers, without regard to their eventual demise. Losing what little nest egg which you have struggled to save for retirement is of no consequence, morally nor ethically, to the practicing graft, greedy and corrupt &quot;frontliners&quot; This is reminiscent of the fall of previous civilizations, lessons which corrupt capitalists choose to ignore as they plunder on . . . Intelligent people are difficult to find in the population, and when they rise to the top, they need to resist the business as usual &quot;wanabees&quot; and push ahead to uncover more people like themselves to change the direction we have been heading. Ms born, President Obama and others are examples of people who could have saved the population from the dishonest, self serving players who crippled our economy LATER rather than sooner, because either they were too ignorant or too greedy, working beyond their real ability, to stop the graft and corruption which was flagrant in the 90\'s Starting NOW everyone needs to understand the next philosophical fantasy for what it is, NOT what it is purported to be, by the front line purveyors of such concepts a derivatives, where it took the behemoth Proctor & Gamble\'s fortunes to uncover what the derivative peddlers were really up to at the early stages of their &quot;coming out&quot; when the lawyers were hiding the concept beneath the rock of confused rhetoric, and asking the rest of us to &quot;believe&quot;! Wallstreet financial  people still believe they are entitled to multi million dollar compensation.  It is up to us, the grieved parties, to STOP them, whatever it takes to bring them down to reality or put them to pasture in spite of their self inflated egos. Real work awaits them in the real world, when survival becomes their mission in life.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:40"},{"nm":"chris","rs":"0","ms":"Brilliant  Greenspan has been exposed at last !!  He shouldnt be allowed to even speak in public again ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:35"},{"nm":"Brett Donald","rs":"0","ms":"John Graham -- the reason OTC derivatives were treated differently than, say, school zones is that there is a compelling public interest in protecting school children from preventable harm. It is not obvious that there is any such public interest at stake with OTC derivatives. They are not publicly traded like stocks, bonds, or futures contracts, all of which are regulated. OTC derivatives are private contracts between two sophisticated parties. We don\'t ask the govt to sit at every blackjack table in Vegas to make sure nobody bets too much. Frontline really mangled this point. The problem with OTC derivatives, which Brooksley Born appears to have foreseen, was that the market lacked transparency, which allowed reckless firms like AIG to swell to the point that they posed a risk to the financial system. In hindsight, regulation might have been in the public interest. But that wasn\'t so obvious 5 years ago. More importantly, the financial crisis wasn\'t caused by OTC derivatives. It was caused by mortgage-backed securities, and the villians in that story are far greater in number and far more politically diverse than just Ayn Randers (ahem, Barney Frank).","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:29"},{"nm":"Joseph A. Giordano, Stanford Law","rs":"0","ms":" Excellent, excellent. Bret McDonald should also point out that shoddy mortgage underwriting was pandered to and facilitated by the niagara of Greenspan &quot;easy money&quot;directly  causing the deceptive  and unsustainable bubble in housing prices. Excessive money supply is the root cause of the economic crisis. Of all the anointed academic economists only four sounded alarms. Alan Greenspan will go down in my book as a serial inflator. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:29"},{"nm":"AndroidBoy420","rs":"0","ms":"It was 1984, maybe \'85 when I read a newspaper article about how more mathematics majors were going to Wall Street.  Their job?  To develop derivatives.  The writer had some misgivings about the effects that this would have.  Would there be enough mathematical expertise to go around?  Could the financial instruments (and their effects) be understood by beings with less knowledge in math?I guess not. I would pose that a mathematicians\' job is to understand relationships and then to exploit that understanding.  With that in mind, what else could happen?One other thing.  Dick S. is crazy--crazy with the truth.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:26"},{"nm":"Bill Hurdle","rs":"0","ms":"I have a suggestion. Why don\'t we looby for a Prsidential Medal of Freedom for Brooksley Born!!! This would not only acknowledge and vindicate her efforts taken under condiderable duress, but it might also make people aware of the reprehensible actions of individuals whose reputations remain largely unscathed. I also find Aurthur Levitt\'s meaculpa to be an extremly poor effort at picking the winner after the game.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:17"},{"nm":"Ron Hakim","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent report...Very well done, however, a few key points were left out which were a part of the foundation of this crisis: 1) The Community Reinvestment Act of 1977...2) The expansion of it in 1990\'s...3) Fannie Mae/Freddie Mac...Ayn Rand would roll over in her grave regarding this aforementioned government intrusion/corruption which led to this demise.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:08"},{"nm":"Judi Johnson","rs":"0","ms":"I watched this report with shock and sorrow.  I love our country and feel betrayed when someone with the integrity and brains of Brooksley Born, had to be drug through the mud and then fed to the sharks. Greenspan admits he believed &quot;incorrectly&quot; however, nothing seems to be happening to rectify the mess. Obama\'s hands are tied.  The bonuses keep coming and the greedy players continiue to hide behind closed doors.  Our financial institutions must have regulations passed that make them responsible. Wake up America!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:06"},{"nm":"Karen McDonald","rs":"0","ms":"This FRONTLINE was excellent.  I have nothing but admiration for Brooksley Born; when she testified in the hearings and said, &quot;we are trying to protect the public\'s money,&quot; I almost broke down. Typical that the only clear head in the room was ridiculed by the status quo.  Of course derivatives should be regulated; anything done in virtual secrecy and open to fraud should be regulated.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 19:03"},{"nm":"Ian Kellett","rs":"0","ms":"Why is no-one going to jail? ‘The Warning’ is a tale of greed, dishonesty and fraud, with the financial establishment riding roughshod over common sense and the American people. The present meltdown is the predictable result of banking puppet Phil Gramm dismantling the Glass-Steagall Act and all of the other protections put in place to prevent another Great Depression. Greenspan, Paulson et al. thought they were too clever to need regulation and now we, the people, are footing the bill. They should be held criminally liable. Gramm especially. Treason would not be an unreasonable charge.What we need is a totally new system. This one does not work. Ron Paul seems to be the only sane voice in Washington but he is getting the same treatment as Brooksley Born. Meanwhile the same greedy irresponsible fools who caused the problem have been put in charge of fixing it. Ian Kellett, Salem, Mass.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:59"},{"nm":"Dennis Reed","rs":"0","ms":"This is a situation where greed and corruption are governmentally allowed to operate globally unrestrained. In a capitalist, market economy society, these behaviors are applauded until one realizes a potentially fatal self inflicted wound caused by ones on actions or in this case government non-action.  Consequently, the real danger lies in the structures inability to financially support it own protection.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:49"},{"nm":"Sam Hiser","rs":"0","ms":"This is an excellent piece which is so well presented that it will help many age-groups process the dimensions of not just our post-millennium financial crisis but the atmosphere and background from which these events were enabled to develop.In particular, it is notable that the economic expansions throughout the Clinton & Bush years came as if they were the direct rewards of defeating the Great American Nemesis -- the U.S.S.R. It had never occurred to me before this Frontline episode that the demise of the Soviet system in 1989 would supply us with the kind of surge in cultural, ideological self-confidence which could contribute to our exuberance -- to use the Greenspanian term -- for unfettered, non-transparent & unwise organization of our financial markets. It is clear to me that this kind of moment of cultural success has bread blindness & arrogance which only a severe & prolonged economic crisis will ironically help us overcome.Capitalism is great; but it needs to keep its wits about it.    ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:46"},{"nm":"M. D. Van Norman","rs":"0","ms":"This otherwise excellent report was marred by its implication that capitalism and free markets allowed the financial crisis to occur. In fact, we have a regulatory scheme that actually encouraged fraud and black-market trade in derivatives. The problem here (as in the mortgage industry) was not too little regulation but too much bad regulation.How can we blame the free market when we\'ve never had one?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:35"},{"nm":"Ginny M","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for this great report.  Why isn\'t Brooksley in the Obama administration???","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:34"},{"nm":"Kelly Balfour","rs":"0","ms":"The first responsiblity is to call things by the right name.  The villan in The Warning is the political power STRUCTURE: the Federal Government and the Federal Reserve System (symbiotic institutions). Disinformation was evident when, rather than tracing the problem back to its ultimate source, the program traced it only until it got someone to demonize. Scapegoats become what Frederic Bastiat called &quot;what is seen,&quot; while the real cause remains &quot;what is unseen&quot;(credit to www.mises.org).  \'Free Markets\' don\'t exist, and cannot exist, when monopoly privileges of the banking cartel exists, granted by government to sustain & grow government power over its citizenry and its resources.  Now you see what they hath wrought.The unintended (I hope) consequences of the program\'s incomplete coverage I fear (as evidenced in your comments pages to date)allows government to play as saviors rather than as the parasites causing the problems.  What more proof is needed than the current crisis & who the govt. \'saved\'(banksters)and who the govt. left out in the cold (citizens).  No matter which personalities occupy the seats of political power, the result is the same.  Government &quot;solutions&quot; are for strenghting its power & control and the Federal Reserve Banking cartel is its means with which to do it.  If Greenspan and Levitt really want to \'redeem themselves\', they would expose this unconstitutional, corrupt system for what it is.  Born, of course, needs no redemption, as was rightly portrayed in the program.  She could go further, though, and expose it too.  Absent that, the citizenry could go to www.mises.org and educate themselves. . . we\'ve all been schooled, but not necessariy educated.  Perhaps the pain of the current crisis will finally put that responsibility back in the minds of the people, where it belongs.  Our forefathers warned us about this.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:33"},{"nm":"Teddy Phufner","rs":"0","ms":"I can only hope President Obama and Democrats in Congress will see this.  That Geitner and Summers, two architects of the crash are now Obama\'s chief economic advisors is more than ample evidence of Wall Street\'s stranglehold on Washington.  If and when real regulation comes, it must include a way to restrict the amount of political influence of Wall Street and to stop the revolving door of between the bankers, the Fed and the white house/treasury.   It is more than obvious why Hank Paulson and now Geitner became Secretary Treasury.  They may as well be wearing Nixon masks and bring huge bags with them every day to work.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:25"},{"nm":"Michael Caciopoli","rs":"0","ms":"The next time we allow the free enterprize system to shoot itself and the economy in both feet, it will not be a case of how do we recover, but how are we going to live a life not being a first tier economy.  The government needs to regulate the free enterprize system.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:25"},{"nm":"R. Warren","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for the excellent documentary/The Warning- one of the very best I have watched on PBS. Now we can understand the complicity of government and Wall Street. It was stunning to listen to the inferences/statements that were restated on this program; that fraud is part of the risk in a capitalistic system, that the system will clean up itself,that there should be no government regulation to interfere with preventing fraud. These demands did not come from some novice economists- but the gurus themselves; Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin/Treasurery/Larry Summers/advisor! The fact that Summers and Geithner are now in charge, assures that any reforms will be compromised and inadeuqate. WE all need to demand better from our government- and prosecute those involved in obstructionist efforts to deny the CTCF its authorized mandate!! Stripping it of its legal authority was government corruption at its best!! Brooksley Born showed amazing strength of character and tenacity to persue her authorized government authority. It\'s all the old boys doing the same old things- fixing the system for special interests. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:24"},{"nm":"Diane","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born was an honest official with the right questions and answers. I could only wish that our elected officials and their appointees could have the interests of the American people as the basis for their decisions.  Why  aren\'t we filing charges of extortion, treason, etc against Rubin, Paulson, Greenspan, Summers and their devotees?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:21"},{"nm":"Joe Turner","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks FRONTLINE for your investigative reporting on the causes of the FINANCIAL MELTDOWN. Your report confirmed that this disaster was several years in the making and could have been STOPPED at any time by the corporate news media (i.e. NBC, CBS, ABC, FOX) or the congress. It also illustrated the basics of Washington D.C.are: cronyism, revolving door between wall street and government, and corruption. Unfortunately, we live in a nation where bribes and corruption win elections, determine legislation, and determines what legislation is rubber stamped. One thing I would have liked to know is how many people in the corporate news media profited from their silence on wall street\'s reckless and fraudulent business practices (i.e. Williams, Gibson, Couric, Cramer)? Even SADDER, we live in a country where the U.S. Congress votes on laws it doesn\'t understand written by wall street\'s corrupt lobbyists. Where is Ferdinand Pecora when you need him? Where is the FBI??? When is law enforcement going to go after the BIG institutional crooks at goldman and sachs, morgan stanley,AIG, CITI, ect…???    ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:20"},{"nm":"bob","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s very sad to see our elected congressman and government officials give a blind eye to this most horrific white collar crime ever commited in this country agianst the American taxpayers and it\'s citizen. How shocking to see no official investigation or hearing conducted by congress and no body went to prison for this crime. Most of us now to work the rest of our lives to support our familes and kids. Thanks Green Allanspan. Bob","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:19"},{"nm":"Lois from AZ","rs":"0","ms":"This program was excellent. I wish everyone would watch, especially our college aged students and recent grads. Most of all; we need to have our President watch this!We need more people like Brooksley Born and Elizabeth Warren. The best way to ensure some sense of values is to see what a complete lack of it did to the entire nation; except the wealthy elite.Mr Greenspan is sorry? Well isn\'t that special! How is he suffering? He retired from a cushy government job, probably has a nice little pension and great healthcare. We are supposed to be impressed because his \'belief system\' was proven to be a joke? What 5th grader couldn\'t figure out that greed doesn\'t check itself? If that were true, why would we need laws against robbery? The market would magically discourage theft? Wow! Greenspan needs to be brought before congress in an investigation along with his 3 cohorts. The senators that were supportive of their policies also need to be forced to explain why!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:09"},{"nm":"Bob Schoolfield","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley !!  Where are you when we need you?  It\'s not a done deal in the marketplace.  We need  folks like you  that know what they are doing and to ferret out those that know the ropes, but fail in the area of integrity.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 18:00"},{"nm":"toopoortopay","rs":"0","ms":"The american citizens have been robbed of their future.  When wealth is concentrated at the very top end and the middle class is wiped out no one wins.  If companies and the regulators collude to artificially raise prices for goods and services or manipulate financial products while taxes increase to pay for the fraud that perpetrators refuse to pay the net result will be the destruction of the middle class and a substantial increase in poverty. Evidence to suggest that there is a real effort to change this fraud is lacking. The market recovery is based on the optimism and hope that the people in power realise the mistakes made and to be in the process of correcting them.  &quot;Red flags&quot; of cover-up such as Geitner and Summers as well as Rubin being involved still mean the best bet is to prepare for no retirement, no money in the bank and working until i drop dead of a broken heart.  Could the us government please show us it\'s not really that stupid and instill confidence by appointing Brooksley to a powerful position above self-serving fools like the working group. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:55"},{"nm":"Roxana Cardenas","rs":"0","ms":"I, like, Bob Ticer and John Keck who wrote their comments above, cannot believe that Obama has people like Larry Summers and Geitner advising him.  This really makes me mistrust Obama\'s true interests.  We need more people like Brooksley Born in office.   I never thought I would live to feel the same way that my parents feel about their country.   It appears that there is as much corruption and greed as their in their mother country.    ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:55"},{"nm":"Eric Wilson","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan admitting he was wrong at the end of this is pretty powerful. This just reinforces that you can\'t disagree with bank bailouts while shouting for deregulation. It\'s gonna be one or the other and preventative action is the best plan. If Greenspan can admit that unregulated markets are a bad idea, then so can you.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:51"},{"nm":"S Jabr","rs":"0","ms":"Riveting ! If only it had aired in Oct \'08... and thank you Brooksley Born for trying. Going forward, how about one simple rules :  Parties to financial contracts betting on some future index must do so with their own money or assets. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:48"},{"nm":"J. Tyson","rs":"0","ms":"Derivatives shouldn\'t be regulated - they should be outlawed.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:47"},{"nm":"jose valdez","rs":"0","ms":"look\'s that what runs this country is greed, now and then, and ultimatly greed will bring this country down.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:43"},{"nm":"nathan almond","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;The Warning&quot;, a wonderful enlightning show.  Brooksley Born is a great lady and we thank her for her efforts on behalf of openness in goverenment.  The  word &quot;derivitive&quot; has every markings of hidden something. Derivative- derived from what?  Derived from ofal or derived from gold, which is it?   To take mortgages and turn them into derivitives is somewhat like the government itself has done during my lifetime.  At one time paper currency stated that it was backed by precious metals, i.e. gold and silver.  This has all been replaced with currency that is now  backed by the \'full faith and credit of the United States\'. In other words you accept this as useable currency or else. What the derivative issuers are attempting to do is to take over the government\'s function as the sole or partner as the creator  of currency.  Now isn\'t that against the law?  Or are  these same \'rocket scientists\' some of whom are now in the offical governmental postions there for the purpose of modifying  laws regarding who shall create currency?  Soon we may be seeing pieces of paper,i.e. derivatives \'Backed by the \'full faith and credit of Goldman Sacks\'.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:40"},{"nm":"Dave Wick","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent show.  I pose a question I am pondering myself: Can any sucessful career politician of any party not be a part of the graft and greed inherent in our economic and political system? I had hopes that our new President would take steps to &quot;clean the house&quot; as he promised several times, yet I see the same names and faces controlling policy.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:38"},{"nm":"Ken Groff","rs":"0","ms":"I am one that also believes that this program should be seen by everyone.  We need more individuals like Brooksley Born and less people like Greenspan.  Greenspan and his associates apparently did not pay any attention to the previous history of how our country got into the depression of 1929.  After viewing this program I personally do not have any confidence in the banking industry of our country. Based on the content of the program it seems to me our country could have another major banking crisis unless people that understand Derivatives and the rules needed to regulate them are put in place as soon as possible. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:37"},{"nm":"Neil","rs":"0","ms":"I thoroughly enjoyed watching the politics of the Frontline episode &quot;The Warning&quot;, but was disappointed in the over simplification of the subject matter. Especially how all OTC derivatives were lumped together at the end of the show. Like the currency derivatives of the LTCM crisis with the Credit Default Swap (CDS) derivatives of this current crisis which are very different securities and the fact that much of the current crisis has do with underlining securities namely the mortgages not just the CDS. Why was leverage not discussed, since it played a major role in both crises unlike the lack of transparency which playes a much smaller role in this crises since Credit Default Swap are type of unsecured insurance on mortgages and relative transparent in comparison to the currency derivatives of LTCM. Also it would have been useful to have the state of the derivative market at the time since &quot;futures&quot; are derivative, that Born regulated and why they were regulated. While I understand that to many facts can make it more difficult to make a story compelling for the viewer a show like Frontline to strive to not miss lead the public for the sake of a good storyline. I hope you can build on this story if you revisit it. It is interesting how a supposed agent of change like Obama is seemingly compelled to us the same personnel as the past administrations. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:32"},{"nm":"John Kim","rs":"0","ms":"As a graduate student in Economics (somewhat 10 years ago), my views of Laiz e Faire were deeply uprooted!  The markets do not in themselves regulate corruption.  I\'m no genius but common sense dictates that corruption begets corrumption and that absolute corruption corrupts absolutely.  We need freedom in our lives but also within structure.  I was dismayed, frustrated and appalled by the nonchalant attitudes of the Fed.  Thanks for the enlightment of the Fed and Frontline.  The greatest show ever!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:31"},{"nm":"terence","rs":"0","ms":"Was part of O\'bama getting into the White House the stipulation that he couldn\'t pick who he wanted as his financial advisers, he had to take who Wall St. forced on him?  How Faustian the scenario.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:26"},{"nm":"knoxann","rs":"0","ms":"Even with regulation companies and people commit fraud.  Without regulation it\'s a given.  Great program as always.  The questions remains, why did all this happen in a black box?  We can guess and not only do we need regulation, the lobbyists need to get out of of DC as this is where it all begins.  I hope Obama gets tougher.  We Need Change!!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:20"},{"nm":"A.G. Yeager","rs":"0","ms":"Doing the right thing isn\'t always popular.  Doing the right thing when money and power are involved is even harder still.  I appreciate someone like Ms. Born who had the courage and integrity to stand alone, against tremendous pressure, and ask hard, smart questions.  Those questions should have been asked by the people we elected to serve our best interests, but they weren\'t.  When did money become more important than personal integrity in this country?  Something is very wrong with the way our political system is working.  It needs to be fixed.  I wonder if Mr. Obama will show the same courage and common sense that Ms. Born exemplified in addressing these issues?  The American people are waiting for results, not spin, Mr. President.  Please don\'t let us down. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 17:17"},{"nm":"Marcus Moore","rs":"0","ms":"WOW!!! I cannot believe how much we as a country, have NOT learned!!! Just amazing! ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:59"},{"nm":"Dana","rs":"0","ms":"My, my how far we wonder from the facts with all these opinions.  True enough, greed is the culprit, however, wealth is also master and the Congress has much less than the power brokers within the baking system and stock market.  Everyone wants to blame the government, congress or anything that is not the problem.  The problem seems to be our ignorance and tolerance of a problem long coming.  We, as American\'s of course always want &quot;instant gratification,&quot; or in this case resolution and back to a life of ease.  The blame certainly does not belong to the current control in Congress or the current President.  Life is never as simple as we think. We will never be able to take care of such a complex financial system without educating ourselves and by asking the right questions.  Americans are intolerant of questions.  The status quo seems much more comfortable, especially if the money seems to be flowing magically into their hands.  This program was a rare experience in America today.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:56"},{"nm":"Penney Morse","rs":"0","ms":"President Obama, are you watching Frontline?  Why are Timothy Geitner and Larry Summers still a part of your administration?  When are you going to replace them with economists like Brooksldy Born or Joseph Stiglitz?  We elected you for change we could count on, not more of the same Wall Street bankers.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:53"},{"nm":"t.b.","rs":"0","ms":"Ayn Rand and her economic libertarian ilk so very much want the separation of government and economics.  But what they don\'t say is that they want to use the government\'s money, (Treasury, taxes) in their schemes and for their bailouts.  Its nice to say let us play in our own sand box with no rules.  Its not nice to use the public\'s sand.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:53"},{"nm":"TDE","rs":"0","ms":"Now lets see hmmm  in the aftermath...  1) Those who have retired and seem to no longer have self interest involved, Alan Greenspan and Arthur Levitt have now acknowledged how accurate Brookley Born was and the mistakes they made !!! That is a statement in itself2) Those that are still in government ( Larry Summers and Gary Gensler) or David Rubin who went to City Bank ( and got the billion dollar bailout and million dollar bonus\'s) still deny that corruption could take place with no regulations on deriviatives, and are taking no actions. History has been clearly documented here via this live soap opera.  It becomes obvious that they are either on the take, or are blind pigs waiting to fly. I dont believe flying pigs !!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:51"},{"nm":"L\'auteur calme","rs":"0","ms":"The PBS\'s FRONTLINE: &quot;The Warning&quot; documentary makes a broader point about the totally indefensible behavior by Wall Street intelligentsia and in particular Greenspan, Summers, and Geitner.  This elite group knew exactly why the derivatives market should not be regulated, and the dangers of the excessive use of credit in the financial system. Thus, the central questions are:1.)  Why did they let it happen?2.)  Why were they so callous about the impending global effects on everyday people?3.)  Why does the world, including the American tax payer, whose left with bill time     and time again tolerate such egregious behavior from bankers?4.)  How could U.S. politicians allow this to happen when their duty is to govern?Some people believe that Wall Street is a huge ponzi scheme and people should carefully begin to withdraw 401 K savings and diversify from monetary assets into real assets.  It\'s quite clear that the U.S. economy depends on consumption, and that bankers, includingthe Fed (i.e, there\'s nothing Federal about the Fed.  It\'s a private bank!) want to perpetuate the debt burden of ordinary citizens. To some degree it\'s refreshing to see that the economic weight of countries have shifted to China and India, but it\'s also sad for the U.S. and its tax payers who continue to be exploited by the greed and manipulation of investment bankers on Wall Street! ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:40"},{"nm":"John M","rs":"0","ms":"If you ever wondered who was really running the country, that 5 to 1 lobbyist ratio should be a hint.  We have the best system money can buy.  Naturally these puppet masters would not want their derivitive positions disclosed....it would show just how well undercapitalized they are.  Uhh, I take that back...they are well capitalized...they have the American taxpayor. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:39"},{"nm":"mark alexander","rs":"0","ms":"the issue was not regulation or derivative\'s contracts. the underlying root of the problem was the glimpse offered in your program comments about multiple repledging of limited collateral.  when enron the 7th biggest company couldn\'t get a loan from any bank that said that US bankers and banking laws suppressed eligible collateral for political purposes.  who runs those banks?  people that self dealt.  they pledged the same limited amounts of US govt bonds back and forth 1000 times until someone was left holding the &quot;old maid&quot;.until we abandon our &quot;gold standard religion&quot; and accept all collateral with appropriate haircuts (discounts) and honor our obligation to print enought money to actually cover the black economy.... vice, tax evasion, war debts and yes the invisible 800 lb guerilla in the room and national obligation to match liquidty to  GDP......then we will not disassociate politics from economics.this is why emerging markets never emerge and why the credit rating process and closed banking system are a sham.when JP Morgan Chase was allowed to steal from their clients in order to pay off their $250mm ENRON legal bill (they designed the partnerships) they went from double and triple pledging politcally allowed collateral to the reigning US Patriot Act abuses of &quot;KYC&quot; in the aftermath of 9/11 as the best means to obviate funding against clean collateral......... for political purposes.  open access to capital is &quot;change we can believe in&quot; the amount of loans over $5mm that are not made to existing bank customers are virtually non-existent.the whole tea-party movement is a sham to keep liquidity suppressed so that the status quo is preserved.  change only really results when all collateral is conduited to the fed window for liquidity which is injected into the banks to the customers for GDP growth.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:37"},{"nm":"John R MacMillan","rs":"0","ms":"This story is an important one. Everyone in America should watch it. The special interest groups are running this country. ref: &quot;The Death of Democracy&quot;. We are more vulnerable than 1999. Will we heed Born\'s 2nd warning?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:32"},{"nm":"Lawrence Domkowski","rs":"0","ms":"If only we all could pick and choose the consequences of are actions.  We do not live in a bubble and cannot hold our actions as clear and separate from the rest of the world.  The individuals responsible for the economic turmoil we now face should have known better from the beginning.  If they didn\'t they are ignorant and arrogant, if they did they are criminal and should be held accountable. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:26"},{"nm":"James Woolley","rs":"0","ms":"The Four Equestriennes of the Apocalypse: Catherine Austin Fitts, Brooksley Born, Nomi Prins and Pam Martens (with honorary mention to Prof. Elizabeth Warren).Thanks for an outstanding show and long overdue tribute to the brilliantly honest Madam Brooksley Born.And please, to everyone who believes America to be &quot;the richest country on earth&quot; - get a clue -- the majority of American corporations are today majority foreign-owned.  