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Barbarians of Wealth
- Protecting Yourself from Today's Financial Attilas
- Narrated by: Jo Anna Perrin
- Length: 13 hrs and 26 mins
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Publisher's summary
How the actions of a few in Europe destroyed the prosperity of the many (and how it happened again in America).
After the fall of the Roman Empire, vicious barbaric tribes including the Hunds lead by Atilla, the Mongols, Charlemagne, and the Vikings invaded Europe, plundering property and destroying homes. But, they didn't just steal and destroy property in the villages; they also stole and destroyed any prosperity the villagers had previously enjoyed. What's worse is the barbarians of the Dark Ages did all of this not out of any deeply held religious or political belief, but rather for the oldest reason in the book: their own personal financial gain. Some things never change.
Barbarians of Wealth examines how the greedy, self-serving decisions of a select group of politicians and financial institutions negatively impacts the economy, and ultimately, destroys America's prosperity and the American way of life.
Compelling and engaging, the audiobook:
- Details how Goldman Sachs peddled mortgage-backed securities up and down Wall Street while secretly betting against their demise.
- Discusses how Sanford Weill, founder of Citigroup spent $100 million lobbying for the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act that prevented the merger of commercial and investment banks and got his way.
- Examines Christopher Dodd, head of the US Senate Banking Committee, has enriched himself while driving down the prosperity of his constituents.
- Offers up examples of other modern barbarians, including the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, Hank Paulson, and Timothy Geithner.
- Highlights greed driven tactics of Wall Street corporations including JP Morgan, Merrill Lynch, and Salomon Brothers.
Barbarians of Wealth is a must-listen for hard-working Americans concerned with their prosperity, as well as for those fascinated with the inner workings of Washington and Wall Street.
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Story
In 2008 the US Treasury put Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac into a life-support state known as "conservatorship" to prevent their failure - and worldwide economic chaos. The two companies, which were always controversial, have become a battleground. Today, Fannie and Freddie are profitable again but still in conservatorship. Their profits are being redirected toward reducing the federal deficit, which leaves them with no buffer should they suffer losses again.
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Details on the Culture and History of the GSEs
- By Jose on 10-15-15
By: Bethany McLean
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After the Music Stopped
- The Financial Crisis, the Response, and the Work Ahead
- By: Alan S. Blinder
- Narrated by: Graham Vick
- Length: 15 hrs and 50 mins
- Unabridged
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Alan S. Blinder - esteemed Princeton professor, Wall Street Journal columnist, and former vice chairman of the Federal Reserve Board under Alan Greenspan - is one of our wisest and most clear-eyed economic thinkers. In After the Music Stopped, he delivers a masterful narrative of how the worst economic crisis in postwar American history happened, what the government did to fight it, and what we must do to recover from it.
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Irresponsible, corrupt, and confused book
- By Thomas on 12-22-14
By: Alan S. Blinder
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Naked Money
- A Revealing Look at What It Is and Why It Matters
- By: Charles Wheelan
- Narrated by: Jonathan Davis
- Length: 13 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
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Consider the $20 bill. It has no more value, as a simple slip of paper, than Monopoly money. Yet even children recognize that tearing one into small pieces is an act of inconceivable stupidity. What makes a $20 bill actually worth $20? In the third volume of his best-selling Naked series, Charles Wheelan uses this seemingly simple question to open the door to the surprisingly colorful world of money and banking.
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This is a beautiful audiobook, and well-narrated.
- By Thirsty Mind on 11-10-18
By: Charles Wheelan
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Reckless Endangerment
- How Outsized Ambition, Greed, and Corruption Led to Economic Armageddon
- By: Gretchen Morgenson, Joshua Rosner
- Narrated by: L. J. Ganser
- Length: 11 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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In Reckless Endangerment, Gretchen Morgenson, the star business columnist of The New York Times, exposes how the watchdogs who were supposed to protect the country from financial harm were actually complicit in the actions that finally blew up the American economy.
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Required reading
- By David on 10-24-11
By: Gretchen Morgenson, and others
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The Death of Money
- The Coming Collapse of the International Monetary System
- By: James Rickards
- Narrated by: Sean Pratt
- Length: 13 hrs and 13 mins
- Unabridged
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The international monetary system has collapsed three times in the past hundred years, in 1914, 1939, and 1971. Each collapse was followed by a period of tumult: War, civil unrest, or significant damage to the stability of the global economy. Now James Rickards, the acclaimed author of Currency Wars, shows why another collapse is rapidly approaching - and why this time, nothing less than the institution of money itself is at risk.
