In his new documentary Inside Job, filmmaker Charles Ferguson spoke to some of the biggest names from Wall Street to Washington to academia to get a first hand account of what caused the 2008 financial meltdown and how the financial system reached its breaking point.
Ferguson points to 20 years of deregulation, rampant greed (a la Gordon Gekko) and cronyism. This cronyism is in large part due to a revolving door between not only Wall Street and Washington, but also the incestuous relationship between Wall Street, Washington and academia.
The conflicts of interest that arise when academics take on roles outside of education are largely unspoken, but a very big problem…
When independent thinkers and professionals are privately bought to endorse a sales message, the integrity of the system fails.