The Treasury technically went bankrupt in 2004, with the collapse of the banking system in 2007.  That is pretty much generally accepted by anyone paying attention and who isn\'t a complete illiterate!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:26"},{"nm":"Bill Beaudin","rs":"0","ms":"Bravo for this expose, and Bravo to Ms. Born for standing up for all of us! I was struck by the des\cription of the derivitive industry as &quot;dark&quot;, and wonder(since so little is known about it), whether we should just assume that &quot;taxes have been paid&quot; on all of those profits? And, should we now expect that Tim Geithner (knowing of his connection to the players involved) would look at this issue, and take appropriate actions as Sec\'y of the Treasury & in his role with the IRS?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:22"},{"nm":"Jeff Bradie","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent report. After 1 hour of viewing &quot; The Warning &quot;, I now understand much more with respect to the real reason for the collapse of the financial market a year ago. The sad realization still remains that this problem won\'t be corrected anytime soon - mainly due to the systemic problem which will always exist. That is the sickening greed on the part of the people that head the financial institutions. J. Bradie   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:21"},{"nm":"dick Chinery","rs":"0","ms":"Having viewed Frontline for many years, It is without a doubt the best news reporting on TV. This report was outstanding and enlighting. Mrs Born should recieve the Medal Of Honor for her intellectual insight and service to the American people. Obama who I supported should be ashamed for putting the same group of people back in power, based on what I learned from your program I shall let Him know how I and others feel about this situation. Kudos to Frontline and Mrs Born. Keep it up!!!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:16"},{"nm":"Benita Loperena","rs":"0","ms":"This report is very scarry.  How could those men sleep at night?  Why are they still in government.  Why the media miss it?  Ms. Borns is a hero.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:13"},{"nm":"Michael Sullivan","rs":"0","ms":"Being an unsophiscated investor, I will have to watch this program several times to fully understand its subject. I agree with previous posters that Brooksley Born is a hero. Unfortunately, I still don\'t understand what a derivative is, and how investing in them is different than going to Las Vegas. Perhaps someone this thread can explain that conundrum in layman\'s terms.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:11"},{"nm":"Cranky","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline for telling the truth about Wall Street.  Now we know why our pension funds took a hit in the 90\'s; Wall Street had to spend a trillion to bail out some hedge fund and passed the cost onto us.  Now whenever Wall Street\'s scams fall apart they just get a bailout by raiding our pensions and our taxes, but no matter what happens Wall Street never pays.  Employees need to ignorne fund managers who swear that risk means more profits on your pension.  Obviously to Wall Sreet &quot;risk&quot; means &quot;give me your money and if I lose it then that\'s your risk, baby.&quot;  And Greenspan was a follower of Ayn Rand, is he crazy?  Between Reagan\'s pychics and Greenspan\'s loony authors it\'s a miracle we\'re not all paupers.  I\'m nauseated to see that Geitner the Acolyte (who is his muse, Danielle Steel?) is still in power.  That is just sick.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:11"},{"nm":"GR","rs":"0","ms":"Ferrell, read this &quot;regulation legislation&quot; carefully and you will see that it was simply more deregulation.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:08"},{"nm":"GR","rs":"0","ms":"This was a brilliant documentary, but I find it bizarre that Frontline makes no mention of Senator Phil Gramm\'s central role in deregulation with the Commodity Futures Modernization Act and Gramm Leach Bliley Act, as well as the 12 years of Republican dominance in Congress that allowed for this deadly deregulation frenzy.  Otherwise, a riveting and profoundly disturbing and well made doc.  Thank you!  Brooksley Born for Treasury Secretary!  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:06"},{"nm":"sgt_doom","rs":"0","ms":"The credit derivatives markets (over 3,000 categories presently) such as CDOs, CFOs, CLOs, CMOs, CBOs, synthetic CDOs, ETNs, CPDOs, all forms of CDSes, and so on and so on, is based upon securitization -- the transforming of debt into securities (and various other financial instruments).  It is a combo Ponzi-tontine scam, previously occurred in a similar fashion some years prior to the Great Depression, when certificates were sold and traded based upon pools of mortgages, etc. Stopped with the onset of that depression.It has not only continued, with no stoppage whatsoever (ignore any claimly falsely that such leveraging has ceased) but they are forever extending it with cap-and-trade legislation (carbon derivatives, carbon offset securitizations, all controlled by climate exchanges owned by Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, Morgan Stanley, et al., as well as owning the clearinghouses which will &quot;oversee&quot; them).Look for further securitizations involving this so-called &quot;public option&quot; which will utilize &quot;medical exchanges&quot; involving mortality bonds, extreme mortality bonds and healthcare receivables.The greedheads never give up -- which is why Rubin, Greenspan, Summers and the rest of those super-criminals should be in jail!  Greenspan left the Fed to make a fortune shorting the subprime mortgage market at the Paulson hedge fund.Supplemental and required reading:  Matt Taibbi\'s outstanding recent article in the Rolling Stone (&quot;Wall Street Swindle&quot;) and Nomi Prins\' &quot;It Takes a Pillage&quot;.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:06"},{"nm":"mike gibson","rs":"0","ms":"Great Expose/ Great Timing..... People BEWARE: the same people who blocked the regulations that wouldhave much diminished the recent financial meltdown ( per Mr. Stiglitz) AKA Geitner and even more soLarry Summers, are now on the Obama team of Change.   &quot;Warning&quot; shows Greenspan apologizing to Congress and Levitt to Frontline. But this does not undo the carnage to our economy they caused.Did Congress learn their lesson?....NO and Ms. Born\'s warnings go unheeded again. For the politicos outthere:  This &quot;asleep at the regulatory switch&quot; starts under Clinton... continued under Bush and is now inthe hands of the same &quot;wolves&quot; who were on guard in the 1990s.  This has nothing to do with Republican vsDemocrat.   It has to do with corruption in Congress, lobbyists and incompetent, power hungry regulators AKA Greenspan, Levitt and Rubin all assisted by Larry Summers. Great job Frontline.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:02"},{"nm":"Marion K Teisan","rs":"0","ms":"How can Obama keep or even put Rubin, Summers and Geithner in his cabinet???  He should replace them with Brooksley Born and two others who are not in wallstreets pockets.  Please Mr. Obama shack off the garbage these men bring to the whitehouse and let them go back to doing what they know best, lineing their pockets with the public money on wallstreet. They are a cancer to our government... Let\'s go back to regulation. Screw the marketplace.  Greed is all the maketplace brings us...","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 16:00"},{"nm":"I.B. Feelgood","rs":"0","ms":"At this point, only the extremely naive could believe that all this financial distruction was anything other than a planned hit on the American working class.  It is, in fact, the largest theft in the history of mankind.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:52"},{"nm":"william k scott","rs":"0","ms":"We need real americans to step up and use the knowledge that is givin to them and bring this world into the future, before its to late. miss Born has a lot more to offer on this matter and shuold step up and take her rightfull place in the affairs of man. Teach the world! peace!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:46"},{"nm":"George Conway","rs":"0","ms":"Isn\'t it something the American people didn\'t see Brooksley Born testifying, but we seen Alan Greenspan,and his friends testifying. Are the special interest groups also controlling the media of this country. I now beleive in term limits for are Representives.the special interest groups and lobiest are taking control of this country","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:45"},{"nm":"Larry Gadbois","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline, for bringing this excellent program. The derivative problem is just a small part of the financial problems in the nation\'s banking, stock markets, and commodities markets. The financial lobby has captured all our regulatory agencies. Congress has not exercised their responsibilities for oversight either as the voice of the people has been ignored. We have daily selling of derivatives, &quot;synthetic&quot; securities created by Market Makers, selling of commodities that don\'t exist, and thirty-fold or greater risky leveraging of capital. The Congress has allowed foreign oil trading which bypasses the control of the CFTC and is largely unregulated. The SEC and FINRA have turned their heads when it comes to illegal stock market manipulations, naked shorting of stock, and made it easier for &quot;bear runs&quot; by dropping the uptick law. Stock delivery fails occur daily, and Reg Sho was enacted to &quot;grandfather&quot; or forgive delivery fails prior to it\'s enactment. Lending agencies including banks, credit card companies, pay-day loan companies, mortgage loans companies have willingly approved loans that could not be paid back by borrowers. And trillions of dollars of savings that belong to the working class of the nation have been stolen or lost through market manipulations, bankruptcies in which the companies were saved but the common stock holder is wiped out, and the spending of taxpayer money to bail out the millionaires and billionaires that caused the crashes. We need a good house cleaning, and it should start with Congress.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:44"},{"nm":"Dennis Eich","rs":"0","ms":"I would like to know if the Fed, the Federal Government through the Treasury deal in derviatives, do they have right to buy and sell in markets,like currency markets, gold markets, stock index markets? Where were the regulators as example,  in  the  Madoff scam!  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:40"},{"nm":"Susan B","rs":"0","ms":"After watching Frontline\'s The Warning, I was absolutely shell shocked at the fact that Washington hasn\'t even started to regulate the derivatives market.  Financial institutions unchecked have lost Trillions of dollars with their greed and then had the gall to run to Washington for tax dollars to bail them out!  These same institutions most likely are STILL engaging in the same exact tactics!!  Until regulations are put in place to reign in large financial institutions AND term limits are instituted for Congress and the Senate, I\'ve just about lost all hope of getting our country back on track.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:40"},{"nm":"Doug Heffley","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born may have been the only person in Washington D.C. speaking up, but history (previous crashes) told us the whole story.  When polititians start dismantling laws and regulations it\'s not because they are looking out for the general public.  They are servicing special interests.  The market may have CRASHED & banks & Insurance companies may have failed, but the insiders made BILLIONS & the SUCKERS got stuck with the tab!  Follow the money, who got rich off this debacle?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:39"},{"nm":"Ralph Doering","rs":"0","ms":"There is no doubt that there should be transparency in the derivatives and CDS markets. However, these financial instruments did not cause the problem - they exacerbated and intensified the crisis. This crisis was sparked on November 15, 2007, with the commencement of FASB 157. This caused big financial institutions extreme financial distress that tripped the derivatives and CDS blow-up. Look at the chart of the DOW - November 2007 to March 2009 60% slope to the downside. March 2009 to the present, the precise time-frame where FASB 157 standards were loosened, the DOW chart shows a 45% slope to the upside. Coincidence? Maybe...but, I think not. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:37"},{"nm":"Richard Dye","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent program.  Unfortunately we probably won\'t get the financial regulation that is needed.  Already, the financial gurus are warning us that financial markets will relocate offshore if regulations are too severe.  As was stated in the program, there are five lobbyists for every Congressman.  Good luck America!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:35"},{"nm":"Clifford Ichiyasu","rs":"0","ms":"Fraud by definition, particularly when the intent is to deprive other(s) of some value either obvious or obscure, is not conducive to an orderly and stable society.  Populations are not always equipped to either recognize or understand complex fraudulent conduct or activities. Regulatory and enforcement elements of government, in fraud prevention activities, must not be discouraged either through ignorance or outright corruption of associates or superiors. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:35"},{"nm":"C.Thompson","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline is on after my bedtime - I fell asleep in my chair about 15 minutes into the program.  What I did see makes me want to see the rest of the program.  That\'s what I\'m doing now. I\'ve learned the hard way that if I don\'t understand an investment, I shouldn\'t invest.  It would appear that most of the companies who invested in dervatives, CMOs - did not really understand the nature of the beasts.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:32"},{"nm":"Helen Miller","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you PBS and Frontline for The Warning. I wish you would air it again...soon.It is so obvious who the villians are and who the heroine is.It should be com-pulsory viewing for every member of Congress.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:30"},{"nm":"The Devil Is a Lie","rs":"0","ms":"Anything involving telling of the Truth in Corporate America or in Government will get a person either (1) De-moted  (2) Transferred to another location or Dept.  (3) Silenced and/or  (4)FIRED!.    They do not like the truth or anything that reveals their utter incompentance.   What do these men have to say about her \'Warnings\' now?   I bet these men are conducting themselves along these lines:  (1) Exclaim who could have seen this coming (2) Proclaim their involvement had nothing to do with what ultimately happened and/or (3) Speak nothing of the issue and continue on the Arrogance as if they never pushed for it.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:27"},{"nm":"Sheryl","rs":"0","ms":"Time to get a helmet and get prepared. No matter what you feel about what has happened so far, our dear President is only adding to the problem by all the bail outs and so called programs to &quot;help&quot;? people get back to work. Get out of debt and get prepared is the mantra we\'ve been hearing from my church leaders for years. I guess it isn\'t politically correct to tie smart living practices with religion, but there are those out there who saw this coming. As long as we continue to expect government to bail us out, we will continue to have messes such as we see in the country. If regulation will help protect those who\'s hard earned money is on the line, so be it, but it is never a good idea to put all your eggs in one basket.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:27"},{"nm":"Sarah","rs":"0","ms":"Great program; please continue educating and informing American people. I wished the new adminstration would get ride of Giethner and Summers and bring back Brooksley Born to fix the problems, which still we are facing. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:25"},{"nm":"Joseph A. Giordano, Stanford Law","rs":"0","ms":"Congratulations PBS and Producer Michael Kirk. &quot;The Warning&quot; is a superb piece of public education. The reputations of Messers, Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers will justifiably never recover. Let\'s hope that Ms Born will now be listened to in pointing out that the niagara of Greenspan &quot;easy money&quot; pandered to and facilitated  the derivative gamblers\' enormous greed. No future Fed Chairman will disingenuously ever  dare claim not to  be be able recognize a &quot;bubble&quot;. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:15"},{"nm":"John Maas","rs":"0","ms":"It is clear that the Derivatives industry is not to be trusted to conduct itself in a manner that will benefit the US and world economy. Congress should support the people by clearly regulating, enforcing disclosure and taxing transactions. The alternative is to outlaw the industry if it is to remain in a black box and criminalizing all such operations. The  Congress has an obligation to the people first and to business and industry to ensure proper behavior that assists the people to judge whether their resources are to be invested in a manner the people can see and reasonably understand. It needs to be done as soon as possible. Clearly MS. BORN is a heroine of the people and a true supporter of reason and ethical behavior.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:14"},{"nm":"J. Scott","rs":"0","ms":"With the meltdown of the financial markets (ie the Great Recession), I would like to see people who sounded the warning bells like Brooksley Born honored for taking a stand for truly serving the American people versus the status quo in Washington.  Let\'s face it, the CFTC in the first place was an obscure agency to oversee derivatives and the power of Wall St. but she did not let this stand in her way in presenting her insights and knowledge of the abyss.Is now the time to create a Brooksley Born honor/medal to honor such people?  Considering the unprecedented losses to employment, losses of 401k values and continued use of derivatives, we implement change and programs that benefit the average American taxpayer.  Unfortunately, with Obama\'s current financial staff (Geithner, Summers, etc.), it appears unlikely.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:07"},{"nm":"Jim Bybee","rs":"0","ms":"This was a superb piece. It is also long overdue, but now that a very clear picture of what happened to us is available, is the person who has the power going to do something about it? I hope that the President and his senior staff have an understanding as a clear is the one presented by FrontLine last night. If they do not realize what is wrong now, then they immediately become part of the problem. It would not be unreasonable to file criminal charges against those powerful people who deliberately and brazenly took Brooksley Born out of action. Rubin, Greenspan, Summers, Levitt, and the leaders of the Congress that immediately jumped on the bandwagon. The President needs to tell us what he is going to do to revive the investigative spirit of Ms. Born, now. We cannot accept the financial criminality that seems to pervade our society and government.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:03"},{"nm":"Donna Chavez","rs":"0","ms":"The looming threat of attempting to regulate the financial industry is added incentive to stall on health insurance reform. Once health insurance reform is history -- one way or another -- people will begin to expect to see some financial regulation reform and that, most likely, is not going to happen. No one in either party has the integrity to actually make a difference.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 15:00"},{"nm":"Anton","rs":"0","ms":"So in the end one of the more pressing questions is Why are &quot; they &quot; nt held responsible?? Whose interest is it not to let \' them \' account for what they did to us, the common man? ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:59"},{"nm":"Larry Smith","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you, Frontline and &quot;Thank you, Brooksley Born!&quot;. Government is not a business.  Government should regulate the business sector. The question I am left with is why would Greenspan, Sommers and Geithner not want to place this financial sector under the same regulatory reporting requirements as other financial institutions?  Thank you for a wonderfully insightful piece on what goes on it the dark halls of our governmental insitutions.  Access to our elected officals if not paved with lobbyist\'s self intentions, is very strongly suggested. My greatest concern is that we are now in a boom-bust cycle where fortunes are made on Wall St. and paid for by those of us on Main St.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:56"},{"nm":"C. Marcus Parr","rs":"0","ms":"We’ve been infantilized, lobotomized, and turned into consumerist chattel that live on credit, buying things we don’t need with money we don’t have. We no longer have an admired workforce of educated and talented workers. We used to be the envy of the world. America had machinists and mechanics and builders and engineers, a skilled workforce. This is no longer the case. Our economy has been gutted of factories and steel mills. We make very little in this country today. Seventy percent of our economy is consumer based. With a five percent manufacturing base, that leaves 25% to the financial sector, which capsized the economy through toxic derivatives and securitization of “vapor assets.” The &quot;Wall Street Wizards&quot; sold insurance as a hedge against the toxic assets going south. Irrational exuberance is a phrase that does not adequately define the extreme greed and criminal behavior that destroyed our economy. But turn out the lights, the party’s over. At this point, there’s nothing you can do, nothing anyone can do. No stimulus package or Treasury or Federal Bank policy is going to save us. Obama will do all that he can, but in the end, the American economy is in for ten years of economic wilderness. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:46"},{"nm":"Leonard H. Beck","rs":"0","ms":"Friends, Please thank Brooksley Born for her remarkable contribution.  The challenge is not legislation, but enforcement.  How?,  www.prisonpage.netLen","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:45"},{"nm":"John L Graham","rs":"0","ms":"I wish that the whole nation would see this story.  For many years I have been astonished that the most extreme claims that markets self-regulate are ever taken seriously.  Yes, regulation that is excessive or poorly conceived can be counterproductive, but just about anything in excess is toxic. Why have rules for anything? We don’t make payment of taxes or contracts voluntary.  We don’t deregulate school zones, or even the rules of professional sports.  Why would the financial sector be so different?  It is disheartening that Brooksley Born is a revealed as a true and admirable public servant of exactly the kind we so desperately need, yet even under Obama the perpetrators of negligence are still running the show.  Those who unleashed financial chaos across the nation are treated by the government as if royalty, while millions suffer.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:45"},{"nm":"Brett Donald","rs":"0","ms":"Kudos to Frontline for presenting a complicated issue in a compelling way. However, the piece gave the misleading impression that OTC derivatives were the primary cause of the current crisis, which is untrue. This crisis was caused chiefly by shoddy mortgage underwriting, which was stoked by the explosion in mortgage securitizations. Frontline\'s portrayal of Greenspan is particularly misleading in this regard, as his recriminations clearly pertain to the mortgage mkt, not OTC derivatives, which the Fed doesn\'t even have authority to regulate. The battle over OTC derivatives is interesting in its own right, but Frontline missed that boat by not presenting the substantive argument against regulation of OTC derivatives and instead largely presented a battle of personalities. If Frontline were intent on connecting derivatives to the current crisis, it should have explained that they were only a secondary factor.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:44"},{"nm":"Vic Brown","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks PBS for your excellent reporting on Frontline &quot;Warning&quot;. I am not surprise that Financial institution want no regulations to control their excess and greed. It is too bad that we still have bad actors in Obama\'s administration.  All large financial institution have a very good understanding of what correct value is of any company they follow and they manipulate them every day. They act like a wholesalers by buying low and then manipulate the market to push value higher so they can sell if for profit to retail investors. Also they make significant money on shorting stocks (selling stocks that they don\'t own and buy it later when price of a stock is lower). Shorting stocks should be banned. I know market participants will tell us that short sellers provide liquidity and price spread is much tighter due to short selling but if there was no profit motive for Wall street to make money by shorting stock than it would ensure the stocks are priced fairly. Financial instruments are only products where it is ok to profit by buying or short selling. Try going to retail store and telling owner that you want to short sell one of his/her product and he/she would give you money back that you never paid and than going back and buying the same product at a later date for less money.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:44"},{"nm":"William Brondell","rs":"0","ms":"Just a short note to suggest that Obama ought to listen very carefully to Paul Volker, one of his &quot;economic advisers&quot;.  He is perhaps the only one who is not in the pocket of Wall Street and Investment Bankers. (Those last two words should not go together---it was that unholy alliance between banks and investing that caused our problems). ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:37"},{"nm":"Charles Perez","rs":"0","ms":"I compare Alan Greenspan with John Law and Mississippi bubble, the first panzer scheme and crash of France in 1721 for the Market,self regulating the definition of fraud.I hope with not come to the France Revolution but we the peasants need to vote, email the congress.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:37"},{"nm":"tristero","rs":"0","ms":"i give this program a BBBB rating.BBBB = Bring Back Brooksley Bornwell done ladies & gentlemen.  and thank you Mr. Levitt for showing us all how true gentlemen can accept humility while maintaining dignity.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:36"},{"nm":"Michael M.","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline does it again, a great performance, helps to remind us all, that power is arrogance, absolute power is corrupt....","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:32"},{"nm":"Asif","rs":"0","ms":"This is a fantastic expose of inner workings of Mafia Greenspan, Rubin, Summers, Levitt, Geithner et al. whose policies have brought upon American people so much misery. It is simply beyond me how Obama continues to employ Summers and Geithner and believe they will get us out of this mess.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:30"},{"nm":"Sandy","rs":"0","ms":"We\'ll know that we can trust the government when Brooksley Born has a high-ranking financial position in it and we start seeing her opinions and decisions acted upon.  Until then, my power comes in the voting booth","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:29"},{"nm":"Babyboomerwatcher","rs":"0","ms":"Superb reporting! I was totally immersed in the program! I cannot believe that those individuals in power could not see the writing on the wall for themselves. It took a complete meltdown of the economy before those &quot;in the know&quot; would recognize and admit to what Ms. Born already knew.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:26"},{"nm":"mac wallace","rs":"0","ms":"Just a comment on the ayn rand bashing. Under her philosophy, the government would not have been backing fannie mae and freddie mac. It would not have the fed setting arbitrary interest rates; and it definetly would not have created the community reinvestment act, or arbitrarily lowered loan standards to meet political goals. Last, and surely not least, the government would not be stepping in with taxpayer money to clean up the mess. For a free market to work, it must be allowed to fail. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:21"},{"nm":"Gania Trotter","rs":"0","ms":"Whoa!!!  Where is FDR when we need him?  Why not build on the success he used...WPA,CCC.NRA that put (TARP money..we used for banks)  into supporting real work amongst the American People.  I shudder as I hear China using its new growth and power as it invests in the resources of Afghanistan shile we focus on investing in military action there.  When does common sense take over in the powers of our government?. Yikes!!!  Thanks so much for helping to educate us, the Amaerican people, about a world we do not understand yet impacts our daily lives!   Gania Trotter","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:21"},{"nm":"William Neubeck","rs":"0","ms":"Too bad this compelling-to-watch program was incomplete.The seeds of ruin were planted when the Community Redevelopment Act was passed into law and fertilized during the Clinton Administration. No one has the RIGHT to own a home. No governmental body should have the right to force lenders to loan money to people who can\'t possibly repay it. Had there been no such compulsion there would have been many fewer unsound mortgages that could be bundled into extraordinarily risky securities that were peddled as something other than the snake oil they were. Yes, greed played a large part in the stock market and economic declines, but so too did the self-serving of elected representatives such as Barney Frank, just to name one, who put votes before the best interests of the American people. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:17"},{"nm":"Billy Shuffield","rs":"0","ms":"This is the kind of programing worth watching, and we need more like this to WAKE UP THE PEOPLE ! ... You hear everybody talking about how the free Market will work its way out, That Is True, Only a real true free market. When a Free Market is run by a Wizard of Oz behind the curtain working their magic and manipulations it is no longer a free market,so the market is at the mercy of the manipulators......What makes me Mad As Hell is no one cared to lend an ear to Brooksley Born to hear or see what she had to say. I think Ron Paul is amoung a few Congressman to listen to what she was saying and try\'ed to bring it out in the open.But you had the Bushes and the Clintons who were part of the NWO group and they were hell bent to bring this country down to its knee\'s one way or the other. 98% of the members of the Senate and Congress, Heads of Department are nothing less than THUG\'s..What I can\'t understand is after all that has happen, How come the Thug\'s who help this happen are not behind bars ? The Bankers , members of Washington and the list goes on and on got filthy rich and were left holding the bag.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:10"},{"nm":"Danny Clarke","rs":"0","ms":"What a terrific show, and the timing could only have been better if it had aired in January, 2009 when there was the opportunity to make the financial community accept the regulation that is so obviously needed.It was gratifying to see Greenspan humbled.  Now we need to rid ourselves of Geitner and Summers and start breaking the toxic ties between Wall Street and Pennsylvania Avenue.We need people like Simon Johnson, Brooksley Born and Shiela Bair calling the shots instead of the lackeys of Wall Street -- Summers and Geitner, especially.  Elliot Spitzer\'s appearance on CNN this morning was equally telling, as was yesterday\'s call to action by Paul Volcker and Ron Paul.I hope President Obama watches this.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:09"},{"nm":"Paul Ebreo","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent, excellent, EXCELLENT! I will forward this to all my representatives.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:08"},{"nm":"Unplugged From The Matrix...","rs":"0","ms":"People - by now it should b abundantly clear 2 u all that...1) There is no Democratic or Republican party. America is an illusory Democracy controlled completely by a ruling wealthy elite. 2) This ruling elite will never willingly relinquish or share the wealth or governance of this nation with the masses whose apathy and aversion to making the ultimate sacrifice in resistance to oppression assures them generations of indentured servants. The true measure of ones convictions is gauged by what one is prepared to fight and die for.  Until the people of this country are prepared to discard a political system which was contrived to placate, not empower them, and challenge by any and all means the plutocracy that oppresses them they will remain as they are... PERPETUAL SLAVES....                  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:07"},{"nm":"Celeste","rs":"0","ms":"oh, by the way, Lawrence Summers was &quot;given the boot&quot; by Harvard...","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:06"},{"nm":"Meredith","rs":"0","ms":"I am still thinking about this exceptional Frontline program!  I plan to send a link to all my friends and encourage others to do the same.  Every thinking American needs to view this piece.  Whether it\'s OTC Derivatives or some other mechanism &quot;du jour&quot;, the real problem is the attitude of greed, absence of ethical thinking and &quot;good ole\' boy-ism&quot; that plagues Wall Street. Had Born been a man  would  she have been taken more seriously?