Lowell Deeds

While listening to the radio early this morning, I heard a segment about the Museum of American Finance. This little known museum, located at 48 Wall Street in the heart of New York City’s financial district, has seen a boom in the number of visitors since the current fiscal crisis began. These vistors are undoubtedly attracted by the museum’s current featured exhibit which is called “tracking the credit crisis” which has the following explanation on the museum’s website:

“Tracking the Credit Crisis: A Timeline” traces the development of the current financial crisis, which is the most severe and complex economic and financial challenge in modern experience. Presented as a monumental 8’ x 20’ graphical wall accompanied by a video presentation, the timeline begins with the bursting of the U.S. housing bubble in late 2006 through the unprecedented trillions being guaranteed and injected into the private sector in 2008-2009 by the government. President Barack Obama’s stimulus package of almost $800 billion is part of the stabilization effort to forestall a financial collapse, in a global environment in which some $40 trillion in wealth has been lost (on paper) in the last 18 months. The U.S. government’s actions represent a watershed in American economic and political history.

Try as I might, a comprehensible explanation for the current financial crisis still eludes me. Maybe a road trip to NYC and a visit to this museum might help clear things up.