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It’s A Wonderful Lie: Bank Fraud, Bailouts And Ponzi Schemes In Bedford Falls
Jon Methven is the author of This Is Your Captain Speaking, due out in 2012 by Simon & Schuster. He can be reached here, or follow him on Twitter @jonmethven.
Ha Ha. Do this for Miracle On 34th Street and the clogging of our courts with frivolous cases.
Dumb. Community banks like George Bailey's that dutifully screened mortgage applicants and invested in local real estate did a heck of a lot better than the megafinancial institutions during the recent financial crisis. We would be in a lot less of a pickle if banking was less consolidated and there were a lot more George Baileys in the world.
There are certainly some similarities between the two men and how they ran their scams. The Bernie Madoff Ponzi scheme remain fresh in my memory because of the global news it created. Many celebrities were conned by him. Whenever I look at an investment now, if I think it is too good to be true, it probably is.