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:05"},{"nm":"Celeste","rs":"0","ms":"Absolutely BRILLIANT piece of reporting!  Wow, good for you for having the temerity to film this MASTERPIECE! ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:03"},{"nm":"Bob","rs":"0","ms":"I have to agree with Jason Bankston\'s comment - &quot;There is no such thing as a Democratic or Republican party! There is, in fact, the Government, aligned with special interests&quot;.  The general populace is merely a pawn in this game - a pawn that pays for all the greed, fraud and deceit with which this political/financial system is so replete.  In watching this documentary one has ask why Greenspan et al would argue so vehemently in favor of continued lack of regulation of the derivatives market?  Besides the fact that a handful of very wealthy people were getting exponentially wealthier, I can think of no other explanation.  And the pirates are still in charge of the ship!  At the end of the day it will be we citizens who have been marginalized - our homes and investments worth a fraction of what they once were - we heading toward financial and social mediocrity while this handful of powerbrokers walk away with our money.  How long before the next bailout do you suppose?  How long before the American people are handed the next bill to help pay for the Wall Street zillionaires lifestyles?     ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:03"},{"nm":"Lochan Singh","rs":"0","ms":"By far the most revealing documentary on how the most powerful politicians are letting bankers and rich investors betray the common people for their greed. I still doubt that derivatives would ever be regulated as it is the most lucrative market for the rich lobbyists.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:03"},{"nm":"Chris Payne","rs":"0","ms":"This was an incredible piece of journalism. It occurs to me that that a huge aspect of the financial system is basically enabling these people to gamble with the highest stakes imaginable. In my opinion the urge to gamble is a human flaw and a potential sickness of the mind, and I am not religious or a prude by any means. The financial system should be regulated with this idea in mind.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 14:01"},{"nm":"Susan Planchon","rs":"0","ms":"This was a POWERFUL show.  It should be shown to all poly sci and economics courses at all levels of the educational systems.  EXCELLENT example also of the &quot;good old boy&quot; network and the WALL women, even powerful women, face in the workplace.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:59"},{"nm":"Phil C","rs":"0","ms":"We wouldn\'t need regulations if we considered we didn\'t had to bail those suckers out after they plunged.We have a simpler solution and it is to go back to the Constitution with sound money: gold and silver:Article 1, section 10:  no state shall accept anything but gold and silver coins as payment for debtsThis treasury note is far from it.Please make another frontline on this awful thing called &quot;The Federal Reserve&quot;.Get your information from Ron Paul, read  &quot;End the Fed&quot;. Also another good book: &quot;The creature from Jekyll Island&quot;Getting rid of the Fed will be an amazing challenge since its shareholders (that\'s right it is private) make money on the interest on the money that gets printed!  Shareholders include Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan, etc, all those who profited from this bubble mess. No surprise they always control the white house by always having a Goldman Sachs official to be nominated as Sec. of Treasury to advice the Presidents. Will PBS have the courage to present a clear report on the nature of the Federal Reserve?  Please do!Fractional Reserve banking and the Fed are what allows those bubbles and crashes!!!!Let\'s get rid of them first. Any banks that goes into wild bets should be let to go bankrupt. No need for regulations as then events are isolated (central banking is what makes the mess generalized)","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:58"},{"nm":"Mike","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks to Borne for trying, but no cigar. Reminds me of how Power and Greed can take over with sheer force. Greenspan, and the cronies from Goldman Sachs should be barred forever in our US Financial System. I can not understand how Henry Poulson, former CEO of Goldman Sachs could be worth $700 Million just from moving money around and then, when he asked for $700 Billion from taxpayers as US Treasurer, how he came up with the figure, &quot;It is Complex&quot;. Well, it is not Complex, it is thievery. Never again, should Congress accept &quot;Complex&quot; or explanations like Greenspan\'s of &quot;If you cannot impress them with your intelligence, baffle them with your BS&quot;. But what really bothers me is Geitner and Summers, the supporters of derivatives, are now in key positions at the White House. On the other hand, if you want to figure out how to lessen the chance of being robbed, you hire the robbers as consultants. I sincerely hope this is Obama\'s strategy. $500 Trillion in Derivatives? No regulation to rein this mess in? Makes me want to move to another country, at least they have checks and balances that favor their Citizens and NOT their Financial Systems. Thanks to Borne, she tried but like the years of Clinton, where he was hounded and sued that Helen Thomas said was like &quot;treason&quot;, I am sure one person can only take so much. And where were the lawmakers, cooing to the BS from Greenspan, Poulson, Rubin and other Goldman Sachs anti-american infiltrators. We have a financial cancer within our country and Goldman Sachs heads the list. Michael Moore shared that members of the FED boards had no idea of what derivatives were but did nothing. Today, they are still doing nothing and all the signs are, another Meltdown is coming. I am putting my money in can in the back yard.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:58"},{"nm":"Lore Jones","rs":"0","ms":"Considering that the 2008 crisis occurred before Pres. Obama chose his cabinet (in fact before he was elected) how is it possible that he chose Geithner and Summers for these key positions.  Even supposing he was just too busy and ignorant of these matters to understand who he was choosing, how could Larry Summers not have maybe said to him &quot;hey there is somebody who really knows the dangers of not regulating derivatives - we should get Brooksley Born on board.&quot;  Oh that\'s right this is the same Larry Summers that said women had less innate natural ability for math and science when he was President of Harvard.   Wake up all you male posters who are tired of &quot;having your pocket picked&quot;.  Equal representation  and inclusion of women helps everyone.  We often bring a different perspective to the working group.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:55"},{"nm":"James","rs":"0","ms":"I think Mr. Greenspan is full of it. If he TRULY believed that free markets would regulate themselves, then he MUST also believe that, when those actors in the market mess up, then they should be allowed to fail.NOTHING of any use will come from this economic collapse BECAUSE the government is propping up the businesses that overexposed themselves in the derivatives market. How many of the players have gone to prison, when there\'s a general consensus that FRAUD was committed? Do we need special regulations to indict someone for fraud?In the end, the Alan Greenspans, the Tinmothy Geitners, and the Robert Rubins of this world will retain their demigod status, despite the fact that it was their direct interventions that resulted in the government not doing it\'s job as law enforcer. All the claims of &quot;genius&quot; and &quot;roch star&quot; are BOGUS. In the end the ONLY skill that they actually exhibited... was their propensity and proficiency to CON the Congress. What SHOULD happen, is they should be unceremoniously thrown in PRISON... as a &quot;warning&quot; to the next bunch of con artists who wish to steal innocent people\'s wealth!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:50"},{"nm":"Jeffrey Lucier","rs":"0","ms":"  Jason Bankston, the man with the comment at the beginning of share your thoughts said, We must unite folks under a citizens union for the rights of the people, all people.  Well there is already a coalition of members organizing called the Law and Equity Institute.org.  A coalition of members joining the institute to hire constitutioal lawyers on behalf of the American people to take the government and politicians to court to force them to obey the constitution.  75 MILLION  members will be more than enough power to hold the politicians and government to there oath of office to obey the Constitution.  Take a look at the web site Law and Equity.org  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:48"},{"nm":"Robert D.","rs":"0","ms":"God Bless people like Brooksley Born and Elizabeth Warren who place the interests of the American People first and foremost, above their own self-interest, unlike the greedy corporate execs who have shipped our jobs overseas, destroyed our pensions, and rewarded themselves in the process.  New FDR-style regulation is needed to prevent the next Great Depression/Recession for another 70+ years.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:46"},{"nm":"woodie williamson","rs":"0","ms":"Alan Greenspand and Arthur Levitt admitted their errors.   Larry Summers and Robert Rubin are not going to admit their errors and therefore should be barred from any govt job in the future.  These two should also be barred from serving in ANY capacity regarding financial markets.  I am in favor of jailing them, but most people are probably not going to consider jail for these two.  woodie williamson ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:46"},{"nm":"sandra main","rs":"0","ms":"I am a trained CPA from California, I live on the Central Coast and did alot of governmental audits.  I am in a &quot;Wall Street West&quot; enclave and learned early on, in the \'90\'s about local former wall street bond dealers/commodity pros in the hedge fund/derivative gambling arena.  My significant other at the time, a young brilliant programmer, use to stay up all night watching the markets fly against his programming of the wall street pro\'s Models.  All accounts with the hedgie were a minimum of one million to get into &quot;the game&quot;.  I didn\'t play.  Fraud is fraud.  Either you have a moral bottomline wherein &quot;antennae&quot; go up at the first whiff of understanding and you get out, or you &quot;cross the line&quot; and jump in, hands outstreched.Summers, Rubin and Greenspan knew full on the rampant existance of FRAUD.  They badgered Born because she knew the game.  All their belittling of her did was bully the timeline for the crash, it was inevitable.  Brooksley was already way late to the game, her warning was just a hiccup in the inevitable.  The fraud was created when the idea and participation in &quot;the game&quot; was created, the derivatives market.Greenspan, Summers and RUbin, and Geitner, all of them need to be NAMED AS DEFENDANTS in a class action suit across the board. THEY CO CONSPIRED THE FRAUD THAT WAS THE DERIVATIVES GAMBLING MARKET.They need to be held liable CRIMINALLY.  Until we as a people HOLD ACCOUNTABLE THE PLAYERS ON A CRIMINAL LEVELBrooksley Born is my new Heroine!!  She deserves that Nobel prize, she tried to bring peace to our economic lives a long long time ago, but unfortunately they nuked her war she had to enact first to get things done.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:45"},{"nm":"Pamela Clark","rs":"0","ms":"This was a most excellent PBS Frontline program and Brooksley Born should be reinstated at the CFTC. President Obama and his administration need to enact regulation of the OTC derivative markets. The public should call for the replacement of all presidential advisors who were part of the Working Group in the 1990s that believed so wholeheartedly in the idea of a unregulated market - including Larry Summers and Timothy Geitner. I agree with the comments of Jeff Kohut about 401K plans. We not only need regulation of the OTC derivatives, but much stronger legislation protecting 401Ks and retirement plans. We need to restore the regulatory firewalls that were enacted during the Great Depression by FDR and then allowed to wither away over the intervening decades. Executive compensation should be limited and above all there should be full and transparent accountability of the billions of dollars that the government has poured into saving the big financial institutions. That money might have been better spent helping the people of the country who are the ones suffering from the fallout of the economic collapse of 2008, instead of helping to continue huge bonus payouts for the very people that got us into this mess. If even Alan Greenspan has seen the error of his ideology, then why on earth would Obama continue to rely on individuals like Summers and Geitner to help craft regulation to prevent future catastrophe.  Call, email, or write your congressional representatives now and demand regulation and protection from Wall Street greed and arrogance and overweening confidence in free-wheeling  market forces. Such forces are inanimate and have no way to measure or protect human interest.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:43"},{"nm":"Vic Jeffers","rs":"0","ms":"Where did the money go?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:37"},{"nm":"You Fools","rs":"0","ms":"We don\'t learn from the history and all the time just trying to make a quick buck. You think their greed is bad? Yes and no because your greed is worse and the root cause of the problem. In sum American capitalism sucks, and I shout greed is bad. Period. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:31"},{"nm":"MIke Galbraith","rs":"0","ms":"I am so glad that PBS has let the cat out of the bag. Thank you Michael Kirk, thank you Brooksley Born. We the people owe you both a dept of gratitude. It\'s the only debt we seem to be able to pay back. Ms. Born, to stand all alone on capitol hill pleading your case to these arrogant, pocket stuffing, anti-American, pompous aristocrats may have seemed futile to you, but today, you have risen on a hill of redemption. The light is shining brighter for those of us who care enough to open our eyes. In my own knowledge quest for the reason of this downfall disaster, I can now close the book. This should be the top subject of every town crier and barber shop dialogue.  I agree there is no partisanship wash they spin at us, there is only the U.S. Government, Wall street, and the Banking lobbyist to blame. Don\'t blame ourselves people, don\'t hide your feelings and resentment. Tell your neighbors, speak to your Congressman (if they\'ll really listen), Stand up for each other. We just got raped by the institution, the cat is out of the bag, but he fox is still ruling the hen house. Thank you PBS, Thank you, Michael Kirk, Thank You, Ms. Brooksley Born. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:24"},{"nm":"LP","rs":"0","ms":"I don’t know how I retain ability to still be shocked.  I think Summers and Geithner should resign in disgrace for mismanaging fiduciary responsibilities in prior years.  Their disregard or willful ignorance spawned the crisis that wemust now carry on our backs.  If they remain in place, we may believe they were brought on board to keep the game going, to bury other bones they are aware of and have also done nothing about.  I\'m good and tired of the minority ruling majority with all benefits accruing to the former. Can\'t believe either that perpetrators at this level are all brainless, so evidence then points to intentional manipulation of outcomes for spurious reasons.  We will be paying for this for the rest of our lives while responsible parties are rewarded with high office ? Can they pay us back what we’ve lost?  A smart eight year old knows that’s not the way it should work.  With sectors of our economy structured to prevent as much gain as possible from reaching the general public, this will continue.  Due to near total absence of ethics in business, now seen countless times in numerous ways, rules of the game emerge:  as long as outcomes can be manipulated, and fraudulent actions hidden among insiders, it’s allowable, even preferred; moreover, it’s “smart business”  -- to bilk the public; the health care and energy industries being  prime examples. Something’s gotta give, we can’t go on like this, there has to be  accountability.  I for one am tired of being defrauded by fellowship between business and elected or appointed officials. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:24"},{"nm":"F.M.Scherer","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;The Warning&quot; was excellent.  But it missed a couple of key historical events.  In 1989, an earlier CFTC decision spearheaded by chair Wendy Gramm stated that CFTC would no longer atttempt to regulate OTC derivatives.  In 1999 a bill filed by then-Senator Phil Gramm and attached to an appropriations rider with minimal Senate debate formally dergulated OTC derivatives.  In his last autobiographical sketch for the American Economic Association\'s (1974) Membership Directory before he was elected to the Senate, Gramm said that his research was on &quot;how to get rid of government.&quot;  Get rid indeed!  The consequences include more than a trillion dollars of government bailout outlays -- $180 to AIG alone -- and stimulus expenditures.  F. M. Scherer.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:23"},{"nm":"Lee","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks for a great piece of journalism.  If after watching this program one doesn\'t get it that big money (not republicans or democrats)and big banks are in control of this and most western county\'s finances, we are dead in the water.Our founding fathers recognized the danger of a central bank and fought it off until 1913.   In light of the present financial crisis, it\'s  interesting to read what Thomas Jefferson said in 1802:  Too bad that it went unheaded by &quot;we the people.&quot;\'I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies. If the American people ever allow private banks to control the issue of their currency, first by inflation, then by deflation, the banks and corporations that will grow up around the banks will deprive the people of all property until their children wake-up homeless on the continent their fathers conquered.\'The administration cautioned this morning not to expect a return of taxper\'s money from their TARP and other bailouts.  We have met the enemy and he is us!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:22"},{"nm":"W.H. Sparboe","rs":"0","ms":"The program on Brooksley Born\'s attempts to regulate the OTC derivative market was superb!  I wish we had more public servants like her in Washington!  The clip of Alan Greenspan conceding that his long-held belief in de-regulation was wrong touched me.  Very few powerful men are willing to admit, in public, that they were mistaken!  And yet, will there be some kind of regulation or at least mandated transperancy of the OTC derivative market in the future?  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:20"},{"nm":"Victor Gray","rs":"0","ms":"Business as usual; the rich get richer and the poor get poorer.  The mention of the banking lobbys efforts to defeat the proposed regulating of the derivative market smells and looks much like the medical insurance and pharma companies efforts to defeat the current health care proposals.  The raw greed is destroying this country and further widiening the gap of the haves and the have nots.  This country is getting a more and more distinct odor of rot and decay.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:19"},{"nm":"M F Hansen","rs":"0","ms":"One of the only reasons to have hope is that we still have PBS and NPR, and that they are  capable of helping explain how badly managed our country and economy have become.  Let us be sure to defend them.  We elected a president who I still believe is committed to changing the way government works.  But HE is dependent on the \'experts\' that he has chosen to assist him, and he must work against overwhelming odds.  Even he may be trapped by the failing political system.  Let us hope that his staff, and the \'experts\' were watching Frontline.  Send them a DVD with all of these comments!    A good start for the President would be to bring Brooksley Born back into the processes of helping clean up the mess(es) ... and establishing effective regulation of financial conduct.  She proved capable of anticipating the current crisis.  She could help prevent the next \'surprise\' catastrophe.   It will be important for PBS and Frontline to continue their work,  explaining and monitoring the continued handling of the financial mess.   We badly need the same kind of focus on the \'business\' of health care, and on the health care system itself ... both incredibly opaque \'black boxes\' ... and THEIR reform.   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:19"},{"nm":"M Rubio","rs":"0","ms":"Its obvious now who the real &quot;Oracle&quot; was. That it was a woman is no surprise since women are capable of a more profound vision than men whose vision tends to be more expansive than profound. Thats why fewer funds managed by women collapsed in the crash, they don\'t take those kinds of blind risks. As a woman and former Wall Street denizen from the 80\'s (oil)I am speechless at the rewarding of failure on this level. Losses like the ones these clowns posted meant you were out on the street and everyone on the street knew your name and what you had done.It was the equivalent of an industry branding with tar and feathers.Fixing Wall Street Welfare that is easy 1. Break up the Super Banks..Repeal the repeal of Glass Steagall. and for Godssake go back to a time (the 80\'s when banks needed brokerage firms to place their trades many were my clients back then)2.take Goldman and JP Morgan and all other federally chartered institutions and tax them on windfall profits for trading. Goldman and Morgan are Federally Chartered banks now whose charter clearly states that they are supposed to lend money at a profit as a primary function(which if you can\'t profit from 0% interest you don\'t deserve the title banker) not trade in proven risky instruments to achieve profit. B of A and Citi and their ilk likewise windfall profits taxes on their trading if they are not going to be broken up which they should. 3.Derivatives must be traded on an exchange so that when these banks end the trading day they know where they stand and the board of governors can guage systemic risk to their market. The board of governors of each exchange primary objective is the preservation of their markets; an exchange showing each house on what side of the market makes position limits easier to see and enforce. 4.Listen to Stiglitz and Volcker..and yes Greenspan now .they are thinking clearly. Everything functioned in a  very orderly fashion under Volcker. He made some ruthless decisions with interest rates BUT there was a broad vision and a humanist in there.5.TERM LIMITS FOR FED CHAIRMAN (max 2 four year terms) ... The longer you are in a position the more tunneled the vision. If the President has a term limitation so should this position. It is the second most powerful position in the world and should not constitute a lifetime appointment. Greenspan took us from bubble to bubble. Why? He was too old for the job and out of tricks he was asleep at the interest rate wheel and believed his own hype; when he woke up he saw the bus careening over the cliff and decided to leave the carnage for someone else.       6 The ratings agencies must be addressed and not with the toothless bill we just saw. Take their Federal Approvals away and open up the field to more than just four. CREATE COMPETITION NO ONE DIES FROM IT.  7. Accounting practices that have and continue to force good jobs offshore for the sake of a buck need to be looked at as well as fantasy asset valuation accounting which does not allow an investor or trader to make a decision based on a company\'s true worth.   AND FINALLY WE THE PEOPLE (ITS OUR GOVERNMENT AFTER ALL) must show our outrage on two fronts and threaten these lawmakers with their seats. Write letters to Congress and the Senate they either stand with the Government by, of and for the PEOPLE or they are out. Trust me they will vote our way if their re-election is threatened no matter how much money they get from a lobbyist. Also threaten these greedy companys and their boards of directors that it is un American to hire a CEO who is strictly profits motivated at the cost of human flesh the company\'s and employees\'s existance overall. Divest yourself of those stocks and stop buying their products. We must show proper outrage and at some point make the decision to go to protest publicly (Like the French do)Oligarchs, Politicians and Government become terrified when they see THE PEOPLE exercise their First Ammendment Right to Free Assembley it is the very first thing tyrants outlaw.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 13:14"},{"nm":"Marina Pratt","rs":"0","ms":"From the Boston Globe in January 2005:  &quot;CAMBRIDGE -- The president of Harvard University, Lawrence H. Summers, sparked an uproar at an academic conference Friday when he said that innate differences between men and women might be one reason fewer women succeed in science and math careers.... Summers said that women do not have the same \'innate ability\' or \'natural ability\' as men in some fields.... Asked about this, Summers said, \'It\'s possible I made some reference to innate differences. . . I did say that you have to be careful in attributing things to socialization. . . That\'s what we would prefer to believe, but these are things that need to be studied.\'&quot;  Fascinating.  Could there be a difference in &quot;innate ability&quot; when it comes to economics?  No, I can\'t accept it.  My gut tells me that Alan, Bob, and Larry screwed up the economy because of how they were socialized, not because they were of a different gender than Brooksley ...","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:31"},{"nm":"Fred D. Borrelli Jr.","rs":"0","ms":"I am 85 years old and in my entire life I have never seen such corruption as this government. What has happened to &quot;REAL AMERICANS&quot;? No guts! This should never had happen except for &quot;GREED&quot;, make them pay now and impeach this socialist president that knows nothing about being &quot;AMERICA&quot;. He is not from the &quot;hood&quot; and doesn\'t deserve to be in this Hallowed White House. Frontline keep up the good work! Freddie B. Oct. 21, 2009","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:31"},{"nm":"Mary Ann","rs":"0","ms":"Superb journalism.  Born\'s ominous prediction at the end that banking crises will continue will occur periodically due to lack of regulation and Stiglitz\'s comments that we have passed the critical moment when Congress will pass regulations for the  derivatives\' market were particularly chilling.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:23"},{"nm":"John Keck","rs":"0","ms":"My questions is why is Larry Summers an advisor to President Obama?  I am a huge supporter of the President but this really makes me angry.  Summers fought regulation of the OTC derivatives and our economy is trashed as a result.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:19"},{"nm":"PaulMathew","rs":"0","ms":"Brilliant work.  At long last, the public can understand the extent to which the &quot;elite&quot; money managers and politicians continue to personally lever Ayn Rand\'s extreme and unworkable personal ideology using the sophistry of &quot;the Free Market.&quot;   Paul Mathew","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:19"},{"nm":"jen poyner","rs":"0","ms":"This is not a Democrat or Republican problem-this problem stems directly and 100% from the top elite in the world.  The rich control the United States not the Democrat or Republican parties-they are pawns that make fools of each other and manage to get absolutely nothing done.  This financial crisis will happen again because the rich have yet to suffer.  Lower and middle class people who had nothing to do with this took the hit and continue to suffer.  You are kidding yourself if you try to blame this on 1 political party-blame the rich(democrats and republicans).  They continue to get their billion dollar bonuses while hard working Americans are standing in the unemployment line or fighting to keep their houses.   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:18"},{"nm":"Iconoclast","rs":"0","ms":"I wish the program had touched on Enron as well. Enron collapsed due to losses from energy derivatives (debts incurred from betting on energy prices). The California brownouts were the result of restricting the supply of electricity from the grid to create a lack of supply in the energy marketplace, driving the price increases needed so Enron (the energy bookie) could avoid paying off on the derivatives (bets) that it took and would be obligated to pay on.  Ken Lay didn\'t go to jail over derivatives, he only went to jail for keeping his betting losses hidden from unsuspecting investors in those dummy corporations. The root cause of the company\'s failure, the practice of betting on energy prices, was never addressed in the aftermath of the collapse. The media was only obsessed with the plight of duped investors and the lost retirement savings of Enron employees.  Sarbanes-Oxley only addressed the ‘honesty of reporting’ issues that came out of Enron. It did nothing to address the cause of the company\'s collapse. This Frontline story needed a little more connectivity to other relevant catastrophic events, and a little less focus on Born\'s youth and law school days.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:17"},{"nm":"Bob Ticer","rs":"0","ms":"Why doesn\'t Obama give Brooksley Born an influencial position?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:14"},{"nm":"Leo van der Harst","rs":"0","ms":"An excelet xpose that should be seen by as many people as possible.I hope that PBSwill broadcast it a few more times and several timeslots to spread the knowledge. Is there a trans\cript of this narrative? This would fit very well in one of the &quot;The New Yorker&quot; isues, which recently had a couple of stories illuminating the frantic antics of Paulson et all during the collapse of the economy as well as an in depth story on Sommers.       L. van der Harst Oct 21 2009","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:13"},{"nm":"Laura Iyer","rs":"0","ms":"I find it odd that the philosophy of the Greenspan period is based on Ayn Rand’s premise that the people should choose and “government” should be minimal or simply out of the picture.  However, once the “black box” derivative markets took over and have become such a force in our financial lives; hasn’t that financial group taken the control away from the people and become the worst that government can be?  In a sense a total lack of democracy in that the people do not have the information to decide for themselves and make the best financial decisions for their lives.  The lack of transparency (be it in financial system or foreign policy) is what takes our power.  Our government should be there to restore the power back to us by shining a spotlight on what is really happening.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:13"},{"nm":"Carol","rs":"0","ms":"How very disturbing! Now everyone is scratching their heads to find a solution.  Will they’re a day late and a dollar short for the millions of people who have become unemployed, lost their homes, wiped out their savings, etc.   Where is the justice in that?  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:11"},{"nm":"Herman Behrend","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;The Warning&quot; was an excellent program., as are most of the Frontline presentations. I hope the people in the current administration see your program and hire people independent of Wall Sreet to put new strong rules in effect to control the excesses of Wall Street.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:07"},{"nm":"Dick Sorenson","rs":"0","ms":"Money is to an economy what blood is to a circulation system.  Blockages, narrowing of the arteries, and blood cancer are all corrupting of the system.  Just as is allowing the institution charged with creating money the ability to create as much money necessary to control any regulatory or political entity from preventing it from acquiring total domination over humankind.  This is the state of affairs as it exists globally.  We are not at war with terrorism.  The Federal Reserve and its representative owners have forced us into a war with those it has most devastated.  These people have been put in the position similar to the position of the American Indians; wherein, having been systematically murdered and impoverished by overwhelming power they had nothing left to lose but their lives.  Todays so called terrorists are no different from yesterdays American Indian, except they are fighting a war against men with technological weaponry that has no rival except for the suicide bomb.  What is the difference in using a satellite to control a cruise missle to destroy ones enemy or a drone aircraft capable of launching missles and a suicide bomber?  The drone or cruise missle is controlled by the government that has been corrupted by the corrupt cancer of a financial system that has systematically stolen the resources of the terrorists land by propping up a dictator that is paid handomely for keeping his people down.  When you really take a close look at what we are doing and consider that the same banking institutions that have nearly bankrupted the world and have us fighting terrorism also put Adolph Hitler into power.  Will historians one day portray our leaders who have been given cancer by the banking system to be considered as evil if not worse than Hitler or Stalin?  Only time will tell.