"The capitalism in the last thirty years has decreased the standard of living for everyone except at the top."

This was the statement of Louis Hyman, an economic historian. I'm mentioning this statement because it was in respects to the more surprising issue behind the '08 financial collapse. Everyone heard the term "subprime mortgages" and everyone believed that that was the core issue behind the '08 financial collapse. What I never heard was "income inequality" which was mentioned in "The Flaw."

When wages stagnate for the poor and middle class, the only way an economy can keep humming is through borrowing and credit, i.e. Debt. When debt increases so does spending which increases the wealth of the top 10%. Debt can only increase by so much before defaults happen and then it all comes tumbling down. But, as Hyman pointed out, it begins with outrageous income inequality.

Of course, there were a lot of other factors mentioned for the '08 crisis: CDO's (Collateralized Debt Obligations),sector rotation, asset market, and more. This 80 minute documentary was very informative and educational. It's been fourteen years since 2008, but it still seems like only yesterday. Furthermore, the way home prices have skyrocketed in the last decade I can only wonder what will cause them to plummet again, and who/what will be to blame this time. Again it seems like the government is behind the curve on the economy and does too little too late.

Free with Amazon Prime.

At the start of the film, there is no clear POV (point of view). Instead, the problem is approached in the style of showing each of ten blind men a different piece of an elephant. It takes some work to get the data returned by the blind men into something overarching and coherent, such as a single 3-d model of the elephant which explains all reportage.

Brilliant; the experts were all correct, and the film put it all together by the end of the show.

Cinematography: 8/10 The archival footage is not all that good. The modern interviews were crisp and well-done.

Sound: 8/10 Almost everyone is properly miked. The archival footage of Greenspan versus Waxman in the House hearings was weak.

Screenplay: 10/10 Obviously had a lot of careful thought. This is so well done that it moves well even with the large amount of detail and history being conveyed.

So many "documentaries" keep being made about a very simple fact.

Banks lied for their own greed. The "economists" who lied who CAME from the banks lied to keep up the greed. The government who was filled with the economists who came from the banks lied to keep up the greed.

In the end, the public was sold the BS that every house and every "homeowner" was "entitled" to have a house.

The simple fact and instead of making more of these dumb documentaries that can be summed up in one sentence:

If you can't afford a house because you can't afford the mortgage, don't believe the banks that you can.

The stupidity of the mortgage-back crisis was that the banks and the institutions couldn't keep the sham up longer.

People need to take some responsibility for their willingness to believe that they "deserved" a house.

Greenspan and the rest of his ilk are a bunch of crooks.

Economic "theory" is not really a theory when it's based on greed and keeping the banks propped up.