5-part docuseries - each episode is approximately 1 hour long. 50% of proceeds goes to support Utah Film Center.
From writer/director Eric Vaughan, producer Patrick Lovell and executive producer Adam Bronfman, The Con is an in-depth 5-part docuseries investigation into the 2008 financial crisis nine years in the making, Who did it, why it happened and how our country went from “of, for and by the people,” to “of, for and by the corporation.” And what’s past is prologue: The heist of our democracy that includes fraudulent practices, massive credit card debt, student loans, auto loans, and the revolving door between finance and government, is still going on, and will become even worse than before.
Amongst the many heartbreaks and horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cracks that it exposed in the fragile financial tapestry of the world’s biggest economy are more evidence that THE CON is still on.
THE CON - Episode 3: “Weapons of Mass Corruption”
Retracing the financial crimes, The Con looks at how, during the late ’70s and ’80s, CEOs of banks and Savings & Loans discovered they could increase business revenue and generate massive profits — and increase their own bonuses — if they used “other people’s money” (known as “OPM”) to do it. “Once these firms went public, playing with other people’s money, it was a spiral where perverse incentives led to a race to the bottom,” says Lovell.
Episode 3 also shows the shift away from a crucial protection. As described by journalist William Cohan, “A sort of natural equilibrium,” existed when partners putting up their own money ran investment banks. But as banks went public and performance-based bonuses became the norm, the CEO had the power and incentive to “loot” their own bank, it was the worst kind of revolution.
- Year2020
- Runtime80 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorEric S. Vaughan
- ProducerPatrick Lovell
- Executive ProducerAdam Bronfman
5-part docuseries - each episode is approximately 1 hour long. 50% of proceeds goes to support Utah Film Center.
From writer/director Eric Vaughan, producer Patrick Lovell and executive producer Adam Bronfman, The Con is an in-depth 5-part docuseries investigation into the 2008 financial crisis nine years in the making, Who did it, why it happened and how our country went from “of, for and by the people,” to “of, for and by the corporation.” And what’s past is prologue: The heist of our democracy that includes fraudulent practices, massive credit card debt, student loans, auto loans, and the revolving door between finance and government, is still going on, and will become even worse than before.
Amongst the many heartbreaks and horrors of the COVID-19 pandemic, the cracks that it exposed in the fragile financial tapestry of the world’s biggest economy are more evidence that THE CON is still on.
THE CON - Episode 3: “Weapons of Mass Corruption”
Retracing the financial crimes, The Con looks at how, during the late ’70s and ’80s, CEOs of banks and Savings & Loans discovered they could increase business revenue and generate massive profits — and increase their own bonuses — if they used “other people’s money” (known as “OPM”) to do it. “Once these firms went public, playing with other people’s money, it was a spiral where perverse incentives led to a race to the bottom,” says Lovell.
Episode 3 also shows the shift away from a crucial protection. As described by journalist William Cohan, “A sort of natural equilibrium,” existed when partners putting up their own money ran investment banks. But as banks went public and performance-based bonuses became the norm, the CEO had the power and incentive to “loot” their own bank, it was the worst kind of revolution.
- Year2020
- Runtime80 minutes
- LanguageEnglish
- CountryUnited States
- DirectorEric S. Vaughan
- ProducerPatrick Lovell
- Executive ProducerAdam Bronfman