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:07"},{"nm":"American Lover","rs":"0","ms":"Real wealth comes from industry and producing real tangible products.When these industries are gone then poverty follows. The US is littered with ghost towns that lost their industries and the towns themselves fellcompletely apart. The same is happening to the country just in a huge scale.THE ONLY OPTION IS TO RE INDUSTRIALIZE THE NATION OR PERISH.But how can that be done when the Politicians are so corrupt and dont care about the Nation but just themselvesThese economists and politicians in Washington and Wall Street believe wealth comes from playing in the Casino with taxpayers money.ONLY THE CHINESE ARE ON THE RIGHT TRACK. Before you know they will control technology and industry and with that  can build a powerful military while we still playing the derivatives game in wall Street.The way the economy is going in the US Personally I am looking to abandon the ship call US because is about to sink and find a safer harborelsewhere because I believe the GOLDEN DAYS ARE GONE AND THE MISERY DAYS ARE COMING.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:07"},{"nm":"Mike Peterson","rs":"0","ms":"This was an unbelievable report.  I am shocked that this not getting more coverage and that no policy changes have been made.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:06"},{"nm":"Christopher Raineri","rs":"0","ms":"Wow!! It took 21 minutes to play the gender card. I\'m impressed(not really). Anyone with a viewpointdifferent from the prevailing logic will be chastised. I admire Borns courage, but could care less about gender! What really happened was over regulation lead to over deregulation, &quot;The pendulum effect&quot;. Hopefully, we will require transparentcy from any financial instrument. Get government out of lending. Gooddbye to Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, which caused many banking problems.I\'m the small voice fromthe political middle. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:06"},{"nm":"O P ","rs":"0","ms":"enlightening and educational, this is what TV needs to be about, Informing the people. Self Regulation is like telling a football team that they can regulate themselves, you get the same results, murder & mayhem! but when it\'s on a global scale for THIS kind of money they don\'t care who or how many get murdered as long as they walk away with all the marbles!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:03"},{"nm":"Carolyn Szymanski","rs":"0","ms":"At age 81, I feel I have come full circle from one Depression to another.  I have always thought that \'Free Enterprize\'(aka. Survival of the Fittest) was a way to legitimize greed.  Unfortunately, Obama will not be able to overcome the greedy forces now in control of our country.  I applaud Ms. Born and others who are courageous enough to try.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 12:03"},{"nm":"Dan Zerr","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks PBS and Frontline for a great (albeit frustrating) program!  Instead of Greenspan, Brooksly Born should have gotten the Presidential Medal of Freedom for what she was doing, or at least tried to do.  I wonder if she ever got an apology from Summers, Rubin or Greenspan.  At least Leavitt had the guts to say he was wrong.  Now today, I see an article in the NYT that former Fed head Paul Volker is trying to get Obama and his economic team to restrict banks from playing around in the investment world, and of course Obama\'s Wall St insiders are saying no.  Will intelligence, common sense, and concern for the average American EVER become more important than profits for the few?  Sadly, I doubt it.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:57"},{"nm":"plattmaster","rs":"0","ms":" What arrogance to believe we know enough to regulate and control everey aspect of the market. It will only lead to more blame and regulation when the next economic model of our misunderstanding fails. The market and working models can suddenly change in a day. Regulation is slow, costly and creates oter loopholes to be exploited. If Greenspans understanding had flaws, what bright bulb in congress has a better understanding or credentials?  Its not like our fair government representatives are incorruptible.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:33"},{"nm":"Bill Griswold","rs":"0","ms":"Last night at the end of Frontline Brooksely Born warned that failure to regulate the derivative markets now will cause recurring economic collapse in the future.  This warning must be taken seriously.  The derivative markets should be monitored and regulated.  They should also be taxed.Foreign governments and markets have lost respect the American economic system.  Unless we rebuild the system with new transparency and regulation these countries will stop doing business with our financial markets.  China is already asking to replace the dollar with a different global currency.  You should have mentioned that Brooksley Born was recently awarded a Profile in Courage Award by the JFK Foundation.You blamed Ayn Rand and her followers for the American disdain for economic regulation.  You should have given much of the blame to free markets economists like Milton Friedmann who prostelytized against economic regulation for may years.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:33"},{"nm":"P L Smith","rs":"0","ms":"One of the most eye opening Frontlines yet.  Very timely.  It shows greed is at the very core of our human nature.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:27"},{"nm":"Y Henry Kang","rs":"0","ms":"Hindsight is always 20/20.  no one person or regulation could have prevented what we had last year.  This was an incredible reporting and I appreciated it very much but we cannot befault those in power for not listening and not having better foresight.  To be very honest, I wish I got some of the prosperity some enjoyed during the late 90\'s...","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:26"},{"nm":"Gerald Bonham","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born should be awarded the Profiles In Courage Award.  Alan Greenspan did man up and admit his world view was wrong.  When will Robert Rubin and Larry Summers man up?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:25"},{"nm":"Merick Chaffee","rs":"0","ms":"A prominent historian tells us our government was specifically designed, with 2 legislatures, to assure that rich, powerful interests have checkmate control over things they don\'t want. We\'re watching this now: financial interests want no regulation or control of their gambling; congress assures them nothing like this will pass.Nobody can change this, so we\'re destined to have more meltdowns.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:21"},{"nm":"m arty","rs":"0","ms":"Tar and feather all those bankster bastards","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:15"},{"nm":"Nancy Sartini","rs":"0","ms":"Congratulations on your investigation and story on the financial crisis and Brooksley Born! You continue one of the few viable sources of news.....everyone else has been bought out! Keep up your efforts...some citizens still have hope!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:15"},{"nm":"Roy Kim","rs":"0","ms":"This is one of the most important contributions of PBS for our financial world. Last week\'s program was equally informative for our national security policy.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:14"},{"nm":"Frank","rs":"0","ms":"I watched \'The Warning\' last night. It was eye-opening, to say the least, except that if any paid attention in 1998, we would have known about this fiasco. I was working for financial services industry at the time. I heard about derivatives EVERY DAY. No one could tell me what they were but EVERYONE was making money. Born tried to get a message across, but she was crushed.I\'m amused by some of the comments that suggest that PBS/Frontline is schilling for the dems. Dems, Repubs, who cares - they are all the same. They are all bought and paid for by monied interests who have so much power we cannot even begin to comprehend. And you wanna know where the media was in 1998?  There was a little witch hunt going on concerning a president, an intern, and sex. That\'s where the media was.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:13"},{"nm":"Jason Bankston","rs":"0","ms":"I hate to be the lone ranger uncovering the 800 ton pink elephant in the room but c\'mon folks.There is no such thing as a Democratic or Republican party! There is, in fact, the Government, aligned with special interest. We the people(sound familiar to anyone) need to take a stand. How much longer can we continue to place the future of our great country and our most precious commodity, our children, in the hands of these greed mongerers who push and pull using devisive politics and contrite salesmanship to railroad us into more debt, another depression, and unnethical business practices. How do we raise our children like this?!! We must unite folks under a Citizens Union for the Rights of the People. All people. Action is going to speak louder than words, I propose a peacefull revolt or satyagraha as Ghandi put it, in order to have true change in this country.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:10"},{"nm":"Eric Mowris","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks for this concise report on the &quot;irrational arrogance&quot; of the working group. Since early this year, when my income was slashed by one-third and the financial crisis became significantly more personal, my most pervasive emotions have been of feeling &quot;betrayed&quot; and &quot;stuck&quot;. I couldn\'t shake a sense that there was a &quot;they&quot; out there that had allowed this financial collapse to happen. Now I know who &quot;they&quot; are. It\'s not much comfort when I observe that the invisible hand is now in my pocket bailing out the bandits.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:09"},{"nm":"ROY Kim","rs":"0","ms":"This is one of the most important contributions by the PBS. One wonders why there is no effective regulations on the financial systems even today under the new administration.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:07"},{"nm":"David van Hoogstraten","rs":"0","ms":"This was a superb piece of reporting by Frontline and showed wonderfully how government decision-making on these issues took place in the late 1990\'s and how Ms. Born deserves, as former SEC Chairman Arthur Leavitt suggested in his fascinating interview, credit as a public official for perservering and stating her views.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:07"},{"nm":"Tenzin Thinley","rs":"0","ms":"The fake economy these bankers/wall street people made was 40% of US economy. Now this piece of the pie has shifted and its the government spending that is 40%. Geithner and Summers made sure that more money went to these greedy wall street people. President Obama needs to understand the basics of economy-productivity(supply) must be in par with wages(demand). Stop this over indulgence with the banks and the imports from China. What we are witnessing in the markets...is just another bubble. Its bound to burst..and all hell is going to break loose. Obama-2nd term, not gonna happen. I voted for him unfortunately. Brooksley Born isn\'t happy that she was right-she feels terrible that the US people have suffered due to everybody ignoring her warning.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:00"},{"nm":"citizen","rs":"0","ms":"Wonderful commentary. I just wish that more news reporting media outlets would pick up this insightful piece of journalism. We can prevent another meltdown but only if more voters know about these issues.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 11:00"},{"nm":"Fred Schweizer","rs":"0","ms":"I cannot belive that the currrent adminstration has choosen Summers and Giethner to work in the economy zone with their past record of dealings of the past. Do we want to be a nation of sheep?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:57"},{"nm":"Damon Tompkins","rs":"0","ms":"Estimated at 515... wait for it... TRILLION dollars... 515 Trillion dollars with zero oversight... Scary... And wait a minute; don\'t we need to raise taxes to cover our deficit? Hmmm... I wonder if 515 Trillion in unregulated deals would be a good source for some additional revenue? Forget the SEC, higher some applied mathematics geniuses down at the IRS and sick them on the dirty bankers... Face it, we\'re screwed...","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:55"},{"nm":"GPERS","rs":"0","ms":"I am appreciative of Frontline quality programming and reporting - verfiably proffering the events and the facts as they are/were. Pointing fingers at Obama is not an accurate response however I completely understand the bewilderment felt about his leadership as our governments ability to honestly deal with any significant issue remains corrupted by its repeated collusion with the revolving door special interest groups even after change of power. I thought the way Brooksly Born characterized the melt down as risk of &quot;the publics&quot; money and that money-&quot;our savings&quot;- remains open to theft until derivatives are regulated. Per the program it was noted that this Democratic Congress has not passed regulation of derivatives-yet. I suppose it is our duty to remind our local congressman that we have not forgotten and that we should let them know how we feel about the regulation of these complex derivatives. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:53"},{"nm":"williambanzai7","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is a genuine American hero.The others are disgraceful scoundrels of the highest American order.Greenspan\'s aversion to fraud enforcement explains Bernie Madoff definitively.Thank you for this broadcast.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:48"},{"nm":"Janet","rs":"0","ms":"For heavens sake!  Are we never going to learn from the mistakes of the past?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:47"},{"nm":"Tom Davis","rs":"0","ms":"The reason for government existence is that human failings, be they foriegn of domestic, inevitably threaten the well being of us individually and of our collective social system. Without that germ of human &quot;sin&quot; for lack of a better word, there would be no need for government. We would not need to be protected from ourselves.That supposedly intelligent men would come to believe that any facet of human activity - in this case, finncial markets - would somehow be exempt from this natural order is shocking. But then, if you appoint a Mafia boss to be the Attorney General, what do you expect? ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:46"},{"nm":"Ann","rs":"0","ms":"As an unemployed older female PhD attorney with $90K in law school loans, this story horrified me.  Hadn\'t these &quot;financial experts&quot; ever heard of the Great Depression?  I couldn\'t stand Ayn Rand when I was in high school in the early 1960s!  I wrote a scathing book report on &quot;The Fountainhead.&quot;Even more disgusting is seeing the same names in the Obama administration.  Doesn\'t Obama have any better advisors in the USA than the people who helped bring the economy down? Or perhaps it is the &quot;HAAVARD&quot; education that brainwashed Obama years ago?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:38"},{"nm":"JP","rs":"0","ms":"A great program focused on the problem and not political parties. As always the truth leaves everyone a little bruised in the end. The program highlight the archetypical wrong of having the regulated entity (Banks) to large of a say on how they will be regulated. It is just as unwise of a move of letting a teenager set their curfew time. I believe the Obama administration needs to make this required viewing. In addition, Mr. Summers needs to be removed from any involvement with the country’s banking system. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:37"},{"nm":"Sarah Blueher","rs":"0","ms":"We have to regulate or will repeat our mistakes. I admire greatly Ms. Born for her intelligence and bravery and wished the powers that be had listened.   Love your show!!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:37"},{"nm":"Kevin Mihelcic","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m curious to know what Larry Summmers thinks of Brooksley Born now. Maybe he should invite her in for consultation, and hopefully Larry will be listening this time.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:36"},{"nm":"ken","rs":"0","ms":"Tsk tsk... Want to fix this. Just reverse all the reglatory changes inacted over the last 15 years. Lock up the criminals and traitors to the american people... Fire everybody in congress.... outlaw lobbying ... enforce anti-trust act.... obey the constitution strictly.... abolish the fed....","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:35"},{"nm":"James F Traynor","rs":"0","ms":"They want Ayn Rand, let\'s give them Ayn Rand. We, the disaffected should get up a dead, definitely not alive, kitty.   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:32"},{"nm":"Vanessa S","rs":"0","ms":"We all better wake up and take action.  Obviously, Washington is not working for &quot;the people&quot;!  There is so much greed in both money and POWER and corruption in our elected leaders.  We cannot vote party lines, we cannot vote for what the candidate says.  We all need to do our homework and look at how the candidate voted in the past and their history of connections.  We cannot totally blame Presidents for what has happened because the Senate and Congress have a lot of control.  I personally do not care who is to blame for past problems unless they are still in office, in which case, they need to be voted out!  But Americans need to hear the truth and that is not being presented in most of the major media and unfortunately, the average person does not take or have the time to research on their own.  What else can we do to get the truth out?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:27"},{"nm":"Sam Medina","rs":"0","ms":"I believe there is something far more sinister at the bottom of this and Sexism is just a cover.  It was the message not the gender that riled and rallied the 3 horseman of the financial apocalypse.That we watch this Regulatory apostasy continue in front of our apathetic faces (Geithner, Obama et al) is what caps it for me.What will it take for us to demand legitimacy and control?Frontline, PBS ,-much gratitude!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:27"},{"nm":"Carolyn McCoy","rs":"0","ms":"True libertarians oppose government interference in the economy, but the Federal Reserve\'s whole purpose is to interfer in the economy by keeping interest rates artificially low for savers so that banks can make more money.  The government guarantees banks\' gambling debts while letting the banks keep their gambling profits, so of course it should regulate their gambling. It would be better to let bad banks fail, abolish the Fed, and allow the financial system to start over with real money backed by gold.  Learn about the reality of the economy at mises.org ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:26"},{"nm":"Nick","rs":"0","ms":"A compelling portrayal. Every good story needs a hero and a villain and The Warning doesn\'t dissapoint. I feel better educated for having watched and particularly enjoyed the historic perspective on Ayn Rand and the hands off ideology subsequently embraced. The reference to the unfathomable complexity of derivatives was starkly reminiscent of Harry Markopolos\' letter to the SEC regarding Bernie Madoff\'s split-strike conversion trading as featured in Frontline\'s excellent expose of that affair. But while we are congratulating ourselves for our grasp of the obvious necessity of regulation I can\'t shake the disturbing what ifs. While we bear witness to Greenspan\'s stunning late-life education I can\'t help wondering what would have happened if government hadn\'t stepped in and bailed them out without giving them the chance to learn from their mistakes. Small wonder that they\'re back at it again. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:25"},{"nm":"Patrick Hunter","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for &quot;The Warning&quot;.  Just wondering, where was President Clinton on this issue?  I saw him in some of your photos but didn\'t hear any of his words.  I have read that he &quot;capitulated&quot; with the financial industry to get a second term.  I was led to believe that the reason we have a government is to look out for the public interest.  If not the President, the Congress and the Supreme Court; then whom?  Why am I feeling betrayed?  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:09"},{"nm":"Mike H","rs":"0","ms":"Good program, but missed the ledes.  1.  As Stiglitz noted, all too briefly, Greenspan\'s government inteverntion - artificially pricing the most important commodity, money - along with the FDIC/TBTF/moral hazard - enabled the explosion in derivatives...blaming the free market is baloney...the free market would have buried the perps, long ago.  2.  It is INCONCEIVABLE that Greenspan and Rubin and Summers did not understand the fraud...that\'s the ONLY reason men of their intellects could have opposed transparency, if not regulation...they were and are crooked. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:03"},{"nm":"W.J. Borgh","rs":"0","ms":"Anytime a publicly traded company enters into an agreement that has a potential financial liability, most investors would expect this to be disclosed.  Derivatives are liabilities not reflected on the P&L statement.  Why are these financial institutions fighting vehemently against these regulations?  Short answer: greed and the ability to extract profits that would not be permissible in a regulated environment.  Without the reserve requirements, these financial instruments allow large banks to engage in hedge trading beyond their capitalization.  We no longer need to speculate that the potential for disaster exists.  The 2008 meltdown with only be repeated without financial reforms.  With Geitner (the man who can’t do his own taxes) and Summers playing pivotal roles in the Obama Administration, I hold little hope that this group has the political resolve to slay this financial demon.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:01"},{"nm":"Val D","rs":"0","ms":"What\'s the difference between Bernie Madoff and Greenspan/Rubin/Summers?  How is it that Martha Stewart can be prosecuted and sent to prison and then we ignore practices that can bring down the whole financial market?  While Born was trying to protect the American taxpayers and the integrity of the market itself, the good old boys were trying to protect what?  I hope this serves as a springboard to getting the necessary regulation done to prevent the next collapse.  Thank you Brooksley Born!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 10:00"},{"nm":"Julian G Belmonte","rs":"0","ms":"Dear Mrs. Brooksley Born:  Thank you for your valiant posture to defend the interests of the American People, from a humble voice among the poor in this Country, again Thank you.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:55"},{"nm":"Joe Ligotti","rs":"0","ms":"Ayn Rand was NOT (as this program asserted) a &quot;libertarian&quot; philosopher. She repudiated the libertarian movement (publicly & from the start) as a thinly disguised attempt to steal the political component of her system while rejecting its base in epistemology and ethics. Furthermore, Alan Greenspan rejected Miss Rand\'s philosophy the moment he accepted his job as head of the Federal Reserve. In the kindest interpretation, he apparently thought he could change the world by dancing with the devil, but he would have done better by heeding the thought of the genius he, by his own admission, walked away from: &quot;One does not abolish evil from the world by adopting and practicing it.&quot;","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:49"},{"nm":"Jay","rs":"0","ms":"I wish more time was spent on campaign contributors and from which financial institution were the government officials from. The problem is, the government officials will not do their job if it involves doing something negative to their campaign contributors.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:44"},{"nm":"Bruce Smith","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan, Rubin and Summers now look more like stooges than financial geniuses. Clearly they were only interested in serving the interests of Wall Street, to the detriment of the rest of us.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:38"},{"nm":"Patrick P.","rs":"0","ms":"Fascinating. Finally the truth is uncovered to explain the economic mess that we we now face. All of America needs to watch this program. When the venerable Mr. Greenspan stated that fraud didn\'t need to be regulated my jaw practically hit the floor! Thank you PBS and Frontline. Job well done.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:37"},{"nm":"Randy Kleine","rs":"0","ms":"Watching the PBS program &quot;The Warning&quot; is a warning that so-called &quot;regulators&quot; can be bought and sold. Obviously, Alan Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Lawrence Summers, and Senator Phil Graham are &quot;owned&quot; by the banking community, as evidenced by the trillions that have been given to the bankers in the wake of the &quot;financial meltdown&quot; (which is how all Ponzi schemes, like Social Security, end). The program mentioned how there are five financial lobbyists for every congressman--this alone is proof how politicized (i.e. involved with government) the banking and insurance industries have become. More regulation merely means more ability to cover the tracks of the financial and political criminals.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:37"},{"nm":"Gary A. Pulcini","rs":"0","ms":"Since Wall Street/Business and their lobbyist have taken over Washington and the associated rhetoric that all government is bad, we have lost sight that government has a function to be a constructive antagonist and establish the goal post through regulation (although not micro manage) so that society can function in a moral civilized fashion. Whether it be pollution such as Love Canal, automobile safety or the recent financial crisis business has proven time and again that it can not govern itself, greed always wins.We need to recognize that excessive compensation, and profits for wall street are not what is best for this country, but what is best for a very small minority. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:35"},{"nm":"Kate P","rs":"0","ms":"Where is Brooksley Born now and why isn\'t she in the White House as a cabinet member at the very least?  In a sea of men who were guided by fear, Born courageously followed the compass of truth.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:33"},{"nm":"Steve Mantz","rs":"0","ms":"We need to spread the word! please forward this to all your contacts, freinds and neighbors! ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:33"},{"nm":"Raj","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is an intelligent, competent and gracious individual, which is more than I can say for this piece. From its catty use of Jim Cramer\'s voice in the intro to the sexist perspective that a cabal of powerful men are to blame for this crisis despite the best efforts of women, the report is biased and offensive.Juxtaposing random snide remarks of Stanford professors and colleagues over a 40 year career against her accomplishments in DC seem to imply that her life\'s work is a rebuke to male colleagues rather than an admirable body of public service.Paradoxically her association with powerful women lawyers such as Hillary is not seen as evidence of an equally malicious clique, even when the piece turns to Bill Clinton\'s Atty General appointment when men were specifically excluded from consideration, due to this influential group.Of course considering that Alan Greenspan\'s mentor was Ayn Rand, the inescapable conclusion is that female philosophers were the root cause of our economic crisis and should be avoided in the future.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:29"},{"nm":"Wayne Rassman","rs":"0","ms":"Well after watching this whole series on frontline about the the meltdown and now the awakening..I\'m so anti government..they knew and choose to do nothing till it was too late..and line their pockets ..and its still going on ! The Michael Moore movie &quot;Capilalism&quot; also touches on this ..All Americans should demand Greenspan be brought up on charges..he no better than the Enron Guys! Please Frontline keep doing this type of program..there is alwasy a story to be told..and you do it so great. Please everyone call your congessmen and Sentaors about this. Demand an answer. Obama must act or else!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:28"},{"nm":"N. Brown","rs":"0","ms":"The financial crises continues in that the financial services industry created a bubble in real estate prices from 2004-2007.  Now 30% of all homes in the US are &quot;underwater&quot;; their mortgages are greater than the fair market value of the homes... this translates to &quot;toxic assets&quot; in the asset columns of the lenders... loans that will never be paid back in their entirety.   What kind of collapse in the banks will this cause when this is acknowledged?  Meanwhile foreclosures are continuing and causing an even greater diminution of the values of homes and the little people are losing their homes, their jobs, their dreams of a decent life. And even big investors are losing millions in the commercial real estate market.  And Goldman Sachs is paying million dollar bonuses..... there is something really rotten in this country!  We need Elizabeth Warren and Brooksley Born appointed to major positions in this administration to turn it around.  We need to take power from the people who make nothing.. who only push money around and give jobs to people who make things to get this economy going again.   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:26"},{"nm":"Frank Warren","rs":"0","ms":"    We,either live in a society or not! Societies only survive with basic rules that are enforced.    I also prefer to struggle for a democracy but then I was sent to Vietnam.  The mission according to the DI  of the USMC was to &quot;save democracy&quot;. I can\'t &quot;get over it&quot; so I prefer to live in a democracy.  &quot;Free Markets&quot; favor money/capital over people(even citizens,who are asked to die to defend &quot;free markets&quot;). Free of what? Morals? Ethics? Law? Corporate control?  People have to live by rules(laws) in the US so why shouldn\'t money/capital do the same.   The economy should build the nation instead of an elite allowed to profit from it regardless of the health of the nation.     ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:24"},{"nm":"Julio C. Banks, MSME, PE & CGC","rs":"0","ms":"It is ironic that before I saw this program I kepthearing that the ones to be blamed to a great extentare &quot;those individual who knew they could not afforda mortgage for which they applied&quot;.The Frontline program, &quot;The Warning&quot; clearly show thatBrooksley Born understood that secretiveness of theOTC (Over The Counter) Derivatives was a recipe fordisaster.It is my hope that we correct this deficiency soonalong with separating banking and investment as itwas the case following the great depression of the1930s.Patriotism means being Financially responsible.Julio C. Banks, MSME, PE & CGCPresident J. C. Banks Construction, LLCPort Saint Lucie, Florida","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:23"},{"nm":"MarkAntney","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent program, unbiased, named names, thorough,...and Levitt\'s admission how he was wrong and wished he\'d done something and giving Props to Brooksley Born was quite revealing.However, it doesn\'t take a Woman or a Scholar to conclude NOT REGULATING Trillions of dollars will eventually cause a massive amount of fiscal damage?The Proponents of DeRegulation will never admit that and I don\'t blame them; why would THEY want to Cook the Goose that\'s laid their Golden Eggs?  It\'ll happen again, again, and again, because Greed is Nature and if you refuse to regulate you only allow Greed to flourish and fester.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:21"},{"nm":"Frank Wagner","rs":"0","ms":"Pride comes before the fall.  These gentlemen can join Barney Frank and Chris Dodd in protecting themselves and lobbyists at the expense of the taxpayor.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:15"},{"nm":"Drew Taylor","rs":"0","ms":"Sounds very familiar to a BBC program I just finished watching &quot;The Love of Money&quot; which focused on the exact same topic. I even remember it talking about the CFTC and Born.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:14"},{"nm":"Michael Ogilvie","rs":"0","ms":"Having just read Gillian Tett\'s &quot;Fool\'s Gold&quot; which was a revelation to me I was simply stunned to see The Warning which was the perfect sequel,  though largely covering  the period five years earlier. Both are compelling in showing the need for regulation and also the need to enforce regulations already in place. The decision to let banks keep so much of their activities off their books and secret led to wild speculation. The reasons for this decision were flawed. Should the capital of the a bank required to back assets be deemed to be for certain transactions to be too high and therefore too limiting it should be publicly lowered and the resulting activities monitored. Instead to allow important finacial institutions critical to the nation to sail into uncharted waters without anyone including regulators knowing what is happening and to permit them to keep these activities off their books is beyond credibility. I am not anti business, indeed the opposite, but surely we have learned over and over again that left unregulated all business will let profit determine action.The Warning and Fool\'s Gold should be studied together by those responsible fordrafting legislation to solve this problem. In fact the two should be read by all interested in the financial health of America. Brooksley Born said it so well towards the end of the program when she stated that the people who suffered were the ordinary citizens. They are so unfairly affected by the unnecesscary disaster that occured and many will still be suffering when those in the world of high finance are patting themselves on the back for the recovery and seeking the next brilliant financial road to stunning profits.