The $60 TRILLION Scam That Crashed the Economy in 2008

Added: 2026-05-27

[00:00:00]Here goes. A person buys a house. So, [music] the homeowner gets a mortgage from the bank and uses it to buy the house. Now, [music] the bank might start to get a little antsy because this homeowner's credit might not be so great. So, here's where an insurance [music] company might step in and say, "Hey there, bank. How about if we sell you this credit default swap? If Suzy [music] homeowner defaults on her mortgage, we'll guarantee to pay it off ourselves." Well, that sounds great to the bank, so they make the deal. [music] The bank gives a little bit of the interest to the insurance company in payment for the credit default swap's [music] guarantee. So, what could possibly go wrong? Well, what if there were trillions of dollars [music] in credit default swap arrangements covering all kinds of bonds and other debt? What if the economy fell apart?

[00:00:48]That's exactly what [music] happened in 2008. And what of our intrepid homeowner? He got accused of being irresponsible for buying a big house and taking out a big loan. This is a problem that still has not been fixed.