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A good review of the global financial system
- By Jean on 04-22-14
By: James Rickards
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Currency Wars
- The Making of the Next Global Crises
- By: James Rickards
- Narrated by: Walter Dixon
- Length: 9 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
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In 1971, President Nixon imposed national price controls and took the United States off the gold standard, an extreme measure intended to end an ongoing currency war that had destroyed faith in the U.S. dollar. Today we are engaged in a new currency war, and this time the consequences will be far worse than those that confronted Nixon. Currency wars are one of the most destructive and feared outcomes in international economics.
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don't be misled
- By peter on 04-01-12
By: James Rickards
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All the Presidents' Bankers
- The Hidden Alliances That Drive American Power
- By: Nomi Prins
- Narrated by: Marguerite Gavin
- Length: 19 hrs and 56 mins
- Unabridged
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Nomi Prins ushers us into the intimate world of exclusive clubs, vacation spots, and Ivy League universities that binds presidents and financiers. She unravels the multi-generational blood, intermarriage, and protégé relationships that have confined national influence to a privileged cluster of people. This unprecedented history of American power illuminates how financiers have retained their authoritative position through history, swaying presidents regardless of party affiliation.
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You better like history about the elite and rich
- By Victor on 01-12-15
By: Nomi Prins
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How the Other Half Banks
- Exclusion, Exploitation, and the Threat to Democracy
- By: Mehrsa Baradaran
- Narrated by: Priya Ayyar
- Length: 9 hrs and 36 mins
- Unabridged
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The United States has two separate banking systems today - one serving the well-to-do and another exploiting everyone else. How the Other Half Banks contributes to the growing conversation on American inequality by highlighting one of its prime causes: unequal credit. Mehrsa Baradaran examines how a significant portion of the population, deserted by banks, is forced to wander through a Wild West of payday lenders and check-cashing services to cover emergency expenses and pay for necessities - all thanks to deregulation that began in the 1970s.
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The Borrowers at the Fringe
- By Darwin8u on 09-13-16
By: Mehrsa Baradaran
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The Great American Stick Up
- Greedy Bankers and the Politicians Who Love Them
- By: Robert Scheer
- Narrated by: Christian Rummel
- Length: 6 hrs and 12 mins
- Unabridged
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Instead of going where other journalists have gone in search of this story - the board rooms and trading floors of the big Wall Street firms - Scheer goes back to Washington, D.C., a veritable crime scene, beginning in the 1980s, where the captains of the finance industry, their lobbyists and allies among leading politicians destroyed an American regulatory system that had been functioning effectively since the era of the New Deal.
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A great telling of an unfortunate part of history
- By Trace on 10-27-20
By: Robert Scheer
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Bought and Paid For
- The Unholy Alliance Between Barack Obama and Wall Street
- By: Charles Gasparino
- Narrated by: Lloyd James
- Length: 9 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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According to business reporter Charles Gasparino, President Obama is faking his outrage at Wall Street, and his calls for new policies to rein in banks that are "too big to fail" are just pabulum. In reality, Obama has climbed into bed with Wall Street CEOs, giving them what they want so they will support his liberal, big-government agenda.
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Revealing and Convincing
- By Walter on 10-24-11
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A History of Money and Banking in the United States: The Colonial Era to World War II
- By: Murray N. Rothbard
- Narrated by: Matthew Mezinskis
- Length: 13 hrs and 48 mins
- Unabridged
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In what is sure to become the standard account, Rothbard traces inflations, banking panics, and money meltdowns from the colonial period through the mid-20th century to show how government's systematic war on sound money is the hidden force behind nearly all major economic calamities in American history. Never has the story of money and banking been told with such rhetorical power and theoretical vigor. You will treasure this volume.
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Great facts (if selective); ideological rigidity
- By Philo on 02-04-16
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The Fine Print
- How Big Companies Use 'Plain English' to Rob You Blind
- By: David Cay Johnston
- Narrated by: Todd McLaren
- Length: 12 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
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David Cay Johnston has made a name for himself as the defender of the common man, calling out the rich and powerful for cheating the system at the expense of everyone else. Whether he's exposing unjust loopholes in the tax code that help the rich get richer or pointing out how powerful corporations pocket government subsidies at excessive taxpayer expense, Johnston is an eloquent town crier for justice and equality.
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A must listen if you love or hate Trump
- By Rob D on 04-19-17