Week 14 Reflection - The Bigger Bubble

The Bigger Bubble by Jimmy Morrison gave great insight to the financial issues that have highlighted the United States in the 2000s and beyond. The U.S. government has taken it upon themselves to make sure that big companies do not fail, and thus, bail them out using taxpayer dollars. They believe that they are helping the economy because the hit to the economy if these companies were too fail would be too much. However, that might not necessarily be the case. Simply getting big companies out of binds produces a reliance on the government and makes the consumer switch from the people to the government. If the government is always going to bail a company out, then why do they need to make smart financial decision and cater to the consumer? Well, the truth is , they really do not have to worry as much about that. This documentary revealed the fact that the biggest companies with the most political connections really cannot fail, because the government will step in and save them from failing. The government has this idea that if they do not step in, then chaos will ensue. This idea, however, may not be true because that has not been true in the past.

Apart from saving big companies, what else does the government do with money?
Another aspect of spending that the documentary focused on was the stimulus money that so many presidents have given out to Americans. They desire to help the people by giving them money to spend, but that is not what the economy always needs. One man in the documentary said that recession should be embraced (The Bigger Bubble, min 43). Rather than simply flooding the economy with printed money, Americans need to learn to save money and spend it wisely in order to restore the economy. Yes, getting a check from the government might be nice, but when that money goes into the pockets of Americans, it often just goes right back into the economy which temporarily boosts it, but long term does not help much. People do not have to be wise with their money because the government gives so many handouts - it's dangerous.

What do I think?
I think that it is insane that so many presidents, on the left and the right, have been doing the same things year after year and you get the same results. The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again and expecting different results. When we continue to flood the economy with printed money, it is not going to make a stark difference in the long-term, but more than likely have a negative impact overtime. Americans do not have to be smart with their money, and big businesses do not have to cater to the consumer. It's a dangerous game.

Sources:
The Bigger Bubble by Jimmy Morrison