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:06"},{"nm":"Julescator","rs":"0","ms":"There are currently two bills going through Congress right now.  One deals with the derivatives regulation and would force them onto the exchanges.  Despite Barnry Frank\'s toughest efforts, they bill got watered down by a couple of amendments.  On Monday, however, the person who wrote these amendments has said she will take them out, which give this bill teeth.  We will see.The Other bill establishes a Consumer Protection Agency.  That looks like it will pass despite the best efforts of the Chamber of Commerce.  That\'s what I understand.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 09:05"},{"nm":"Bill","rs":"0","ms":"An excellent documentary and astonishing story.  But one issue puzzles me:  Ms. Born practiced derivatives law for years before her appointment as head of the CFTC.  Thus certainly she must have been well aware of the derivatives regulatory void, and likely exploited it for her law firm\'s high-end clients.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:56"},{"nm":"Colombe Loef","rs":"0","ms":"What do we do now, citizens of our country? 10 years later, this is now revealed? Do we have to wait another 10 years for a total collapse? I had hoped that Obama had more courage to stand alone if need be. Take out the sword and fight like a knight against the dragons. So far he looks more like \'another puppet\' in our taxpayers\' white house.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:50"},{"nm":"Christopher Brill","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you PBS for great information. We know who to blame, we know their mistakes. GREED. Greed of money, greed of ego, greed of power. A few men have caused you and me, and our children, and possibly their children to spend therest of our lives living a lifestyle less than we had just a few years ago. So what do we do to get our jobs (back), our homes (back), and feed my family? Isn\'t anyone else incredibly tired of constantly being the brunt of big business with no or bare minimum protection from our government? Cell phone companies, utility companies, credit card companies, etc. all charging us miscellaneous fee\'s that they can\'t/won\'t explain even when you ask them to. The gall! When are we going to stand up for ourselves? It has been obvious to me for some time that no one else will.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:45"},{"nm":"Aaron Bepe","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;The Warning&quot; was one of the best programs PBS has ever offered.  You discovered the facts and who did what, when and where.  Minor additions and connections could be made; however, you communicated the main point that Rubin, Summers & Greenspan steamrolled and killed all efforts to curb Fraud in derivatives trading.  Hence, the taxpayers are stuck with a $700 billion pricetag for a party they never attended.  TThe real problem with Derivatives is the lack of an exchange, where contracts are guaranteed by members.  With this responsibility for the loss of other members, the group of traders will not allow the losses to get out of control. Exchanges perform a nightly accounting, so no contract goes negelected.  Exchange supervision with CFTC oversight is the solution.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:44"},{"nm":"Jeff Kohut","rs":"0","ms":" In my opinion, any company found trading in derivatives should not be allowed to have their stocks included in 401k and pension retirement plans(these plans enjoy Federal tax breaks and therefore should be subject to Federal oversight and regulation). Congress needs a way to control the risk and excessive Executive Compensation that companies are taking on. A law limiting inclusion in 401K and retirement plans would go a long way toward making companies manage their risk better. Call, Email, or Write your Congressional Representatives now!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:41"},{"nm":"Tony P","rs":"0","ms":"As one not easily brought to anger, this Frontline expose succeeded in angering me. I agree with Terry Fitzpatrick\'s comment that the real danger at hand is that Summers and Geitner are still President Obama\'s top financial advisors, and a year plus after the crisis of 2008 not a single piece of legislation has been passed to regulate otc derivatives.  Sincere thanks to Frontline and it\'s staff for producing this show, and especially to Ms. Born for her public service.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:41"},{"nm":"Frank Martino","rs":"0","ms":"How come only one person is going to jail? Our country is run by a bunch of greedy congressmen who onlysee what is in it for them. The watch dogs of our country are NOT doing what they are paid to do. Any time a large amount of money is involved it HAS to be regulated. Did congress ever HEAR of &quot;ANTITRUST&quot;.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:40"},{"nm":"Jay","rs":"0","ms":"&quot;Greenspan, Rubin and Summers ultimately prevailed on Congress to stop Born and limit future regulation of derivatives. &quot;Born faced a formidable struggle pushing for regulation at a time when the stock market was booming,&quot; Kirk says. &quot;Alan Greenspan was the maestro, and both parties in Washington were united in a belief that the markets would take care of themselves.&quot;Now, with many of the same men who shut down Born in key positions in the Obama administration,&quot;Silly people, you got exactly what you deserve.Greenspan, Summers Rubin and Geithner all had a hand in silencing  Born and even made it tough to continue in her position, she had to resign.  And what are these four bullies doing now, Rubin - deeply inbed with Citi. Greenspan has his medal of freedom and many books to write - all of which are worthless.  But yet Summers and Geithner live on in a new administration.  I don\'t hear any clamor for a congressional investigation or a Grand Jury to find out WHO KNEW WHAT WHEN.  From the presentation, we learned that it was a close call in 1997, and now we seem to be on the brink in 2008 - 2009  with two of the FOUR CLOWNS still around.When 2017 2018 come around will we be facing another financial crisis hearing about how Geithner and Summers screwed up the last two.  Since you sheeple NEVER learn. I suspect so and will plan for it.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:38"},{"nm":"James","rs":"0","ms":"Unfortunately, it seems that the Obama Administration will not act to regulate derivatives. It appears that Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan and the financial institutions have captured and control the FED / US Government. Evidence of this is supported by Rubin, Paulson, Bernanke, Geithner & Summers coming from Goldman + JP Morgans former CEO Dimon\'s aggressive personal lobbying of Congress.It is especially troubling when you have Greenspan\'s philosophy of &quot;The Market,self regulating the definition of fraud.&quot; I am confident that this attitude is still the norm at the FED. As a result, it is easy to understand why derivative regulation has stalled out after the Financial Institutions have been bailed out.Essentially these Wall St. Institutions like Goldman Sachs and others now have been conditioned to the reality that American Public is their &quot;Bank.!&quot;The derivative market is currently estimated to be $684 trillion dollars. Without regulation the next financial disaster is already looming. What makes these Greedy Financial institutions believe that the American Consumer has the ability to cover any and or all loss if the $684 trillion dollar derivative market collapses?It is possible that this financial meltdown is only a tremor like one of the many tremors that occurred before the onset of the Great Depression.In addition, the individuals on Wall St. need to be held legally accountable for this past mess. Otherwise ask yourself: Do you really want your tax dollars to subsidize Bankers who endanger the American economy (+ destroy their own company) with mismanagement and poor decisions aimed at paying themselves billions of dollars in bonuses?Is it time for a Revolution?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:36"},{"nm":"Judy","rs":"0","ms":"Obama should have appointed Brooksley Born to his team and made Summers and Geithner report to her.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:33"},{"nm":"Peter Stivin","rs":"0","ms":"An amazing show! Unfortunately after all that has been revealed, nothing has changed. Those who caused a global economic collapse are in charge today. How fringe thinkers like Greenspan, were given so much power and respect and keep it so long is shocking. Greenspan, Rubin, Geithner,.... must have known how dangerous game they played, as must have or should have  the legislators, they all should have been prosecuted along with those who taken advantage of the open safe. Instead they are in charge again. The financial companies are making profits of their trading activity again, bonuses are paid and foreclosures continue at a record pace and the market is rocking. The lobbyists are all over Washington and politicians are taking their money as usual. The game goes on and the same people own it. And were is Ms. Born?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:29"},{"nm":"Dev Lopper","rs":"0","ms":"As long as the voters continue to point fingers &quot;at the other party&quot;, we will remain under the thumb of special interests that don\'t really care which party is in power.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:28"},{"nm":"Stephen Hixson","rs":"0","ms":"Ms. Born\'s refusal to reveal what Chairman Greenspan said to her during the lunch meeting was both disappointing and unwise.  Greenspan\'s words and demeanor at that meeting deserve the cloak of secrecy no longer.  Given Ms. Born\'s bravery in the congressional hearing while Greenspan, Somers and Rubin sat at the same table and tried to stare her down, her refusal to answer this one important interview question is inexplicable.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:28"},{"nm":"Linda Ferreira","rs":"0","ms":"One ponders: Why is it that regulators have placed barriers to regulation of the derivate markets, especially when there is so much regulation in arenas that are less likely to upset the world economies?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:25"},{"nm":"Joanne Werner","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent that this has finally been revealed.  I kept waiting to see why Gietner was chosen by Obama.  I knew there was corruption and greed driving this whole corrupt business banking industry but never dreamed the extent of the evilness. I think this should be required viewing for all business and high school students in the US.  What an outrage to be so completely left to do this horrible damage to our country.  Why is no one looking at prosecution of these outrageous people?  Thank you for having the courage to make this documentary and thank you to Brooksley Born the only person brave enough to stand against these evil rich men.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:24"},{"nm":"tom tinsley","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m amazed that, after Greenspan\'s mea culpa in front of a Congressional committee, any administration would appoint anyone who ever even agreed with him on regulatory issues to a responsible position.  The whole concept that the market is capable of regulating itself, or even that a free market exists, has been so thoroughly discredited that Sommers and Geithner should be selling apples on Wall Street, not advising the president on financial matters.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:21"},{"nm":"Bob R","rs":"0","ms":"We need to get the disease of \'special interest groups\' out of goverment! Both political parties are culpable.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:06"},{"nm":"Lisa Goodeill","rs":"0","ms":"I wish President Obama had the same focus toward regulating derivatives as he has for health care reform.  He missed a window of opportunity during the crash when public outcry was at its peak.   The Dow is up today, and for those who can\'t be bothered to read, the little arrow on CNN is green and pointing up, so everything must be fine.    Let\'s all just go back to spreading wild rumors about health care reform, swine flu and to watching the &quot;Balloon Boy&quot;.  Sorry for the sarcasm; I\'m just fed up. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:04"},{"nm":"Luc Hétu","rs":"0","ms":"Maybe Gitmo could be used to neutralize the financial terrorists depicted in your documentary.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 08:03"},{"nm":"Steve G","rs":"0","ms":"As always, a greatly informative program that will only be found on PBS and FRONTLINE.Anything and EVERYTHING the American taxpayer insures or subsidizes should / must be regulated. Why is that even questioned? &quot;WE&quot; were forced to pay for the last unregulated bailout. Why do corporations believe they are &quot;entitled&quot; to be insured against losses by the American taxpayers but have no restrictions or regulations on their actions?What arrogance to think they are so duly entitled to such free form greed. These crooks got away with it 20 years ago, they will get away with it this time, NO ONE will be held accountable for bankrupting the entire country and they will go about their greedy ways with no remorse or obstruction.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:59"},{"nm":"Bob","rs":"0","ms":"There is general concensus that speculation in oil futures was the culprit behind the dramatice rise in oil prices during 2008.  As with the housing bubble, this one hurt us all.  Meanwhile, business hates regulation.  Can you imagine football or baseball being played without referees or umpires?  Everyone hates them but they are necessary.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:59"},{"nm":"M. Elizabeth","rs":"0","ms":"Watching Greenspan, Rubin and Summers pushing their weight around because they were so convinced their intelligence surpassed they of others reminded me of Robert McNamara and his cohorts in President Kennedy\'s Defense Department leading us further and further into the quagmire of Vietnam.  These \'financial geniuses\' were so arrogant and spent so much time talking only to others who agreed with their high, and faulty, opinion of themselves that they became unable to imagine they could be mistaken.  Until it was too late to save the rest of us from their hubris. Where was independent press reporting at the time?  Mr. Greenspan\'s wife, Andrea Mitchell, reported for NBC.  Finally, why, when President Obama promised us to sweep the old thinking out of Washington, did he hire Summers, et al?   Only Arthur Levitt acknowledged underestimating Brooksley Born.  Greenspan\'s \'apology\' was as convoluted as the rest of his pronouncements.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:51"},{"nm":"B Beneke","rs":"0","ms":"WE should demand the &quot;Medal of Freedom&quot; back from Greenspan and give it to Brooksley Born for her courage in trying to warn us of the dangers of not regulating derivatives.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:48"},{"nm":"Wm. J. Schenker, MD","rs":"0","ms":"This program was a breath of fresh air!  It didn\'t single out Bush and the Republicans, or Clinton/Obama and the Democrats.... it laid the blame on BOTH, and their hirelings.  And the prophet who laid bare the skullduggery was a prophetESS.  Bravo!  Of course the sordid story goes back much further than Greenspan and company .... many decades, even generations.  Nevertheless, a true piece of history.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:44"},{"nm":"Thomas Tuohy","rs":"0","ms":"The most alarming, yet sadly not surprising, picture this program left behind was the image of Giethner and Sommers as being a part of the current president\'s council. Can the greed ever end? No political figure is truly an outsider to the political/business/economic complex for very long these days.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:42"},{"nm":"Dirk Diggler","rs":"0","ms":"Very informative program! Now if only the main stream media would be able to do this kind of reporting. Careful who you criticize in your reporting though, they may stop proving you with interviews. Thanks PBS. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:40"},{"nm":"joe","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m a very liberal Democrat, and my thought while I was watching The Warning was, will President Obama be watching this show? I hope so.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:39"},{"nm":"Terry Fitzpatrick","rs":"0","ms":"The most frightening thing about this documentary is that Summers and Geitner still play a key role in the Obama administration, one that has done nothing to regulate the OTC markets after a year and a half.  Of course derivatives should be regulated, but it\'s complex and something very few people understand.As individual investors in the US, we are pawns in a giant ponzi scheme.  Maybe your next show should be about the dark holes.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:38"},{"nm":"Greg Richardson","rs":"0","ms":"I am a registered Republican who voted for Bush both times. I was going to vote for McCain...until the financial crisis erupted last Fall. I voted straight ticket Democrat b/c I believed imposing new regulations on Wall St. was Job #1 for the next few years - and I trusted the Democrats to get that done more so than Republicans. If the Obama Administration fails to push through meaningful regulatory reform for the financial industry, this will be a failed Administration as far as I\'m concerned - and this coveted Independent voter will not vote for him again.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:38"},{"nm":"Steve","rs":"0","ms":"ALL the regulators, knew all along what they were doing. Here is another aspect of the problem. &quot;Toxic assests&quot;, over valued real estate mortgages, that was their fuel for the fire. How were they possible since the very same exact problem caused the S/L bailout just 20 years ago?\<a href=&quot;http://stvglmr.newsvine.com/_news/2008/09/27/1921509-deregulation-and-lack-of-media-attention-cause-bailout&quot;\>http://stvglmr.newsvine.com/_news/2008/09/27/1921509-deregulation-and-lack-of-media-attention-cause-bailout\<\/a\>","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:37"},{"nm":"Dale F. Buss","rs":"0","ms":"What courage PBS, to record and report this activity.  Dark, black and sinister are appropriate for a government within a government.  This person gave her life heroically for public good.  Incredible story,I would find a way to reinforce and level this playing field.  This is NOT the only arena of public service that &quot;eats it\'s young&quot;, educated, ambitious and highly motivated reformers are in every facet of public service and need your support!  Thank you Brooksley with every fiber,I am so proud!  WHAT an AMERICAN! Dale","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:36"},{"nm":"Cade Campbell","rs":"0","ms":"Do we have to be hit over the head with a bag of bricks.  Actually, we were and we still don\'t get it.  Democrats and Republicans work for the money interest.  That is why Obama retained both Geithner and Summers. And why do we have a bunch of private bankers deciding economic issues for us and printing our money (The Federal Reserve)?  That why we have/had a Treasury Department and Treasury Secretary.  Face it people, we know very little of what goes on in OUR government.  This is just what Thomas Jefferson warned against 300 years ago.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:11"},{"nm":"Perk","rs":"0","ms":"Thomas Jefferson, Andrew Jackson, Abraham Lincoln, and Woodrow Wilson have eloquently warned us about the dangers of a Central Bank, known in our times as the Federal Reserve. As long as this private corporation is in control of printing our money, Washington regulators won\'t have any power over banks and their unregulated derivatives. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 07:06"},{"nm":"bob","rs":"0","ms":"The Nobel Peach Prize went to the wrong person..Ms. Bold, I congratulate you.You should get the 1.7 Million, Goldman is paying Billions in Bonuses alreadyon borrowed money or Derivative money? WILL (narrator) the Best !!! you make60 minutes look like trash. Keep up the best programming on TV. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 06:54"},{"nm":"Todd Bauerle","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline and thank you Mrs Born for this information.  As a 26 year practioner of Personal Financial Planning this information may save my clients millions in the future.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 06:40"},{"nm":"Darryn ","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s the OTC type of financial instruments that need to be regulated. I don\'t think most people realize that derivatives, i.e. the futures market (hedging) has been a successfull and very important part of doing business around the world and has largly brought price stability to many of the products we buy every day. Unfortuantly, the &quot;term&quot; derivative is getting a negative conitation in the public at large because of the OTC derivatives that caused so much of this recent financial kaos.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 06:36"},{"nm":"John Gelles","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born understands that a &quot;market&quot; does not automatically create control over fraud or other vulnerabilities to loss that may accompany &quot;doing business&quot; or human commercial interaction. She understands that a &quot;market&quot; is no better at organizing &quot;trade&quot; than the &quot;economy&quot; is -- wherein the market is protected from crime and human error.Alan Greenspan and &quot;capitalism&quot; did not attempt to provide, as a necessary support for trade, a &quot;reversible money pump&quot;, designed to meet Keynesian concerns for aggregate demand and supply--neither of which may be allowed to run dry if trade, itself, is logically welcome at the time and place people appear to desire it.All Americans are aware that money to support demand in an economy may less or more than sustained operations (that produce needs and purchase production) require. They are dimly aware that a money pump must be ready that can pump money in or suck money out of the pockets of persons who &quot;go to&quot; market as a part of their system of essential supply of need.Were we to be blessed with Brooksley Born in place as an honest competent regulator, would we also be blessed with an honest competent engineer to design and operate the pumps without which an economy may fail the nation and world that surround it -- as it serves them.If you have never encountered a reversible money pump (of Keynesian design with respect to full employment, consumption, and managed money), it may be time you did. There is a Google site where it is under construction. I hope you will look for and find it.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 06:32"},{"nm":"Greg Alkema","rs":"0","ms":"Why has it taken so long for this information to be made public?  Although the powers that be would like to &quot;shut him down&quot; like the did Brooksley Born, Lyndon LaRouche has not only WARNED about derivatives; he has A PLAN to solve the problem.  You should, as quickly as possible, do a program on Lyndon LaRouche and do everything in your power to save our Republic, the USA.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 06:22"},{"nm":"Douglas Phillips","rs":"0","ms":"I strongly urge every middle-class American to view the October 20, 2009 Public Broadcasting (PBS) FRONTLINE episode, entitled &quot;The Warning&quot;, which can be viewed at \<a href=&quot;http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/.&quot;\>http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/warning/view/.\<\/a\>  It chronicles the background behind the 2008 meltdown of the financial markets and the overwhelming dangers of allowing derivatives to remain unregulated.  The insights of Brooksley Born and the stunning admission of Alan Greenspan, that his 40-year view to not regulate the markets was wrong, offer compelling evidence of the need for adequate controls.  I realize President Obama has spoken of the need for these controls, but I also realize the financial lobby\'s strong pressure against regulating, on the Administration and Congress.    Clearly the unregulated environment was the basis of our financial collapse that is deeply hurting so many middle-class Americans.  Now, after we the people (through the government) bailed out the major banks and financial institutions, willingness to loan money has not improved, but the bonuses of the financial leaders are huge again.  Businesses, like General Motors, received billions of dollars to prevent the recession from getting worse, and then repaid the country by eliminating 100’s of thousands of jobs.Don\'t let Wall Street risk the very stability of our economy again.  Bear in mind the warning given by Ms. Born, at the conclusion of the program:  If the derivatives market is not regulated, our economy will see repeated collapses like the one we are STILL IN NOW, just with different details.  Contact you Congressional Representative, Senator and the President, and urge reasonable controls over derivatives, including transparency, a minimum reserve level, and full reporting.  All financial instruments should have such requirements.  Without them, rampant greed - the lure of huge profits, leads those who can afford to participate to do so, and those who cannot afford to do so, to bail out the country\'s financial system.  Such solutions come at very great personal costs, which I, and millions of fellow-Americans, know from personal experience.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 06:11"},{"nm":"Doug Baer","rs":"0","ms":"Now Wall St. lobbyists are bull rushing our Congress to prevent regulation of this casino like industry. Our system is corrupt to the core, with business as usual. Greenspan and and his fellow Randians get a free pass.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 06:04"},{"nm":"Greg Lynch","rs":"0","ms":"Greed (also called avarice) is an inordinate desire to acquire or possess more than one needs or deserves, especially with respect to material wealth. &quot;The Warning&quot; presents another fine example of a group of greedy people involved at the highest levels of our government and business that do not seek to serve the people for the people. Greed is nothing new and has been part of the human experience for a millenia with its consequences predictable, painful and ugly. The shocking fact that our current leadership has apparently not yet recognized the importance of transparency and integrity in business is essential, I\'ll have to concur with Ms. Born\'s assessment of our future. Since human nature is what it is, complete with the abscess of greed, deriviatives must be regulated so that transparency and integrity of global economic activity is assured. Thank you PBS... but the message was received 10 years too late. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:26"},{"nm":"len weaskus","rs":"0","ms":"elitism at it\'s worst, does anyone think this has not happened to america before and if you do, what history did you read. It had it\'s beginning in the Virginia Commonwealth. Nathaniel Bacon\'s rebellion was against the Elites(plantation owners,nee bankers!). where were we when other voices tried to warn us but we shouted them down. This is not about anyones adminisration, it\'s about our own collective greed on many levels. Mr.gecko said it, &quot;greed is good&quot; The United States was founded on greed.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:24"},{"nm":"Jerome White","rs":"0","ms":"I am so disappointed in Barack Obama. I am a 58 years old Afican-American male. I only voted for president twice in my life. I contributed 500 dollars to Obama\'s campaign. I really thought he was going to bring a new type of politics to Washington. Allegedly, his favorite book is &quot;A Team of Rivals&quot;. Based on that,I thought he would pick people with different views. It appears when it comes to economic policy he surrounded himself with &quot;A Team of Buddies.&quot;. Why isn\'t Brooksley Born part of the team. Why isn\'t Sheila Bair part of the team. Both these women demonstrate out-of-the-box thinking. Instead Obama is relying on the &quot;Old Boys Club&quot;. Every strong leader must pick a good team. I am very concerned.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:17"},{"nm":"Dann D","rs":"0","ms":"When will there be prosecutions? This was and continues to be a conspiracy of greed at the highest levels. These same players are using taxpayer funds to artificially create the illusion of liquidity in the stock market today. This will never end without prison time, and that should include the government servants responsible for this travesty. This was nothing more than the largest transfer of wealth in world history and it happened by design, not by accident.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:17"},{"nm":"Sadhana","rs":"0","ms":"Obama needs to get rid of the blue eyed boys from Wall Street, Rubin, Summers & Geithner.. If he doesn\'t, he\'s just as culpable in this economic catastrophe as Greenspan & the rest. Ms. Born, why didn\'t these esteemed Wall Street Journal editors and others not give you air time when it could have mattered? Why are Tim O\'Brien & David Wessel talking now? Aren\'t they, as representatives of the country\'s top newspapers, supposed to have aired this when it was happening? Who is this supposed to help now? Ten years from now, we\'ll be writing stories of the horrors of Obama\'s White House, when he\'s finished serving his two terms and the world has gone spiraling into another mess. I voted for Obama and this is frankly, scary.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:15"},{"nm":"Michael Keenan","rs":"0","ms":" Born Brooksley should immediately be made the new Fed Chairwoman and let the regulation begin.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:14"},{"nm":"Concerned citizen","rs":"0","ms":"So gov\'t is the problem?  We most definitely need regulations is certain areas to maintain level playing fields and prevent fraud and abuse.  Derivatives should absolutely be regulated; perhaps even banned since no one seems to know what they are or how they are calculated.  We\'ve just witnessed the greatest mass heist in human history.  We have seen a steady stream of concentration of wealth and power in too few hands. It has been 30+ years in the making.  Where was the media when Ms. Born was sounding her alarm?  There aren\'t just problems with the financial sector; but every major economic sector in the US.  Media/communications; Big Energy/Oil; Big Food/Agribusiness; Healthcare; Defense; Finance, etc.   We should be concerned about the tyranny of oligarchs in every area.  When enough consumers and capital markets are choked off; changes will occur.  Whether that will result in re-building a strong economy in sensible and orderly fashion remains to be seen.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:13"},{"nm":"Jack O Romolor","rs":"0","ms":"This is the most cruel and ruthless ways of hiding the truth from the general public,if lobbyist are the real problems why don\'t the lawmakers do something about this but then for 1 lawmaker is = 5 lobbyist,and the way I look at it we need to bring to the highest supreme court and solve this matter so it doesn\'t happen again in another 5 or 10 years from now. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:08"},{"nm":"Javier Hernandez","rs":"0","ms":"I clearly believe that this derivative mkt has to come to an end..or be regulated..that would mean financed...backed up by collateral$$$..I believe I heard them say that at its peak it was about a 595 trillion mkt. If that mkt is only 50% today and regulated...with Regulation D which requires 50% down...oh my lord where is the money? This is a crisis much bigger then anyone is publicly saying and to difficult for the public to understand. And then they wounder why we are a country addicted to all kinds of legal and illegal drugs. I am lost for words. Who and in what can you believe in?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:07"},{"nm":"Carolyn ","rs":"0","ms":"Even I, a financially uneducated homemaker who barely knows the difference between a derivative and a diva, better understands after watching &quot;The Warning&quot; what started us down this slippery financial slope. Now I hope that President Obama realizes that if he lies down with dogs, he\'s apt to get up with fleas ....Larry Summers and Timothy Geither have to go!!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 02:00"},{"nm":"dave drysdale","rs":"0","ms":"Only in America the greatest casino on earth","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:59"},{"nm":"anonymous ","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan, Rubin, Summers are criminals and belong in prison","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:58"},{"nm":"Jordan Olin","rs":"0","ms":"I was disappointed in the story and in Frontline because they seem to be a part of the media wing of the democratic party. They are I think spinning this story, and to the unsuspecting, may cause many to think that they are unbiased. I couldn\'t help but notice a thinly veiled message in this story, they started by blaming the great conservative Ronald Reagan, and saying that he fit well with Greenspan and was for no regulation, when I think he would be for some regulations, but thought government needed to be kept in check. They characterized Clinton as just going along with the status quo thus absolving himself of any blame. And of course Brooksley, who may have been right about the derivatives, it seems they took a lot of time showing how she was such a great feminist being held down by the &quot;Man&quot; and, made sure that you consider Alan Greenspan, Summers, and Rubin as total male shovenists. They may or may not be, but my point is there was still a lot of left wing spin here! Also when the senate hearing is going on and they are grilling Brooksley, they only show a  Republican senator laying into her! Why not show both parties in on it, as they mention many times in the story? Then in the clips of Alan Greenspan admitting he had been wrong his whole career, it is a Democrat doing all the grilling, further spin? Near the end it shows that Obama wants to regulate OTC derivatives, but has had some resistance, is this another tactic for Obama to gain support for socializing everything under the guise of prudence? There was some minor points that at least on the surface seam unbiased, but I think we have to be careful in throwing our support behind this.