WASHINGTON, D.C. Dec. 28 (DPI) – Dr. Michael Burry, one of the outlier Wall Street traders who foresaw the 2008 housing collapse and gained fame as a subject of the book and movie The Big Short, says Americans will likely face declining living standards in the years ahead without major political and economic reform.
That message – which Burry proffered in a 2012 commencement speech — has been successfully stifled by Washington, Wall Street and their agents in the corporate media in recent years. But with the release of a surprisingly intelligent Hollywood film based on the book The Big Short by Michael Lewis, the notion of major reform may gain traction once again.
The film does a remarkably good and entertaining job of explaining the collapse of the mortgage-backed securities markets – and the subsequent financial crisis — in 2008. Its final message – that Wall Street’s continued excesses and Washington’s policies will likely trigger another serious recession — has resonated with reform-minded moviegoers, who also happen to be voters.
Burry, played by Christian Bale in the film, in 2012 gave an incisive and convincing commencement address at UCLA business school, his alma mater. A 21-minute video of that speech has gone viral since the release this month of “The Big Short” on the big screen. The speech is worth watching, particularly the second half of it, beginning at about 10 minutes: