Griftopia: A Story of Bankers, Politicians, and the Most Audacious Power Grab in American History

This is the same Matt Taibbi who coined one of the most descriptive phrases in the English language. Oddly, it was about an investment bank, in fact it was about Goldman Sachs, one of the investment banks that had become accustomed over the last half century to continuous adultation. The phrase, "a great vampire squid wrapped around the face of humanity, relentlessly jamming its blood funnel into anything that smells like money", is surely gruesome but also strangely arresting. Taibbi's book is one more in what seems to be an endless parade of books detailing the financial chaos we are thrashing through. Taibbi's take on this mess, however, is different: he takes us back to the beginnings of the story. In Taibbi's telling it started with Alan Greenspan, who believed, for better or for worse, in zero regulation of financial markets. It is well known that Greenspan was an Ayn Rand junkie in his early years and it is Rand's insistence that individual will can overcome all manner of problems. In her version of the complete society, government plays almost no role in directing human events. It is a short leap to the dismantlement of the Glass-Steagall Act, a regulation that prohibited an investment bank from being owned by a commercial bank. This led to the 1998 acquisition of Salomon Smith Barney by Citigroup. At this point, the poison was in the meal. By merging Salomon's risk-taking skills with Citi's capital, the new entity was able to become far more than a bank loaning depositors' money to businesses. It was able to use its capital in far more profitable, and riskier, ways. Taibbi tells this story with his usual verve and humor. Yes, actually some parts of this grisly story are humorous. Almost any asset can become risky if the final use of the asset is divorced from trading in the asset. One after another asset classes became financial bets. Commodities first, then the capitalization of a stream of payments, such as funds raised from municipal parking meters, and then, even more fatally, mortgages. This is a twisting, complicated story but Taibbi, who has had no formal training in finance, understands it and conveys its meaning with great clarity. The final part of this story is perhaps the saddest and the most devastating. It is an updating of the Goldman Sachs story. Goldman maneuvered its way through the financial storms with great skill but several of its major moves raised questions as to Goldman's understanding of its mission to serve the client well. Taibbi saves his most disturbing language for last. Of all ink that has been spilled over the behavior of financial institutions during the past few years, it is perhaps the vampire squid metaphor that is most disturbing.

It's refreshing to see someone doing actual reporting. For years I've found mainstream media coverage a complete waste of time. A complete waste of time, that is, if you want anything close to real information. What's insulting about most media coverage is it either isn't relevant or makes no sense at all. It is embarrassing what passes as newsworthy these days. What this book looks at is real issues that actually effect people's lives. Why they lost their house. Why they lost half their pension. Why there were food shortages in 2008. Huh? None of the official stories made any sense to me. So poor people who were too greedy and bought too much house that they could never afford brought down the biggest financial institutions in the richest country in the world? Really? Is this an episode of Saturday Night Live? That's as absurd as a bunch of militia nuts overthrowing the US military machine. Makes no sense. What I had suspected for a long time, but never knew the mechanics of, was that the financial bailout was the biggest scam pulled on the American public in my lifetime. Matt's book fills in the details. I mean, come on...what has actually happened. 1) People lost their homes to the banks. 2) The banks consolidated the industry. Even closer to a monopoly 3) The surviving banks got a huge taxpayer bailout Is any of this in dispute? So what do we have now? Banks ever too-bigger to fail. No new regulations to stop this from happening again. A government that has sold out to interests that are bleeding the American middle class. I expect there will be an even bigger crisis/bubble in the next decade. I read books like this for two reasons. First, I am interested in what actually is going on in our country. Second I don't want my own investments eaten by a vampire squid. This book is not an easy read. But if you aren't a billionaire at the moment and probably never will be I'd suggest you read it to stave off a fleecing. I've had a sister loose a house in the sub-prime market. My wife got a nice fleecing in the tech boom. My mother got an even better one. So far I've been lucky enough to avoid all the recent bubbles. I say luck because I really had no idea what was afoot in this country until about 6 years ago. Democracy isn't something a few people die for and then gets set to auto-pilot. Historically tyranny is the most popular form of government. This great experiment of democracy is a fragile thing. Read it citizens. Then think. That would be a good start. Sorry for the soapbox. I'm very tired of things being fair and balanced. Tired of the "presume good" mentality of the media. Tired of avoiding every potentially offensive topic (you know, the ones that actually effect our lives) at dinner. Very nice to find a reporter that actually asks real questions and isn't afraid to report what he finds. Right on matt. You are going on my wall of personal heroes.

Matt tells a fascinating story here, full of detailed intrigue and executive connivance. But the real story is that those most affected by the amoral conduct of Wall Street will do little about it, other than a little symbolic "pissing in the wind." There is an old saying, "Collectively, as a society, you get the government you deserve." Today's America, and the rest of the West in large measure, have not been subjected to the brutalities that their forefathers experienced. The West, collectively, no longer has the requisite intestinal fortitude to confront such difficulties. Crime is crime, whether perpetrated by well dressed corporate executives in suits or heavily armed men in full leathers. Crime injures both its immediate victims and the broader societies to whom they belong. And as USA no longer has the necessary internal fortitude to confront corporate crime, it will as it must, continue to suffer even greater injury. A tragic outcome for your Republic and one entirely of your own making. Of course the present outcome would not have been possible without the generations of indifference to the actions of the Supreme Court of the United States. If the financial industries black boxes have remained somewhat opaque to Americans, the Judicial Industries black box that is Constitutional Interpretation impervious to enquiry. Perhaps an avenue of enquiry for a bloke of Matt's caliber? Ps This book like "The untold History of the United States" deserves to be made in to a documentary! It would have to be better than the PBS doco that painted Paulson as savior of the nation lol

Read front to back, half on a plane. The information is there and I'd recommend, but found it hard to grab hold of so will keep the book around for reference. Will instantly pick anything else the author comes up with.

Explains how the average American has been fleeced by big finance & the rich over the last 50 decades, starting with Ronald Reagan, & successive administrations since. The successful lobbying, watering down, or outright eliminating safeguards & laws enacted since the last depression, for just 1 example, to limit abuses & excesses by financial institutions leading to what we saw in 2008 with the mortgage baloney.

If you're interested in the nature of the financial leviathan that strangles our political/economy, this is the book for you. Don't be intimidated by the content, Taibbi turns what would be usually considered wonk-ish into an enjoyable book.

fantastic reading! covers a lot of topics and can seem to jump around a bit, but there is a tremendous about of depth in each area.