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:58"},{"nm":"Dr. Michael A. Daniels","rs":"0","ms":"Buddy.  See that portrait on the wall.  I bought it for $ 60 million a year ago.  Now I could get $ 600 million for it.  The illusion has become real.  Gordon Gekko, Wall Street, 1987!  Need a 50-100 million people march on DC folks.  Wake up!!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:54"},{"nm":"Eric Johnson","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks, once again, to Frontline for having the courage to report the facts.  The most telling moment of the entire broadcast were the words of Alan Greenspan, testifying before Henry Waxman, and the look on his face, as he admitted, after 18 years of supreme self-confidence, that he was wrong. A lot of people were wrong and because of their arrogance, the American people suffered and are suffering still.  We can and must take up the cause of Ms. Born and support Chairperson Elizabeth Warren in the fight for regulation of the financial markets. Especially the derivative market. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:53"},{"nm":"Michel Defays","rs":"0","ms":"I always amazes me to see: 1) The power interest groups and lobbyists have in the United States. In the cases of derivatives regulations, as with publicly funded health care, that power was and still is so clearly motivated by unchecked greed. 2) That in the rest of the developed world, such issues are so crystal clear to all that they usually dont become huge liabilities to little people.President Obama was elected on that platform: control Wall Street and provide health care to all. Congress should support him or else there will me more americans who will not be able to sell or mortgage their already foreclosed homes to pay for hospitalization resulting from the stress of having lost their jobs and retirement savings. It really is that simple.Very good job done by PBS to research this segment, but what happened to the Bush years? Future episode?Michel Defays, Toronto, Canada.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:52"},{"nm":"paul goralski","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you again FRONTLINE for another piece of great reporting. I too am very angry. Being a lifelong Democrat and believer in the financial marketplace, I have given up on the financial market place, the Democrats in Congress and probably in this administration that I worked so hard to help get elected. When will this President wake up and do the things he promised?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:49"},{"nm":"Carol Anne","rs":"0","ms":"So who do I trust in now?  Certainly not Congress, because whether Dems or Repubs are in charge, greed/lobbyists always reign.  As a proud liberal who voted for Obama, I find myself disappointed by him now, let alone Clinton.  I thought Dem politicians were supposed to be FOR regulation, FOR the little guy.  Boy, was I mistaken.  Republicans?  I\'m not disappointed with them.  I always get from them what I expect--greed gone rampart, let the corporations rule.  So who do I vote for now?  Who do I trust?  It\'s not in the ballot box.  Oh, and three cheers for Brooksley Born, for she\'ll never receive governmental acclaim.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:48"},{"nm":"robert fay","rs":"0","ms":"We aren\'t finished but the government is. Will the Congress just go home?Tonight\'s FRONTLINE shook me as no other tv documentary has. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:48"},{"nm":"TerryDo","rs":"0","ms":"BROOKSLEY BORN: America thanks you!!!And after viewing &quot;The Warning&quot; it seems to me that it did not matter who was in Power in the Whitehouse; whether it was Ford, Regan, Clinton, the Bush\'s or even worse now Obama, there is an oligarchy shadow government and they control the presidents the senate and congress.Arrogant guys such as Geitner and Summers are rewarded to their &quot;Shut Brooksley Born Down&quot; attitude and Greenspan and Rubin should not only be charged with these crimes against American and the world, but should also slowly die of SHAME.Greenspan and Rubin have nothing to be proud of in their twisted lives!However Ms. Born you make everyone proud for your fortitude, intellect and concern for the trusting American people. Thank you once again for being a patriot.The only way to clean up the government and give it back to the people is by (as the French would say) a Revolution…","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:48"},{"nm":"Graham Bell","rs":"0","ms":"I\'ve been bemused then angered by Obama\'s and the Democrat\'s lack of action -a year later with Alan Greenspan even admitting the ideology is wrong and nothing from Obama but an occasionaly speech -which the &quot;titans&quot; don\'t even attend.  Now I know it is by design.  Obama\'s design.  I had no idea how completely wrong his whole team is. I\'ve listen to how Paul Volker feels shut out.  But the Obama crew, those arrogant theives have absolutely no intention but to gain the system for anyone but themselves and their friends.  I see Obama\'s presidency going down in flames but his inability to act timely and decisively.  A year later and not a rule has changed!  Breath taking.Why do they keep saying 750 billion?  Newsweek reported the whole thing is now over 19 trillion!  Mostly by the Fed.  And with that kind of money flowing in Goldman is only reporting 3 billion in profits (700,000 per person in bonuses all kissed by Obama, Geitner, Summers and Rubin) and the other banks are still in losses!  That is how truely we are screwed and they are blessed.  Obama makes an occasional speech with this crew at his back.  Incredible.  Absolutely, sickingly incredible.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:48"},{"nm":"Robert L. and Linda M. Remley","rs":"0","ms":"We thank you very much for the enlightening program. We are going to contact our financial advisor and ask about these very troubling aspects of investing in todays market. As the saying goes &quot;power corrupts and total power corrupts totaly.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:44"},{"nm":"Ron Forbister","rs":"0","ms":"Think back, S&L crisis, Enron, Wallstreet corruption, bank bailouts, Housing market collapt, derivatives (just another big ponzi scheme); These are just a few examples how people with large amounts of power and money can manipulate the curcumstances to their gain.  Don\'t think for one moment that these are accidents, our congress is corrupt with special interest lobbyist, look whats happing now with the Inurance co. and phar. co. lobbyist Wild Wild West. Regualtion Yes, but we will fail before that happens.  Can\'t imagine what will happen when The &quot;O&quot; man fails.  Trust is non existant, greed is rampid.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:42"},{"nm":"Joellyn Mumcian","rs":"0","ms":"While the events depicted in this program were just one part of a plethora of events that took place over several decades, at least it shows us one example of how deregulation and lack of oversight of our financial markets led to our most recent financial breakdown.  Brooksley Born had the courage of her convictions to speak out about what she knew was taking place, but was silenced for her efforts, much to  the detriment of us all.  I knew when President Obama surrounded himself with the same cast of characters who were the perpetrators of the collapse that things would not be changing for the better.  I think our President has done a lot of good since he has taken office, but I fear that his decision to keep Geithner, Summers, and Bernanke, who is a protege of Greenspan, will be one that he will live to regret.  As we have seen this week the banks that we bailed out last year are already going about business as usual, setting aside billions of our taxpayer dollars for executive bonuses. Our President promised us in his campaign speeches that it would not be business as usual on Wall street.  I can only hope that eventually, just as Brookley Born did, that he will find the courage of his convictions and end the rape of our economy by those whose only goal is greed, avarice and power.  God help us all if he doesn\'t.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:40"},{"nm":"Dr. Patricia Woods","rs":"0","ms":"I am glad that the story has finally come to light for American citizens. It seems that we have even more problems that we are not facing and that is sexism! If Brooksy had not been female perhaps we would not be in this situation as we speak! I would like to think that everyone who watched tonight got a great wake up call and in the future will not just brush off someone without looking into their comments, and ideas! I like that Obama has a lot of women to work with him. I suppose had Brooksy been able to tell him about all this, at least he would have given pause if not listened to her. Anyway, we as a country have a lot of work to do to get out of this mess without getting even deeper into it. Let us remember that everyone has something to bring to the table and that someone may just have the answers if we are willing to listen to them before dismissing them like an irritating child! Obviously, the woman had intelligence enough to figure this all out, it would have been Democratic to hear her out and check things out! I would respect Summers, and Geithner a lot more if that had happened for Brooksy. That is what is wrong about all the divisiveness, we limit the ideas of others who could have the answers!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:40"},{"nm":"Kaller S. Gilbert","rs":"0","ms":"To those who fear Geithner and Summers, I say it takes a bomb maker to diffuse a bomb.  I hope we don\'t lose our resolve to regulate and deal with the glaring failings of capitalism.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:40"},{"nm":"yyang85","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you, Frontline, for this great story.  I hope that President Obama is able to watch and to think if he has picked up the right person(s) to take on a very important job.   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:39"},{"nm":"Gary Hall","rs":"0","ms":"Let\'s be clear. None of this is a new story. It\'s only that the national media has kept this off the table for a national discussion, in order to protect the fictional legacy of everyone just wishing we could have returned to the glory economic era of peace and prosperity that Clinton brought us. Also not mentioning the 6-10 million human beings that died in Africa during the era of Blood diamonds and turning backs on humanity. Time for a dialog amongst those who wish to know truths.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:39"},{"nm":"owldog","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you, frontline. Once again,  &quot;If Frontline doesn\'t do it, nobody will.&quot;","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:38"},{"nm":"Dave McDougall","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan admits that his view of the capitalist system was flawed. What he doesn\'t admit is that while we have regulations against evils like murder and theft,he doesn\'t see fraud as needing regulation. There is the disconnect that exemplifies what is wrong with the libertarian, &quot;invisible hand&quot;, economists. They fail to realize that some people do evil. And this penchant for evil increases when money is involved. Greed is not good. It is evil.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:37"},{"nm":"Wendy Davis","rs":"0","ms":"At the end of the line, when the last domino falls, there will be hunger and there will be deaths of children because of it.  That is unforgiveable.  Is the country being held hostage (and the elected officials)?  Why else would this have taken place for so long.  And who is Alan Greenspan to be a man to be afraid of?  Does he have that much power?  Listen, a lot can happen to temporarily ruin the economy but if what is said is true, there will never be a recovery, any monies will be sought after and bled off of by these obviously disturbed men we see tonight on PBS.  Thank you PBS and thank you Ms. Born.  Unregulated capitalism is clearly a magnet for high achieving criminals.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:36"},{"nm":"Cramer Tolboe","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks Again Mr. Kirk to you and your team for your continued research into the most important issues of our time. It is so crucial that people are enlightened by these broadcasts into all the disciplines that govern our citizenry, our nation and our world. Brooksly Born is a prophet among the titans. Lets hope that President Obama and his trust : Geitner / Summers / Bernanke have a noble dialogue about the way forward for our Nation and our People with regards to our Economic Sphere of society. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:36"},{"nm":"Claire Lambertus","rs":"0","ms":"The Warning connected the dots and completed the story that we have been learning only by reading blogs.  The national news programs have not revealed any of this story. They would loose income if they did. How does a president support a regulatory program that all the power players are working against?  What kind of courage does it take for elected officials to go against those who feed them and keep them in office? We the people do we have a chance or any hope that they will do what is right? or intelligent? It takes more than getting rich to make dreams come true.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:36"},{"nm":"Jesse","rs":"0","ms":"This PBS documentary is just another example of the excellent work that this program has been offering on the subject of banking and finance. Thank you so much for this.If one looks at the actions of the Democrats and Republicans since at least the Clinton inauguration, the differences between the two parties become quite blurred, almost showpieces, as compared to their actions with regard to banking and corporations.  If one looks further into the campaign contributions flowing from the Securities and Investment Sector, and Commercial banking, to the Congressional candidates in 2008 for example, the reasons become more obvious.Chris Whalen recently referred to this triumvirate of the Government, the Fed, and the Wall Street Banks as an &quot;Alliance of Convenience.&quot;  I think it has much more apt historical precedents.“Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.&quot; Benito Mussolini\<a href=&quot;http://tinyurl.com/PowerElite&quot;\>http://tinyurl.com/PowerElite\<\/a\>","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:36"},{"nm":"Gregor Samsa","rs":"0","ms":"Should we regulate derivatives? OK, so if we should have learned anything over the last year, it is that the world financial system is essentially a huge ponzi scam. It has absolutely nothing to do with &quot;free markets&quot; and everything to do with control, secrecy and fraud. And you ask &quot;should derivatives be regulated?&quot; Sure, and here\'s a band-aid for the leg you just lost!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:35"},{"nm":"Verne House, PhD","rs":"0","ms":"Terrific program, thank you.  As an economist, it baffles me how Greenspan, Summers and Rubin rationalize their belief that unregulated markets will maximize benefits for society while at the same time hiding market information from the traders and society in general.  Wow, all this trading in the dark!  Born was correct in seeking information.  Had she been able to get it, she could have improved market behavior by making it public.  Obviously, these wizards knew that some huge institutions would fail.  And, they should have.  The recent debacle supports my contention that: TOO BIG TO FAIL IS TOO BIG TO BAIL.  When President Obama introduced his economic team I knew our economic troubles would continue.  I agree with those who now call for him to fire them all, and bring in a new team that will bring the change I voted for.  We need a trust buster.  We need regulations to make markets function for society as a whole, not just the insiders.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:35"},{"nm":"Frank Lipsky","rs":"0","ms":"Freshman Calculus: Derivative Definition the rate of change of a variableJunior Calculus :Partial Derivative the rate of change of a variable function that has more than one variable Wall Street and banking The use of calculus to bet on the value of assets in the future (real or not realized) based on statistical models .Derivatives  do not create any capital goods or jobs ;it is legalized gambling and is unrelated to put or call options which are backed by assets it really is that simple GREED","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:35"},{"nm":"Gloria Anton","rs":"0","ms":"The Glass Steagall Act, allowed to expire in 1999 kept banks from investing in &quot;risky&quot; ventures and was enacted after the Great Depression.Like Brooksey, was kept silent as many politicians pushed for deregulation. &quot;An act passed by Congress in 1933 that prohibited commercial banks from collaborating with full-service brokerage firms or participating in investment banking activities.&quot; (Source \<a href=&quot;http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/glass_steagall_act.asp)&quot;\>http://www.investopedia.com/terms/g/glass_steagall_act.asp)\<\/a\> I hope we can learn a lesson here, get a general election fund where all contributions are blind so politicians can stop being bought and sold to the highest bidder, clean up corruption in Washington and on Wall Street; regulations aren\'t bad. What\'s bad is letting this country go down the drain financially so the few can get richer. Our elected are supposed to protect us from harm, not be the source of it.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:35"},{"nm":"Michael L. Gompertz","rs":"0","ms":"We do have a national religion in this country.  We worship Adam Smith\'s Invisible Hand.  We cannot bite (or regulate) the Hand that feeds us.  We are taught that something really bad MIGHT happen if we regulate derivatives or other complex financial products that Wall Street creates.  Alan Greenspan was our HIgh Priest and he said that should be no regulation at all, not even rules against fraud.  And we believed in Him because he spoke the Truth.Democrats and Republicans alike believe that &quot;government is the problem&quot; and that government bureaucrats can\'t do anything right.  They can\'t even park a bicycle straight, as George Wallace said so many years ago.  Well, the reality is that we need a truly effective government and many more public servants like Brooksley Born.  But how can the government be expected to regulate the 500 trillion dollar derivatives market when it cannot even shut down Bernie Madoff after being told repeatedly (and in great detail) about his Ponzi scheme?This program is scary and excellent reporting (10 years too late, however, as noted above).  But I doubt anything will happen.  The financial crisis is &quot;yesterday\'s news&quot; and no one seems to care that the entire world economy came very close to complete collapse in 2008.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:34"},{"nm":"Laurie Miller Tryck ","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline for producing this excellent program.  &quot;The Warning&quot; provides another reason why we need PBS more then ever. The networks would never share this news as they might loose their sponsors.. Ka CHING$$...I hope this excellent program can be viewed by all members of Congress and especially our President. BRAVO Michael Kirk ..please produce a sequel.  Thank again.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:33"},{"nm":"Jay Stewart","rs":"0","ms":"The Federal Reserve is a government granted monopoly that centrally commands and controls interest rates (1% in 2003) and money supply that led to the mess we\'re in now (easy money that shot real estate prices to unsustainable heights; remember, the derivatives were based on real estate prices that were artificially hiked through our Soviet Commissars in charge of setting the price of money ie interest rates).  There can\'t be any freemarket discipline when everytime a Wall Street bank or hedge fund screws up it is bailed out by the taxpayer, but more importantly by the Federal Reserve with money it created out of thin air.  Money has purchasing power because it is scarce, increase the supply of it (which the Federal Reserves has done by the trillions this past year) and everyone\'s wage and standard of living falls because of the governmental theft of inflation.  The 787 billion was chump change compared with the Federal Reserve\'s trillions of bailouts.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:33"},{"nm":"G. McGuire","rs":"0","ms":"So now my great-great-grandchilden yet unborn will still be bearing the cost of the arrogancy on the part of this generation\'s Wall Street financiers, banks, Congress, Presidents and Washington D.C. in general toward today\'s average American citizen.  It is TIME to regulate Wall Street and banks which bribe Congress and the President with campaign funds and which obtains via Wall Street and bank lobbyists whatever they want or do not want from politicians to further their financial gains.This nation has been brought to its knees by those in the federal government who accept money in exchange for turning their backs to the reality of the financial games played by Wall Stret and banks using fraud, deceit and greed.  We MUST keep contacting our Congress members and reminding them of their contributions to the decline of the United States of America.  Our voices MUST be heard by not re-electing any current member of Congress and we must so advise each and every one of them that their actions are being watched by the very citizens whose lives, and their descendents lives, their arrogance has impacted.DEMAND ENFORCEABLE FINANCIAL REGULATIONS.  It took 10+ years from first warning to financial disaster.  How soon before the next disaster if we as citizens do not act in our own behalf?  We certainly cannot count on politics as usual to rebuild this once proud Nation.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:32"},{"nm":"Steve Schaefer","rs":"0","ms":"Bravo, Frontline, for your compelling report. The pompous images of Greenspan, Summers, Rubin and Senator Phil Gramm and their conviction that they were correct in their actions should warn us all that this financial upheaval in derivatives is not yet resolved. Thanks much for the &quot;Warning&quot;.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:32"},{"nm":"Miguel Soto","rs":"0","ms":"We are humans and no matter what we will continue being humans; and a simple human logic says: what cannot be measured cannot be controlled.   I hope Wall Street and D.C. humans start to use a little be of simple human logic.   This will make a big difference.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:32"},{"nm":"Kevin Dittler","rs":"0","ms":"Stunning. If the average-normal American, Democrat or Republican can look at our government with any trust or faith, after viewing this, then our country as a collective is ultimately doomed to fail. Our time is now drawing near its end the same as the Roman Empire did. Clear transparent regulation is a oximoron for our society. By exposing how conjoined our corrupt government & banking empires are, perhaps the producers & staff at Frontline will win a Nobel Prize & write the countries epitaph at the same time.   ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:31"},{"nm":"Jim Nagy","rs":"0","ms":"This Frontline episode points out the weakness of our current President to get anything done.  Indeed, he has two of the principal players that prevented regulation of derivatives heading his economic team.  Why aren\'t Born and Stiglitz, or people like them, leading?    ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:26"},{"nm":"Shawn Buzzell","rs":"0","ms":"How about bringing in Brooksley Born in as the New Chief Economic Advisor and tossing Mr. Summers aside, then maybe will get on the proper track.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:26"},{"nm":"O\'l Don","rs":"0","ms":"It seems to me that the President should have Brooksley on his team as well to help with this situation. She is smart, intuitive and tough, just the kind of go getter we need. Instead he has two of the contributors to the problem on his team. A lot can be learned from ones mistakes, have Geitner and Summers learned enough yet? Why is it that Greenspan can say his ideology about no regulations was wrong and his two underlings still do nothing? What are they waiting for? As an engineer schooled at one of our nations finest engineering establishments I have know been out of work for one year. I am finding it harder and harder everyday to hang on to not only what I have worked for but what my parents worked so hard for as well. Enough is enough fellas, give the rest of a chance. PLEASE","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:25"},{"nm":"Paul  B.","rs":"0","ms":"  Thanks PBS.Yes these derivatives should be looked into, their very dangerous,if the banks fail again, and they ask for tax payers to bail them out again, this time the people will rise up against them.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:25"},{"nm":"Julie","rs":"0","ms":"Met Michael Kirk recently where he gave a talk about how he constructs his documentaries.  He is probably the best at what he does.  This one was exceptional as he peeled back the layers of the origin of the Wall street debalcle.  I agree:  Ms. Born should be together with Elizabeth Warren\'s panel doing more investigative work!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:25"},{"nm":"Miriam Schafler","rs":"0","ms":"Bravo to Frontline for this story.  Let\'s hope that Congress and the President have the courage to regulate and do what\'s right.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:21"},{"nm":"Juan McGruder - Portland, OR","rs":"0","ms":"Let\'s not waste too much time politicizing this article.  Not only is there plenty of fault the throw around, I\'m naive enough to believe President Obama did not understand the extent of his staff\'s involvement in this TERRIBLE scandal, any more than most of us.  Kudos to PBS, and my heart and mind are relieved (in a very ironic twist) that Brooksley Born was such a pit bull.  The U.S. government doesn’t stop showing us how powerful the influence of money can bend the spine we all claim to have in a &quot;free, intelligent, and civilized republic.&quot;","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:19"},{"nm":"Ed Zdonek","rs":"0","ms":"A fine job by PBS.A DVD copy of this program should be sent to every senator, congressman and Oboma.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:19"},{"nm":"Dana Reay","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you for producing and airing this story. Brooksley Born is a patriot! We need more like her keeping an eye on the banksters, and they must be given the authority to do so. We should empower the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. The agency\'s name should be changed to the Consumer Financial Protection Agency and its regulatory powers expanded to give it the ability to oversee, investigate, and issue policies regarding ANY and ALL financial instruments and &quot;wizardry&quot; that Wall Street dreams up. The current effort in Washington to create a NEW agency by this name to do so is reinventing the wheel, a waste of time, and frankly an attempt to appease angry taxpayers by creating another public office that will in truth be unfunded and powerless. We should thank Brooksley Born for her efforts by giving her former agency the power to do now what she couldn\'t then! Call your congressmen today!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:18"},{"nm":"Iain R. Gunn","rs":"0","ms":"Good job PBS and Frontline. As always, a great piece of journalism. As a Canadian, I do fully enjoy Frontline.I\'ve been on this earth now long enough to know that it all boils down to Power and Money. When the Power brokers tell you, &quot;Have I got a deal for you&quot;, you would be wise to start running the other way. But seems no one is listening.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:16"},{"nm":"Nan Holcomb","rs":"0","ms":"There is no question that derivatives should be regulated.  The real question is will the American people lobby *for* regulation with the same strength of will as the banking interests will lobby against it.  ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:15"},{"nm":"Dan Huck","rs":"0","ms":"During the debates over whether to regulate CDOs (pre-LTCM debacle), the argument surfaced that attempts to regulate derivatives would simply drive the business overseas to other countries quite willing to host these &quot;black-box&quot; operations.   This, so the argument goes, would have put US financial institutions (LCTM, AIG, investment banks, hedge funds etc.) at a distinct competitive disadvantage.  Moreover, forcing the business overseas would virtually guarantee we would never have an opportunity to put in place some regulatory regime, should  Greenspan & co. have an Epiphany.   I don\'t think this point was raised during &quot;The Warning.&quot;  Also, there was no mention of AIG and others who &quot;insured&quot; the CDO\'s (for big fees of course) to give the illusion that all the bases were covered.  Of course AIG contended, successfully, that this was not really &quot;insurance&quot; in the traditional sense but a &quot;credit default swap&quot;  and therefore was not subject to strict insurance regulation.   Things really spun out of control with trading in CDS\'s by speculators that never owned or had a stake in the underlying CDO\'s.  As a result, the &quot;value&quot; of the CDS\'s far outstripped the value of the assets (CDO\'s), creating the illusion of trillions in potential losses.Oh, what were the credit rating agencies doing during all of this?  And what about accounting firms that were attesting to the soundness of the balance sheets of firms that bought CDO\'s or speculated in CDS\'s?    Had these mechanisms been functioning properly, the meltdown might have been less sudden and severe.   I\'m not a big fan of regulation, but I do think standardizing trading and rating practices would help. I understand that efforts to create a functioning more transparent market is underway.   I would also ban naked CDS trading where no party assumes any risk for the underlying asset (the CDO).      ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:15"},{"nm":"Shade","rs":"0","ms":"Absolutely wonderful program. I only wish that the number of people who watched it equaled the number of people who watched the baseball playoffs earlier. As other commentators on this stream have suggested, it would be interesting to know why the Obama administration appointed Robert Rubin and Larry Summers to their current positions. Are they protecting themselves and their friends from possible indictment? How do we organize to pressure our politicians to enact regulation of the financial industry?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:14"},{"nm":"Dottielou Brokaw","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s absurd to say that libertarianism was a cause of the systemic mortgage fraud since libertarianism is by definition a social order dedicated regulation of coercion and fraud.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:13"},{"nm":"Mike","rs":"0","ms":"Regulate OTC derivatives? Obviously yes! Please send every member of Congress a DVD of this program (and/or a link to the Frontline URL for the program.) Transparency is absolutely needed in the derivatives market. Keynes was correct in describing financial markets as a &quot;casino.&quot; Should we put the capital development of the nation in the hands of what Keynes called a casino? I think not! ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:10"},{"nm":"Joe Nic","rs":"0","ms":"Some of the most disgusting people in history have warned us about the &quot;manipulators&quot; but we won\'t listen to them because of there horrific acts.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:06"},{"nm":"Jasmine Johnson","rs":"0","ms":"I was so enthralled in this story I watched it twice! I was aware of the deregulation in the 90\'s but I was to young to really understand what was happening. I had no idea that a bank almost crashed due to these black box deals that were unregulated. There are so many hands pushing the American economy off the proverbial cliff. This is a problem across the not so deep lines of politic.  The hairs on the back of my neck are still chilled from Mrs. Born\'s chilling message at the end. I was so against people putting there retirement on the market I even knew it was a bad idea as a high school student. Now I think anyone who is not a bazillionaire needs to pull there money out of this market and run!!! There will be no regulation, and if there is it will be a joke. Take care of yourselves your family and your neighbors. I think we are in for the long haul. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:06"},{"nm":"Pat Cavanaugh","rs":"0","ms":"The thing that I don\'t understand is that Greenspan actually warned the congress about the inherit dangers of the derivatives market near the end of his career as chairman of the fomc. Aparently he knew also, and nobody listened. I am not defending Greenspan, but wondering just what the heck is going on with our government.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 01:03"},{"nm":"Michael Hewitt","rs":"0","ms":"Doesn\'t matter if its democrat or republican...money(the elite)controls everything to do with this economy. As it states on the dollar bill &quot;in god we trust&quot;...the all mighty dollar. Ms. Born did her best, but the power of the few is at work here not matter whose in office.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:57"},{"nm":"Aidan Birds","rs":"0","ms":"I am learning that derivatives are like debt.  Only thing is...the parties involved do not know for certain who the debtor will be in the end.  What\'s worse, the math behind these agreements can morph what on the surface looks to be reasonable potential risk into a huge acceleration of losses.  To buy out of these deals, I have heard, is very costly, thus leading many executives to hold out for the fundamentals to shift back to their favor.  As the complexity of the derivative is likely beyond the mental grasp of all but the most mathematically minded, the decision to wait to terminate the agreement is based largely on the knee jerk refusal to realize losses, hold down costs and distance oneself from past bad business decisions.  500+ trillion dollars of debt....Who will end up paying this back?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:56"},{"nm":"p. joseph potocki","rs":"0","ms":"That congress has yet to enact meaningful financial regulation one year and mere millimeters from collapse proves precisely who owns who. Of course, the adage &quot;Radix malorum est cupiditas&quot; rules our nation, as ever it has. But we plebes share in the blame, if only for immersing ourselves in bread and circuses like the NFL, reality TV and Fox News. The citizen vigilance needed for any democratic republic to survive, let alone prosper, is left, it seems, to a few courageous people like Brooksley Born. Tragically, we never hear of them until their moment has passed and their deeds receded into history. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:54"},{"nm":"John Hooten","rs":"0","ms":"For markets to work the way Greenspan envisioned, there must be transparency for all parties.  &quot;Black Box&quot; investing is the first clue that something has gone wrong.  In Las Vegas, when the lines for games come out, it has takers on both sides that balance out the risk.  LTCM took only one side of the bet and when the game was an upset, LTCM couldn\'t pay. Regulation requiring transparency in all financial markets would be no different than having the FDA tell you what the ingredients are in your macaroni and cheese.  We need to also regulate the rating agencies that claimed that the CDO\'s were Aaa or AA.  Ms Born is correct that until we learn the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat them.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:48"},{"nm":"Matthew S. Kight","rs":"0","ms":"My complements to FRONTLINE for another excellent program. I think what was presented in this program was a disgrace to WALL STREET, Phil Gram, the Clinton Administration, Ruben and especially Alan Greenspan. What I would like to know from FRONTLINE,..is why no one is addressing these charges about Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and the low income housing bill. Trying to blame this disaster on those entities is just right wing propaganda to deflect blame away from WALL STREET. But with FOX News, Rush Limbaugh, Shawn Hanidey continuing to propagate this myth,...why has no one put the role of Fannie, Freddie and the low income housing bill into perspective. Their roles (secondary at best), are not supported by any evidence as far as I know. What do economists think of these allegations?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:46"},{"nm":"Pam Strayer","rs":"0","ms":"I want to thank Frontline for creating and airing this program. Why is this the first time I am hearing this story. There are so many important strands to it. The fact that the size of this market is 10 times bigger than the GDP of all nations should make us immediately sit up and take notice. The fact that as much as 40% of bank profits were coming from these markets should be reason enough to regulate it. This is crazy. It is very, very frightening to think that regulation prohibiting these problems may not pass due to lobbying. What kind of craziness would allow this to go on? This is my biggest fear. I have been wiped out financially twice now - once by the dotbomb and once by the events of 2008. Why should one continue to live in the U.S. when it is this unstable? We need financial reform and I would love to know what the best place to put one\'s energy for this is. We need an army of Barney Franks.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:45"},{"nm":"Bee Baird","rs":"0","ms":"We have the whole cast here of the Wizard of Oz starting with Greenspan behind the curtain. Fill in the tin man & scarecrow parts as you see fit. Gee whiz, now the Wizard says he doesn\'t believe in magic anymore while we\'re all whirling in the tornado trying to hang on to our houses and jobs for dear life. Where\'s Brooksley the good witch when you need her? Seriously, how could they allow such huge sums of money to be unregulated? Something criminal has happened to all of us.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:40"},{"nm":"Jim Young","rs":"0","ms":"Susie Ghraib\'s &quot;10 J: The History of the Federal Reserve Bank of Kansas City&quot; shows how central banks can and have protected the value of our currency by staying in tune with the real productivity of our country.  If that is a derivative, as another poster suggested, it is a good and workable one, if the honest agents like Jo Zak Miller are keeping track of the pulse.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:40"},{"nm":"Bob Dobbs","rs":"0","ms":"reganomics comes full circle.  We must support President Obama in his quest to bring this debacle under control.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:33"},{"nm":"Patricia Fernandez","rs":"0","ms":"My comment to craig Mac Naught: It was a Republican controlled Congress. The 105th Congress was notable for being a do nothing Congress. They were too busy impeaching Clinton for the Lewinsky affair than to be concerned about the warnings of a courageous, intelligent woman urging regulation of OTC derivatives. My fear now is the knowledge that OTC derivatives are still unregulated. The Dow has gone up and everyone is getting in party mode. How often do we have to be taught the lesson?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:31"},{"nm":"Marion Lansford","rs":"0","ms":"Well, Craig, it appears as if you are opposed as well to the recognition that a woman could have clear cogent insight, since you are couching your comment in the 60s phrase, “women’s liberation.”  Whatever.  But to ignore the Republican mantra, that long enduring prayer to the free market, by believing that you can’t believe that Bush’s name was not invoked as being part of the financial fiasco . . . come on!   Republicans have always infused their rhetoric with complaints about big government, and have gone to great lengths to privatize activities that have long been considered to be necessary functions of government. “Let’s not keep an eye on.  After all we wouldn’t want to stifle business, now, uhh, would we?”   Yes, the warning occurred during the Clinton years. Rush toward deregulation  began long before.  Warnings continued and attempts were made to reign in the greed. And, let’s see what administration was at the helm then?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:29"},{"nm":"ellen spencer","rs":"0","ms":"It seem to me that we the people should be informing the media that enough is enough. If fox news and  cnn would run the news like they are running the story about the balloon boy and his family it got the worlds attention right? why are they not informing the people about what really caused our economy to crash.Let the truth be known and they should be called out, there should be serious discussion from the media daily about these thieves soon or later someone will get the message . If the media needs something to talk about thats real news.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:29"},{"nm":"Feral child","rs":"0","ms":"An outstanding piece of true journalism, the kind we never see from the MSM anymore, and thank you so much for that.  If we had this level of research and exposure in the general press, these kinds of things could not happen anymore- a truly refreshing break from the press release readers and talking heads.  Very impressive work PBS and Frontline prodicers! ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:28"},{"nm":"Ross Van Amburg","rs":"0","ms":"How do you stop fascism?  The problem is not &quot;the government&quot; or &quot;wall street&quot; or &quot;political parties&quot;.  The problem is us...&quot;we the people&quot; for continuing to vote, invest, and be herded into the &quot;consumer market&quot; (i.e. surfdom).  Enough!  Pull your money out and invest it into your community where you can have better access and control.  You don\'t live on wall street, you live on main street.  Keep your resources of time, money, and humanity in your community.  Act locally, think globally.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:28"},{"nm":"Chris Grinnell","rs":"0","ms":"PBS, Please consider doing a follow up program devoted to defining what the term &quot;derivative&quot; means in this case. Derivative, to me, means rate-of-change. To explain them only as far as saying they are &quot;managed by very sophisticated computer models&quot; is to assume we\'re not smart enough to understand them. The program was an excellent beginning toward defining this problem.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:26"},{"nm":"Richard Fuller","rs":"0","ms":"The same people that caused this mess are now the advisors to our current President Obama. Nothing has changed. We will be in a worst mess within five years.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:22"},{"nm":"Joe Rogerson","rs":"0","ms":"This show was a detailed look at a preconceived notion that left out at least half of the story.  The very first sentence in the shows des\cription is inaccurate because there were MANY free market economists who predicted the bust long before Ms. Brooksley Born.  Giving credence to Alan Greenspan\'s apology denies his complicity in creating the sole proximate cause for the toxic investments - artificially lowering the interest rate to near zero.  The government has and still is creating irrational booms by giving monetary incentives to buy certain products that appear on the surface to have some merit in pursuit of achieving social goals.  As long as we are victims of an artificial FED based interest rate and an unproductive source of new money, we will never see the benefits of capitalism.  Reporters who want to retain any respect for honesty need to quit referring to markets and economic transactions as having been &quot;deregulated.&quot;  It hasn\'t happened in recent (or past US) history and with documentaries like this one which perpetuate fictional events as real events, it isn\'t likely to happen until we are all carrying our lunch money in wheelbarrows.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:22"},{"nm":"KATHRYN HUEBNER","rs":"0","ms":"Once again PBS Frontline shows the American Public the truth. The finacial mess started much earlier and was a product of greed, regardless of party politics. Evil such is this is because good men did nothing. Kudos to the Woman who spoke the truth.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:19"},{"nm":"Nancy Sproesser","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is a patriot of the highest order.  I am so relieved to learn that someone with expert knowledge of the securities markets tried to blow this whistle.  That the President is being advised on derivatives regulation by a person who has actively demonstrated  disdain for the public good, who conspired to make sure financial markets would remain unstable at foundation, seems like something from an OUTER LIMITS episode.  Why go bottom-fishing for someone like Summers when he could ask for help from Buffet, Born or Tavakoli?  Or someone those people suggest?  Democrat he may be, but Mr. Obama goes to the same store as Baby Bush and Groper Clinton to shop for his financial advisors.  The Robert Rubens of the nation are what they are - no better or worse than Afghani warlords and Iraqi tribal leaders who steal for their own at the expense of their nation.  Rubens just operates in a bigger arena and belongs to a stronger tribe –  despite the $1K suits, savages all.  I think of those forced out of their homes in Ohio and Michigan as winter comes, of former homeowners living in campgrounds in California, and wonder if Mr. Rubens thinks of them, too.  That so few could bring so many to such abject straits is still a wonder.  That there is so little care for those less fortunate in places of power (as in Mr. Summers\' office) is less a wonder - evil wears a banal face, and touts a banal line. Referencing investors, Mr. Greenspan suggested in his testimony before Congress that dummies should be allowed to make dumb decisions.   Even in my highly competitive business (real estate), it\'s Ethics 101 that inducing someone to act in a manner contrary to their own best interest by misrepresenting - even by omission - is WRONG.  Imagine the brouhaha if a real estate practitioner decided that a client was an idiot and so deserved to be defrauded.  As for transparency, everyone knows that  slime grows where there’s no light.   We need some rules and sunshine for derivatives and hedge funds (ask Mr. Buffet about those).  And perhaps more importantly, abrasive or not, politically correct or not, we need a patriot minding the store.  It\'s hard to think about health care when the foundation of our entire market system is threatened.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:17"},{"nm":"Patti Norman","rs":"0","ms":"This Frontline report was astounding ...in that there seems to be no lessons learned. It boggles the mind knowing that Geitner and Summers are in such powerful positions in this administration. How could Obama have chosen them, knowing their background?  Greenspan is despicable - his apology is a joke. Millions of people are suffering because of these men. And they don\'t get it, nor do they care. Even more troubling is that we\'re told it will take years for the economy to recover ...but after waching this, I wonder if we ever will recover because this criminal activity is just going to continue and, as Brooksley Born said, this will just keep happening over and over again. I\'m very troubled and disheartened.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:16"},{"nm":"Craig","rs":"0","ms":"This is not an R vs D thing. This is about 1% trying to have some thing for nothing. Playing who is more to blame is point less, because when it gets down to it they are all on the same team. How to change it is more to the point!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:15"},{"nm":"howard","rs":"0","ms":"this is very in ligten show the thing. that get me is that we seem to get  all the information about this after it happend front line keep doing a great job.p.s now you can see why she was not made attorney genral she had a guttes.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:14"},{"nm":"Phil","rs":"0","ms":"Greenspan is coward for not appearing on this program. Free markets don\'t work when Wall Street\'s reward system is based on greed. But I guess when they are gambling with the our money it does not matter. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:11"},{"nm":"William Cooper","rs":"0","ms":"Yes, absolutely, derivatives must be regulated, if not banned outright. Financial markets are supposed to serve the greater economy, not the other way around.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:07"},{"nm":"SW","rs":"0","ms":"I also wonder: Why are two of the people that shut Brooksley Born down now the chief financial officers to our current president? Does this not shake anyone to their core?","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:07"},{"nm":"Bob Hayes","rs":"0","ms":"Who regulated AIG? The answer is AIG actively pursued and selected the weakest regulatory agency to avoid scrutiny. Investment banks get to choose who regulates them. It is worth noting that President Obama received more campaign contributions from the finance industry than any other member of congress.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:04"},{"nm":"Jerry Rosewicz","rs":"0","ms":"   Exactly, what is a &quot;derivative&quot;?  I never heard a good , simple explaination.  I may have missed the beginning of the program, if it was defined.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:03"},{"nm":"Lisa T","rs":"0","ms":"I always enjoy listening to the powers in charge like Greenspan & Summers talk about the importance of the free market.  It\'s okay for the Fed to control interest rates and ensure that wages of the common worker don\'t increase significantly, but don\'t consider regulating an industry that is making speculator bankers millionaires on the backs of the American taxpayer even though that regulation worked since the depression.  We can already see that regulation of the financial markets has taken a backseat to this ridiculous spectacle on healthcare.  If the derivatives ponzi market is allowed to continue to expand, we won\'t have to worry about healthcare, because it will be the 30\'s again and everyone will be happy with a bowl of chicken soup as their cure.At least we women have other women to look up to in the financial world.  It’s unfortunate that individuals like Brooksley Born and Elizabeth Warren don’t choose to enter the ugly world of politics so we could have someone on top that understands that the piper will eventually need to be paid, but then again we know the banking lobby would have so much money against them it could never happen.  Obviously both parties have been in lock step with the those lobbyists for over a decade.  Why else would they get rid of regulation that worked for 60 years, and yes, the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act and other deregulation was a bipartisan effort.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:03"},{"nm":"Christine","rs":"0","ms":"Should derivatives be regulated?  You betcha!!!","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:03"},{"nm":"James Hamiter","rs":"0","ms":"At the close, Ms. Born said (I paraphrase) that our financial markets/system will continue to be in danger until certain people learn the lessons of the late \'90s and last year. The two scariest things here are that (A) She\'s right and (B) Those whose main goal is to make an amount of money equal to &quot;never enough&quot; won\'t learn. We may be forced into regulation whether we like it or not. ","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:00"},{"nm":"R. Fischer","rs":"0","ms":"I appreciated the information presented in tonight’s program: I found it extremely enlightening.  I sit in amazement at how the apparently self-serving actions of a few have rippled through society disrupting the lives of millions.  I wish I could say we don’t need regulation; clearly history has proven once again that our behavior is counterproductive.  Regulation can help with oversight, but even this attempt at reconciliation is intrinsically flawed as the root of our problems continues to be internal in nature.","pt":"Oct 21, 2009 00:00"},{"nm":"Paul Wohlfarth","rs":"0","ms":"After watching The Warning and being from the Midwest I can say that the same rogue Wall Street forces that have brought us the banking fiasco have also influenced our trade agreements which have devastated the Midwest manufacturing economy. It seems the majority of this country are being led by the minority that do not represent the best interests of the country. Think about doing a story on influence peddling by our global trading partners that have brought us one sided trade agreements that have turned our country into a debtor nation. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:50"},{"nm":"Larry Summers!!!!","rs":"0","ms":"I hope you people can get it through your head that money makes the world go round! Having experienced an economic crisis still regulation have yet been applied, which says alot about what money can do. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:49"},{"nm":"Joann","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you Frontline and PBS, for producing quality programs such as this, hopefully more in the future.During 1993-94, Orange County, California, had to file bankruptcy because Robert Citron, then Treasurer, had invested a majority of O.C. reserves in derivates, so why was it such a shock that it could not happen again?  Any comments?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:48"},{"nm":"Jose Strauss","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m shocked!!!  That President Obama would appoint Geithner as Treasury Secretary and Larry Summers as his Chief Econmic Advisor after what they did, is beyond understanding.  Maybe they are behind the poor support of the banks that lend to people and small business!  I have no reason to question the report in Frontline and I believe that Ms. Born (sp?) shouild receive the honors she deserves for her courage, and apologies for the injustice done to her.  I want to state that I\'m a Democrat and voted eagerly for President Obama; now I\'m concerned.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:46"},{"nm":"mark bowen","rs":"0","ms":"I really liked the part about five financial lobbyists for every congressman.All I hear is get out and vote if you dont like the way the country is run, well it seems to me I should be looking for a good lobbyist..","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:46"},{"nm":"george","rs":"0","ms":"do another special on this topic.  explain how this derivative works regarding insurance on the product and how leverage of the products get to 655 trillion plus. it seems these derivatives sort of trumps regular stocks or bonds markets; meaning these dark dealors(unregulated-off the books)have an advantage over non-participants. they have like inside information knowing the real truth of debt to be serviced by huge banks due to overevaluation of the callateral. no wonder some investment firms do better.  its all corrupt! buy gold!","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:45"},{"nm":"Ann Casey","rs":"0","ms":"Once again, great job PBS for informing the public of what is really going on in our government and big business. Americans not only need to be informed, but to demand change. I think a lot of citizens don\'t write their government representatives because they have given in to the belief that it will do no good, and that is a sad.  ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:45"},{"nm":"Henry F. Glodny","rs":"0","ms":"Free market capitalism did not cause this financial crisis.  Crony capitalism, along with misguided government intervention, did.  Frontline did not mention this.In addition, Frontline failed to note that the Financial Modernization Act of 1999 helped to create the condition of too big to fail.  Nor anything about the Community Reinvestment Act that pushed for lowered lending standards.  Nor anything about government sponsored entities such as Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, who created their own derivatives.Former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan was quoted as as saying there were flaws in markets.  Even he is seen as blaming capitalism, instead of taking responsibility for keeping short term interest rates too low for too long.Any truly knowlegeable investor knows the limits of his knowledge.  So a wise investor, asking for transparency in a particular derivative and seeing none, would rightfully stay away.  Otherwise, he is a fool and we know what happens with fools and their money.So this financial crisis ends quickly as long as there is no systemic risk.  And there is no systemic risk if no institution is too big to fail and if government does not create the moral hazards inherent in cronyism.Fifty years ago, the common refrain was „What\'s good for GM is good for America”.  Today, replace GM with GS (Goldman Sachs).  Crony capitalism socializes losses while privitizing their gains.  And its cronies get to blame a faceless punching bag called the free market.Frontline would do well to focus on the inter-connectedness of large institutions and government and stop trying to make this a regulation versus de-regulation argument.  This is pablum for an outraged public.  Nothing more.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:43"},{"nm":"Keith O\'Regan","rs":"0","ms":"It is amazing that the power of these officials controlling the future of financial America in this Frontline story and in our government today are not elected officials. Even more frightening, is that our elected officials in Congress don\'t know or understand what is happening and are not taking immediate action to prevent this from happening again. So, lets continue to focus on health care instead...let me know how that works out for us during the next American depression.  ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:43"},{"nm":"Catherine Jones","rs":"0","ms":"If the derivatives market is worth $600,000,000,000,000 and the U.S. debt is $10,000,000,000, I don\'t see how they could have let the OTC derivatives market get so big, and let America become so vulnerable.   Additionally, the 1998 hedge fund collapse sounded just like the Madoff Ponzi scheme.  It makes me wonder how much derivatives would be worth (if anything) once the dust settles from another collapse.  I certainly hope that the Obama administration can take apart the delicate derivatives house of cards without anymore collapses.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:43"},{"nm":"castironstrawbreaker","rs":"0","ms":"Unbelievable, it took Frontline for some to finally wakeup that the enemy is not your government but your government in the hands of corrupt bankers.  Imagine the Federal Reserve Chairman believing that it\'s ok to steal as long as it all works itself out.  What utter hogwash is that, libertarianism?  If that\'s libertarianism at it\'s finest I wonder how long before some other fool comes along and convinces those is congress that more regulation needs to come down.  This my friends was THE GREATEST TRANSFER OF WEALTH in the history of western capitalism.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:42"},{"nm":"DarrenG","rs":"0","ms":"This is an excellent program it is high time we name names and fly them high.  I don\'t understand how you can report, or listen to this program and not lay awake at night wondering what else these geniuses have been dreaming up and sweeping under the table that will kill us in the future.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:42"},{"nm":"John Dinsmore","rs":"0","ms":"This excellent documetary deserves to be seen by a much larger audience throughout the world.  Can PBS make it happen?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:42"},{"nm":"JD Sitter","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks Frontline, great job.The BS in Washington stacks up so fast that one needs wings to stay above it.  Yet another fine documentary that gets me worked up, yet at the same time makes me feel powerless to do anything about the current state of affairs.I\'m curious if this was originally to be a 90 minute or 2 hour piece.  It seemed rushed and there were some gaps in the timeline.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:40"},{"nm":"Carole Feagler","rs":"0","ms":"Although at some level I knew of the corruption, I am seething with renewed anger after watching all the key players so blatantly , arrogantly, and criminally manipulate the truth, the economy and our lives. I was extremely impressed with Brooksley Born, and can only wish they had listened to her. We really cannot trust those in power again and must be proactive in our vigilance.Carole","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:40"},{"nm":"Christopher Loch","rs":"0","ms":"Ayn Rand is dead literally and figuratively as the crash has proven and Greenspan admitted but some how her books keep selling.  I don\'t get it.  Maybe the objectivists free marketeers are propping up the sales of the book with subsidies?  Ha ha!  Probably not, but the trust funders out there certainly are.  Gotta find a way to keep believing what their rich parents have been telling them.  So have to turn to fiction I guess.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:37"},{"nm":"mark bowen","rs":"0","ms":"The more I learn about this whole financial crisis the more I feel that the words &quot;a government of the people,by the people,for the people&quot;,in translation means a government of the people, by the rich, for the rich.What I really can\'t fathom is that millions of americans suffered some sort of loss in this whole mess,losing their houses,their savings,their retirements, yet no one is being held liable and the same people who flew the economy airplane into the ground(and raked in millions..scratch that, billions doing so), stand to make billions more.But nobody is going to jail for it.Geez,don\'t get caught smoking a joint if you\'re terminally you\'ll go to jail for that.Kudos to PBS for shedding some well deserved light on this whole subject.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:36"},{"nm":"Neil","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is a true hero and a patriot. I worked and traded for many years on the trading floor of a major commodity exchange, and I can say from first hand experience, that thru the 80\'s, I saw thievery, outright theft, behavior of the most base nature, which I found disgusting, and left the trading floor and finacial industry in 1988.To any of my fellow citizens, who saw this fine piece of journalism from Frontline(truly one of the last non-partisan bastions of journalism left) I advise you all, buy fine American silver coinage   productive farmland and/or a means to produce &quot;things&quot;. The US dollar is through, it\'s done, now comes the time to pay the butcher\'s bill.    ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:34"},{"nm":"Glen Nilsen","rs":"0","ms":"I would like to see Ms Born back in Washington working on the regulations that she started.  It seems very ironic that the people who shot her down are now part of the Obama team and supporting the regulations that Ms Born started.  ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:33"},{"nm":"Joesnopy","rs":"0","ms":"Greed has no party.  Dem and Repubs are Americans.  We are greedy kids living in La La land.  I mean look at all the resources we use coming from the Earth and we take it lightly.  One it is used it is gone baby.  Ask yourself were did your money go.  This is just saving.  What about you daily cost?  The last eight years who had the largest profits?  Energy companies.  They have a lot of your money.  Healthcare cost is going up 10% again.  Healthcare cost is in La La land in America.  Where is the money going?  Who is taking the Healthcare money?  La La land.  And we all know about the housing market.  I saw this stupidity 9 years ago in my hood.  You would not believe it.  Banks, Mortgage companies stilling money from you for years and the sad thing is the FBI, local law enforcement, other Gov agents was told people and companies are stilling money flipping house.  I am a broke American with no saving and now you know.  Thanks alot American people.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:33"},{"nm":"Pat","rs":"0","ms":"I read where one comment was that &quot;it(the program) was not 60 minutes of blaming Bush.&quot; No, the program was very thorough and informative right up through 1999.  Then, it skipped right over the Bush years of and jumped right to &quot;the crisis&quot;)of 2006). Not one mention of those 6 years-not one! After such an in depth analysis of Clinton\'s (or his advisors\')actions, why not one single word about the Bush administration? Can we expect a show on &quot;The Warning-Part II&quot; to cover 2000-2006?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:33"},{"nm":"John Routenberg","rs":"0","ms":"Everyone outraged about the lack of regulation of our financial markets should read G. Edward Griffin\'s account of the first meeting of 7 men on Jeckyll Island in 1910.  It is said they represented 25% of the wealth in the entire world and they would begin to plan and implement the US Federal Reserve.  The first time the term &quot;bailout&quot; was used was at these meetings.  The group of private financiers wanted their financial institutions to be able to invest in more risky enterprises and in the event of failure, they would be bailed out by the American taxpayer.   I have more faith in human greed than I do in unregulated financial markets--a faith that Alan Greenspan has come to appreciate a little too late in the game.  To allow this situation to continue just adds to the growing snowball of ignorance and stupidity of the American public.  ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:33"},{"nm":"DemocracyInteractive.com","rs":"0","ms":"Tremendously important show. Ms. Born you are a genuine American hero. Thank you to the producers of this program for your hard work in bring the source of this disaster to light.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:32"},{"nm":"M. Minnis","rs":"0","ms":"Way to go PBS.  This is quality programming.  It is clearly evident LCTM has too much power over our banking system.  It is obvious that regulation is in order.  Obama has to get with it.  There is a narrow window of opportunity here.  Let\'s stop blaming and get busy.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:31"},{"nm":"antoniosanturio","rs":"0","ms":"I watched this program and by the end of it, I was disgusted with it. I\'m disgusted  of how you held these three men Allan Greenspan, Robert Ruben ,and Larry Summers in such high esteem while there is not even a picture of a hero like Ms. Brooksley Born anywhere in your advertisement,for the movie. You put her in the background like every one else. She is a hero and as a hero she should be at the forefront. The way you arranged the documentary, she was just set in the background. Nothing was ever done with these three men legally. Every one who lost everything owe it to these three men. Yet they are still working for us in some way. They are still sought after for their expertise. While Ms Born is just left to give another warning that no one will react to. I think that all financial institutions that handle our money should have the strictest of regulations. I\'m for a free and honest market , not for a market made up of liars and scammers! What has been done legally to all those that scammed financial institutions and the American people.  To those who where involved directly and indirectly. Let them suffer like every one else they guided down the path to bankruptcy.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:31"},{"nm":"robert watts","rs":"0","ms":"  Thank you PBS and Frontline for giving the straight goods.  Should derivatives be regulated?  If the market is rising why should people care?  Because the stupidity of it all continues!  You can\'t make money out of thin air forever.  It comes from something such as providing a service or goods which are beneficial to the public. Unfortunately, there\'s no cop protecting them. The problem will not go away and credibility will not come until people like Brooksley are assigned to the positions where they can fix the system through regulation of derivatives however painful the process.  The people have to know what they are buying!  They have to have people they trust to oversee the system.  The regulators enabled a process to which only a few people can profit from. The people in these positions failed in their duty to protect the citizens from fraud and a systematic failure.  I don\'t know if I blame them.  Which is more important, making alot of money by going along or have integrity and go it alone?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:30"},{"nm":"Charley","rs":"0","ms":"Thanks for covering this. Brooksley Born is a hero and Summers and Geithner\'s involvement in this stuff needs to be more fully reported. Sad that they are in Obama\'s inner circle. Astounding the role that Greenspan & Rubin played in creating this debacle -- criminal and reckless is the way it comes across.  Stunning that Wall Street has been able to create a situation where public money and US taxpayers are bankrolling their gambling -- most of which has a negative impact on the productive functioning of the economy.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:29"},{"nm":"Gery Cardenas","rs":"0","ms":"As a 16 year old mail room clerk in a bank in Texas (where each bank was literally a bank and there were no branches), I learned from the bank managers that the two things they feared most were an upset customer and a bank auditor who found a problem.  The chairman of that bank once told me to always remember that we had to be careful with every dime we spent and all we did because it was really someone else’s money and that they had put the greatest faith in us by leaving their money with us.  Finally, most of the banks managers expressed a similar thought, never do anything you  have to look over your shoulder for.  It is terrible that these virtues are no longer with our financial community.  It is not just the &quot;secret&quot; derivates market we have to watch for but also the mixing of &quot;banking&quot; with financial services, insurance, brokerage, etc.... that has eroded all of the protections from the great depression that we came to rely on.  What Greenspan doesn\'t yet understand, is that he hadn\'t really seen &quot;40 years of evidence that free markets work&quot;, but that it took 40 years of slowly undoing significant financial reforms and regulatory practices that kept the financial disaster at bay.  The amazing thing is not that people of such extreme views exist, but that his were not reported by the press, which allowed him to be reappointed without scrutiny.  The idea that the nation’s single most important financial regulator would not believe in enforcing the laws against crimes such as fraud, conflicts of interest and other financial misconduct is unconscionable and should have been news every time he was up for reappointment. Free marketer’s theories on this and other voodoo economic nonsense sounded terrible each time I hear them and I barely passed my economics courses. A special prosecutor should be appointed to &quot;follow the money&quot;, recover what they can for us and make an example of what appears to be some financial organized crime syndicates raiding our economy.  Many people at Enron and other financial giants went to jail for similar or even lesser crimes.  Obama must make a clean break with the past or become part of the problem, including the people who helped create this mess.  Appoint Brooksley Fed Chair, Sec. Treasury, AG, or Secretary of new Financial Security Agency","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:29"},{"nm":"Party\'s over folks","rs":"0","ms":"If they regulate, the world economic system is done.  They will kick the can down the road as they did 10 years ago. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:28"},{"nm":"tom","rs":"0","ms":"If you really want dig in to this area try &quot;The collossal failure of Common sense&quot;. A detailed book(and look) about the demise of Lehman Brothers and more importantly the greed that pervades all of Wall Street.I applaud Frontline once again for bringing clarity from within the cloud. LTCM was the warning shot and no one paid attention 10 yrs ago. As the saying goes &quot;if we don\'t learn the lessons of history, we are doomed to repeat them&quot;, and unfortunately we did.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:28"},{"nm":"Dan Keys","rs":"0","ms":"Great show!  It is so disheartening that those who can see the forest for the trees, like Simon Johnson, Born and others are made impotent by the banking lobby that controls congress and the White House.  I do not see a way out of this other than steady downward stagnation or economic collapse.  I don\'t understand why Obama does not clean house in his economic team and put in place those who had and have the insight and courage to warn us of these problems.  If people like Summers and Geithner stay on board then I will definitely vote against the incumbent president in \'12.  It is painfully obvious that the Democratic party is confederate with the Wall Street just as much as the Republicans.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:27"},{"nm":"Joseph Breckenridge","rs":"0","ms":"I take it as a given that the truth is always best. And, without transparency in these markets, it is impossible to know the truth. Law, regulation and transparency is the only way to tame the worse excesses of human nature. The best and the brightest fall under the spell of their own success and hubris drags them and us to ruin -- just like &quot;the smartest guys in the room&quot; took down Enron and destroyed so many lives. Obama and his administration must take swift action and not be seduced by the wizards of Wall Street. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:24"},{"nm":"Renee Lorenz","rs":"0","ms":"I loved this program. I didn\'t know there was a heroine in this story, meaning someone in a government agency who tried her hardest to intervene and get the truth about derivatives heard. She was ahead of her time but NOW IT IS HER TIME AND WE NEED HER VOICE IN CONGRESS. I hope she has President Obama\'s ear. For that matter I hope she has Congress\'s ear.  We can\'t let the financial industry; banks,Wall Street, hedge fund managers etc. bring our country to its knees again.  WE NEED DERIVATIVES REGULATION AND WE NEED IT NOW. Ask your friends and family to watch this program, write an editorial, call your Congress people,we can\'t stand by and let this happen again. I\'m going to write to my State Senators now, and I beg each of you to take at least one action step.  WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:24"},{"nm":"Elg","rs":"0","ms":"Yes derivatives should be regulated. This was not just a lack of regulation, they were operating in a world outside the law and under their own rules. They weren\'t even keeping records; the American taxpayers lost billions in uncollected taxes. This is just another example of how special preferences are extended to those who have the money and power to be above the law & constitution. If this is not UN-American I don\'t know what is.  Even the President did not have enough knowledge about this market to speak on the matter. In this country, those of us who work for a living and abide by the rules are saps.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:23"},{"nm":"Erin","rs":"0","ms":"Frontline/PBSThank you for continuing to cast light into the darkness. I believe many Americans are completely unaware of what happened and the current struggle for financial power. Clearly regulation is necessary, history has proven it. That’s why the Glass-Steagall Act of 1933 was so aggressively fought to deregulate in 1998. This alone has allowed the four men shown in the broadcast to basically destroy our market and our country. PBS, please continue to inform the public. You have done an excellent job breaking down this subject.  I’m also purchasing this program. NOTE: In mid-January 2008, hedge fund Paulson & Co hired Alan Greenspan as an adviser on economic issues and monetary policy. This is the third private role given to Alan Greenspan, the first two being given by Deutsche Bank and bond investment company Pacific Investment Management (PIMCO). Greenspan advises Paulson & Co on economic issues surrounding United States and world financial markets. Thank You.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:23"},{"nm":"Jim","rs":"0","ms":"Wonderful job!  I consider myself a pro-business moderate, but the unchecked power the big private sector players in our country wield in Washington is simply untenable and threatens our future.  I am appalled at the fact that the companies and individuals in those companies who brought our economy to its\' knees, still have so much influence.  We as citizens must hold our congressional representatives and president accountable if real reform is not enacted.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:22"},{"nm":"jd hattaway","rs":"0","ms":"Derivatives of retribution should be meted without regulation upon the perps, a la Greenspan, Robert Rubin, Larry Summers, Timmy Geithner, Hank Paulson et al. FBI investigations, trials and incarceration would curb moral hazards as much or more than regulations and reserve requirements. Consign them to the duration of the recession they caused to living under a Detroit, MI bridge along with their victims - at a minimum. Duplicitous pols along with them.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:22"},{"nm":"oldirish","rs":"0","ms":"First of all, I deeply resent these people referring to one another as &quot;public servants&quot;.They are professionals only interested in perpetuating their wealth and power.The reality is that the only interests of either party are gaining control to perpetuate their power and wealth.  Bush, Clinton, Reagan, and it appears Obama, Republican, Democrat, it is irrelevant.  Fox to a greater degree, but the rest of the so called &quot;mainstream&quot; media also are designed to create divisiveness to divert us from what is really going on.  Focus on baloon boys, entertainment gossip, &quot;reality&quot; TV, anything to divert our attention while they attempt to enhance the power of the very few and redistribute wealth to the top few percent as they have for the past 30 years.  The only answer I can see is to vote out all incumbents, local, state, and federal, every election cycle, regardless of party.  They are all, with very few exceptions, acting in their own interests serving their wealthy benefactors, not their constituents.  Vote them all out, every cycle until they are ready to return our government to the people.  Remember they are dividing you, using fear, hate, racism,and pure drivel to divert you from the truth. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:20"},{"nm":"Barbara Strong","rs":"0","ms":"The absolute arrogance of these men who prevented the CFTC from regulating the derivatives market is unbelievable. Anyone who claims that the &quot;market&quot; should regulate itself should talk to those who have been devastated by the current financial crisis.  Unfortunately greed has been around since time began, and because greed is at the base of most &quot;markets&quot; those &quot;markets&quot; must be regulated.  Ms. Born deserves our greatest respect. As for those who fought her at every turn, they deserve to look themselves in the mirror.   ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:19"},{"nm":"Anthony","rs":"0","ms":"Just watched the show and it should be required viewing for all our elected officials. The knot in my stomach only grew as it dawned on me that there is a very good chance that nothing will be done to bring the regulation needed to help prevent another economic disaster. GS is back making billions, so no harm no foul, right? ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:18"},{"nm":"Alan Wright","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is a heroine and truly courageous for standing up to the Wall Street Establishment that controls the White House.  All insiders on Wall Street know that the OTC derivatives market (which btw, grew expontially during the Bush years following the Born Era with the advent of the now imfamous credit default swaps)has, over the past 15 years, been the most important instrument of outrageous market manipulation that has produced truly obscene profits for the likes of Goldman Sachs and JP Morgan.  You all must read Fool\'s Gold by Jillian Lett.  How can Summers and Geithner have any credibility to stand as public servants at the highest level following these revelations(they probably should be prosecuted for treason instead).  President Obama must distance himself with Rubin cronies. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:18"},{"nm":"Anthony Capobianco","rs":"0","ms":"The fact that the current administration has these same people as there advisers is just shocking! It shows that our leaders have not learned from their mistakes & that this is not a presidency of change. Until we get the financial lobbyist out of Washington & start regulating OTC derivatives, then we will never see a recovery of the economy.  As a young professional who is starting to build a family, I am truly fearful for the future of this country.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:17"},{"nm":"Phil","rs":"0","ms":"I can not believe this story but I know that it is true.  I have 13 Grandchildren that I am ordering the CD to become part of our family archives.  The primary reason for this is so that they will understand how we got ourselves into the situation that they will have to pay for in their lifetime.  As I was scrolling down, I saw a question from a commentor that said how can the people that got us into this situation now be in control of our nation?  This is unbelievable!  I certainly will take this into consideration when it comes time for re-election!!","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:17"},{"nm":"JASON","rs":"0","ms":"It is extremely sad that everything becomes so politicized today.  Why can\'t people do what is right.  Money corrupts.  The self interests of people that promote a lack of regulation are those that either work for the institutions selling OTC derivatives, or own a significant size of the institution that sells OTC derivatives.  That is a relatively small amount of people.  We don\'t really live in a democracy because everyone\'s vote is NOT equal.  Many in the financial community have an outsized voice and influence.  ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:17"},{"nm":"John Chidiac","rs":"0","ms":"We no longer have a Democratic form of government or a Capitalist economic system.  The present form of government in Washington should be called a &quot;lobbocracy&quot; since it only represents Lobbyists and no longer represents  &quot;The People&quot;.  Wall Street should be renamed as &quot;Fraud Street&quot; since it now is a gathering place for more &quot;Ponzi&quot; gamers than true Capital investors. When will &quot;The People&quot; wake up and see that the emperor has no clothes?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:17"},{"nm":"J Bowen","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born is a wonderful example of a public servant who cares, who rises above the powerful financial lobby. Many thanks to PBS for this program.  Warren Buffet called derivatives &quot;weapons of financial mass destruction&quot; and they will be that until they are regulated or, indeed, outlawed.  Ms. Born should be on Elizabeth Warren\'s panel as they try to find out what happened to the TARP money, the taxpayers money used to bail out institutions who bet on the market and lost. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:16"},{"nm":"Raj","rs":"0","ms":"Brooksley Born appears to be an intelligent, competent and gracious individual which is more that I can say for this piece. The sexist perspective that a cabal of powerful men are to blame for this crisis despite the best efforts of women is incorrect and offensive.Juxtaposing random snide remarks from Stanford professors and colleagues over a 40 year career with her accomplishments in D.C. seems to imply that her work is a crusade for women\'s power rather than dedicated public service. Paradoxically, her association with powerful women lawyers including Hillary is not seen as indicative of similarly evil intentions, even when the Atty General appointment where men were specifically excluded from consideration, is discussed.Of course considering that Alan Greenspan\'s mentor was Ayn Rand the inescapable conclusion appears to be that female philosophers were the root cause of our economic crises and should be avoided in the future.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:16"},{"nm":"Jack Dinsmore","rs":"0","ms":"If I may quote Thomas Jefferson: &quot;I believe that banking institutions are more dangerous to our liberties than standing armies.&quot; Jefferson was prescient in knowing that bankers want to rule the world. Another saying is &quot;he who holds the money, holds the power.&quot; This have never been more true than it is today (lobbyists). Transparency is supposed to be a part of our republic, both in government and the private sector. All financial products should have transparency - derivatives included. But our government should practice what it preaches. Why force &quot;transparency&quot; down the throats of the private sector without doing the same to itself?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:15"},{"nm":"Edward Mitchell","rs":"0","ms":"Everyone needs to write to congress to get this done. As &quot;The Warning&quot; clearly demonstrates, this was bipartisan mistake. Both parties should fess up and let Wall Street know that it’s not acceptable to play roulet with the public’s money.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:15"},{"nm":"Garrett","rs":"0","ms":"Born is the kind of public servant with a real sense of integrity that is far too rare.  Summers, Geithner, and Rubin are cowards in my opinion for not making themselves available to Frontline to defend their actions.  If the Obama administration allows the opportunity to implement meaningful financial market reform, history will judge it harshly.This is the story of hubris and greed.  Will we ever learn? ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:14"},{"nm":"BJ Sharp","rs":"0","ms":"It is as if we had fallen asleep for thousands of years and then awoken to a world that is populated by beings intent on destroying all that has been worked on and loved, to what end i DO NOT COMPREHEnd. Where did we take the wrong turn to lead us to this point? Can we possibly right our direction, course, view, resolve, to be human again? My hope and prayer is that we can and will persevere in this venture and eventually achieve the ultimate realization of peace.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:12"},{"nm":"Marti","rs":"0","ms":"Melissa is absolutely correct in questioning why our President is relying on the advice of two of the major players who fought regulation of derivatives.  If America doesn\'t wake up and do something soon, we\'re in for a very, very rough time.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:10"},{"nm":"Dana","rs":"0","ms":"Excellent program, as per Frontline\'s usual...cleanly told, well-edited, fast-paced and tells the story.  I\'m HORRIFIED, though not surprised, that Ms. Born tried to put through regulations on OTC derivatives 10 YEARS AGO, and even after the near meltdown of the economy due to the collapse of Long-Term Capitol Management...she was strong-armed by the stupid, egotistical and thuggish administration and wall street types.And of course now the lobbyists for Wall Street are stalling regulation legislation.  AGAIN.I suggest we all call up the white house and the members of the financial committees in the Senate and the House and shout &quot;Brooksley Born was right THEN and we need regulation NOW!&quot;","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:10"},{"nm":"J. Scanlin","rs":"0","ms":"So Greenspan was “embarrassed” at the congressional hearing in 2008; yet significant numbers of families throughout the world are now jobless, starving, without homes or medical coverage, etc.  President Clinton, and apparently the rest of Congress, trusted  (or were too lazy to learn about the real risk of derivatives) Greenspan’s poor judgment or wishful thinking that “the market can regulate itself.”  Since Pres. Bush gave Greenspan his Presidential medal of service, perhaps Pres. Obama should invite Brooksley Born, former head of CFTC, to the oval office for some straight talk from an outsider and give her a similar medal for best efforts when she was simply outgunned and out-lobbied when she tried to regulate these “time bomb” derivatives.  Has anyone written their senators and representatives this evening requesting derivatives be regulated.  I have!","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:10"},{"nm":"Bob Johnson","rs":"0","ms":"Great program from PBS again. We must realize that WHO OWNS THE CONGRESS!! THE BANKS, they $lobby$ congress and they will do whatever they wish forever.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:10"},{"nm":"Dan the Man","rs":"0","ms":"Audit the Fed. Vote for Ron Paul","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:09"},{"nm":"PJB","rs":"0","ms":"No matter how rich some people can get by using these arcane and obscure financial &quot;tools&quot;, it is still speculation and gambling. Since they make the rules and they run the game, no wonder they come out on top. Regulation is pointless as they will rig it so that they win. The lure of $ and the greed of the little guy makes John Q. Investor an easy mark.Don\'t regulate, deny. Insist on value for money and profit from real improvement. That way, bonuses are paid on productivity and innovation, not on someone\'s imaginary ponzi scheme.  When will we learn?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:05"},{"nm":"Richard DeLuna","rs":"0","ms":"Mr. Kingsbury, without regulation of course there are no criminal acts. Results of &quot;mistakes&quot; have consequences.  If there is a potential for a handfull of mistakes to cause some level of sustained grief on every corner of the planet then I am just going to cast my vote for ensuring that it is not allowed to happen again via regualtion and not through the will of the invisible hand or foot for that matter. The world economy is here and we are a substantial part, not the whole, of it.  Our fiscal policy, while not governed by other nations or bodies, should ensure that our obligation for global financial stability is met for the good of all the stakeholders involved.    ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:04"},{"nm":"Charles","rs":"0","ms":"The derivative market has more than $600 Trillion in total today. If one percent were fraud, it would be half of the US GDP. If ten percent were fraud, it would be more than the entire world GDP combined. We are way too late to correct the mistakes that was made by the Wall Street and its partners Greenspan, Rubin, and Summers.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:04"},{"nm":"Brad H","rs":"0","ms":"I think it is easy to point the finger at derivitives and &quot;greedy wall street elitists&quot; but there are many other factors that went into the financial collapse including, but not limited to, sub prime mortgages propped up and encouraged by the government. But the same individuals who pound their fist for regulation are the first to support subsidized mortages for folks who cannot afford them. Free markets ONLY work if in fact they are completely free.  Rubin, Summers, and Greenspan tried to work toward that goal but ultimately it is impossible with how govenrment interacts with(and regulates) certain aspects. Those interactions provide areas of arbitrage which will always be exploited. The true solution is complete freedom, which unfortunately will never be attainable. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:03"},{"nm":"Juliana Bussiere","rs":"0","ms":"Great job, FRONTLINE. Keep it up.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 23:02"},{"nm":"D. Anderson","rs":"0","ms":"A simple analogy for regulation are the rules and referees at any sports competition.  Imagine a hockey, football, or basketball game without rules or officials to enforce the rules.  &quot;The players will work it out for themselves.&quot;  No, it doesn\'t work that way.  Financial markets are very competitive, need rules and officials to enforce the rules....to make things fair. Over regulation can stifle business, competition, economic growth, but no regulation in the case of derivitives/credit default swaps can and did cause chaos and meltdown in our financial markets.....the American public suffered loss of jobs, pensions, homes while the big players in government and business are still unaffected.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:58"},{"nm":"Hairy Larry","rs":"0","ms":"Why is it that one person of so many who should have known better actually did know better than to think secrecy, closed doors, and deregulation would have any other outcome than what has happened?These people are making financial bombs and selling them to people too afraid or too unintelligent of making them for themselves. If they were working for a terrorist group would we allow them to dictate to the gov\'t where, when, and how they could be investigated or regulated?My goodness, the arrogance of these individuals is so shockingly huge it more than negates any supposed intelligence they are proported to possess.How can they live with themselves for what they\'ve done to this country?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:58"},{"nm":"C J Owen","rs":"0","ms":"Thank you again, Frontline, and Mr. Michael Kirk, the producer, for your vision of truth and honesty in journalism.  Without people like Mr. Kirk or Frontline, more people would be in the dark watching television news such as Fox News, CBS News, and ABC News.  If people want to know what is happening to their country, we must read newspapers containing kernels of truth on page 12 that warn us of impending doom. I read cautiously year after year about derivatives in 2006, 2007, and 2008, and moved my retirement funds into U.S. Treasuries before the eventual collapse, having a gut feeling things were going to get bad.  Watching Frontline has reassured me that my instinct to discern trouble in advance, like Ms. Born, will help me survive the next crash, which will be right around the corner thanks to our government\'s inability to protect its citizens and the world from more financial calamity by listening to the very people who undermined the trust in capitalism rather than listening to the people. I am sorry to say, I no longer trust our financial system.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:57"},{"nm":"Matt C.","rs":"0","ms":"For all the Republicrats out there, did you notice how big businesses agenda was pushed through by Democrats and Republicans alike.  The only thing that suprised me about this story is how smart people that should know better continually delude themselves into believing that these are mistakes. Greenspan and the others knew exactly what they were doing. Let\'s face it, they sold out. Those same people that supposedly believed in free markets were the same ones with there hands out wanting tax payer bailouts when the gig was finally up. If your going to be a Libertarian, be a Libertarian and let those businesses that made bad decisions fail and prosecute anyone committing fraud. How long will people flip-flop between the Republicans and the Democrats before they see them for the corporate crony parties they are.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:55"},{"nm":"Michael Gill","rs":"0","ms":"This is just disgusting to watch the obscene influence of money on politics.  Given what we know about Summers it is easy to see how a wise woman who knew the truth could not compete with the money, power and egos in Washington. Once again the rich bought Congress who let the greedy get away with wrecking our economy and walk away to let the American people suffer.  It is the economic model of the 20th century in America.  Bottom line: We simply put an &quot;irrationally exuberant&quot; amount of trust in Greenspan who failed us. -M.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:55"},{"nm":"Orlando","rs":"0","ms":"It\'s all a sham.  Regulation does not work.  The only solution is for government to get out of the way.  Let them fail.  Disband the Fed and get out of the moral hazard business.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:55"},{"nm":"Damian","rs":"0","ms":"Am I the only one who is realizing that every single story about the U.S.\'s downfall starts with Reagan? I\'m afraid, though, that it will be years upon years before most of the country realizes the truth about his presidency: He was the ultimate Wall Street president.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:54"},{"nm":"Brad B","rs":"0","ms":"Politics as usual and the usual suspects are still in power...why?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:54"},{"nm":"Jim","rs":"0","ms":"Regulate! This is very disturbing. More so because President Obama, whom I support and voted for, has as his advisors, people involved in this fiasco! Brooksley Born should be brought back to run the agency she was driven from. We can trust her to look out for us, not the bankers. I am saddened to hear that President Obama relies on two of the people who drove her from office as his advisors. I guess the bankers won\'t be happy until the poverty rate climbs even higher. People are suffering and they continue to rake in profits. Maybe capitalism will become its own worse enemy. Will there be another Frontline ten years from now telling us the same story, after another bailout....if the American people will stand for such an atrocity? ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:53"},{"nm":"Bill Ocker","rs":"0","ms":"Over the two hundred years of our government\'s existence, a few people and organizations have learned the technique of getting what they want from our government. This presentation highlights the effectiveness of banking power to profit at the expense the taxpayer. The real question is &quot;How to peacefully establish control of the government for the PEOPLE and NOT for the people or organizations who have the technique&quot;.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:53"},{"nm":"Very Upset ","rs":"0","ms":"This episode may help the American people start to understand what is really going in this country (and world), and how we have been put over the coals. We are shown the cover up of the OTC Derivative market and subsequent hyperinflated housing and financial failure. The whole scheme is part of the largest orchestrated transition of wealth the world has ever known.  The middle or working class has been sold out for high profits by sending jobs to areas with low wages, which undercut the job market and tax base.  We are all now caught with no jobs, deep in debt, and own homes that we may owe more than they are worth.  All the while Wall Street gets their bonuses, unregulated wall street fraud abounds, and an unemployment extension is being held up in the Senate.  The owners over the world\'s money supply, and their puppets who run the governments and financial markets better wake up soon before an army of unemployed, homeless unemployed people decide to readjust more the the way the markets are ran.   I hope not.  Is the &quot;American Dream&quot; dead, or is this another case of markets taking care of themselves?","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:53"},{"nm":"Margaret Rose","rs":"0","ms":"Great offering tonite, late, of course, but so be it. I fear that Messrs. Greenspan, Rubin, Summers, and the interests to which they were/are tied had a sense of what these creative instruments were accomplishing, and what they meant for the the end stream user....everyone enjoyed the party thougtlessly...and sadly; critical and honest evaluation of all our pracitices would be indicated...by brokers, appraisers, lenders, and yes....the leaders of our institutions. Good Night...","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:53"},{"nm":"sreeni","rs":"0","ms":"Please send a copy to our president and his family.  Also all senators and Congress men and women should get a copy of the program. Currently appears to be a very big coverup going on in stock and debt markets which is insane give the the damage done to the economy and more impotantly the hard working people. The very same people are encouraging people to invest the saving into the debt and equity markets and cheered by CNBC and the other main media.","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:52"},{"nm":"MARK","rs":"0","ms":"I\'m disturbed as are others that Tim Gheitner and Larry Summers are part of the present administration. To be heard and to make our voice count, I strongly recommend every citizen write their congressman and senator via letter...a professionally written letter...our representatives respond to our correspondence and share your concerns with friends and family. As the recession recovers and the anger of main street mellows, Wall Street will have their way influencing Congress with either no regulation or a watered down version...and who will do it... Gheitner and Summers...both present during the LTMC controversy ten years ago. Lets don\'t let Wall Street govern our lifes. Get motivated, take an hour out of your day and write your legislature now demanding serious financial reform to restore the regulation torn down since Reagan and put in place by hard lessons from our grand parents in the great depression. A pissed off main street can rebuff the financial lobby, but only if WE act. Write your congressman now. ","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:52"},{"nm":"Hector Gasquet","rs":"0","ms":"Let all of us that saw the program send an e-mail to President Obama asking him why Mrs Born isn\'t part of his cabinet","pt":"Oct 20, 2009 22:51"}]}); });