Is the U.S. Economy In ‘A Once-in-a-Lifetime Financial Transition’? | FRONTLINE

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“I think we are in a once-in-a-lifetime financial transition, and I think that everybody needs to sort of strap in for that,” says Rana Foroohar of the Financial Times in this excerpt from the new FRONTLINE documentary “Age of Easy Money.”

This journalism is made possible by viewers like you. Support your local PBS station here: http://www.pbs.org/donate​.

Premiering March 14, 2023, “Age of Easy Money” examines how the policies of the U.S. central bank, the Federal Reserve, ushered in an age of easy money — and explores the potential consequences of the Fed’s decision last year to start hiking interest rates at a historic pace in an effort to fight inflation.

This excerpt shows how many economic experts FRONTLINE spoke with alluded to a particular quote to describe the current economic moment, in which the risks and excesses that had been building in the age of easy money are beginning to surface.

“When interest rates start to rise, and the tide pulls out, as Warren Buffett would say … you begin to see who’s not been swimming with their shorts on,” Foroohar says in the clip.

“Age of Easy Money,” a two-hour special, premieres Tues., March 14, at 9/8c on PBS stations (check local listings), at pbs.org/frontline, in the PBS Video App and on FRONTLINE’s YouTube channel.

The director, producer and correspondent of “Age of Easy Money” is James Jacoby. The producer is Anya Bourg. The senior producer is Frank Koughan. The editor-in-chief and executive producer of FRONTLINE is Raney Aronson-Rath.

Explore additional reporting related to “Age of Easy Money” on our website: https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/frontline/documentary/age-of-easy-money/

#documentary #economy #interestrates

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Funding for FRONTLINE is provided through the support of PBS viewers and by the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

Additional funding is provided by the Abrams Foundation; the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Park Foundation; the Heising-Simons Foundation; and the FRONTLINE Journalism Fund with major support from Jon and Jo Ann Hagler on behalf of the Jon L. Hagler Foundation, and additional support from Koo and Patricia Yuen.

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49 COMMENTS

  1. Our economy is like a flailing fish, fighting for its life. The normal state of the U.S. economy is actually very bad. Because of this it goes into convulsive spasms fighting to grow any way it can out of desperation. Tricks, gimmicks, rule changes try to stimulate the economy and prevent it from falling but they only bring temporary relief to people since, when you factor in inflation we are declining.

  4. The gov lied due to corp lying about jobs. Thus we ended up here where things are even worse now and going get much worse over the next few years.

  5. DISDRET Congressman UK Bujor Silvia Securities Garanty BANKARE Proecte Technology Company, Gaz, Oil, Electricity, Bloc Bursa Finaciar Disdret SEMNEAZA CONGRESSMAN UK BUJOR SILVIA Labrinia Via Mariotti 21

  7. It's hard to predict the future until we see this month’s inflation results. However, historical data consistently show that stocks tend to outperform bonds in the long term. Therefore, I'm staying in the market and focusing on selecting high-quality stocks. The challenge lies in identifying these stocks.

  8. If you are properly prepared and knowledgeable, every crash/collapse/inflation or recession gives an equal market opportunity. I've seen folks amass up to $800,000 throughout crises and even do it with ease in a terrible economy. Without a doubt, someone has become enormously wealthy as a result of the crash.

  9. We're in Uncharted Financial Territory! Every day, we face obstacles that have become the new norm. Although it was initially viewed as a crisis, we now recognize it as the new normal and must adapt accordingly. Given the country's present economic troubles in 2023, how can we increase our revenues during this period of adjustment? I cannot let my $800K savings disappear after putting in so much effort to build them.

  10. Our economy struggling with uncertainties, housing issues, foreclosures, global fluctuations, and pandemic aftermath, causing instability. Rising inflation, sluggish growth, and trade disruptions need urgent attention from all sectors to restore stability and stimulate growth.

  11. I’m glad I pulled through, despite the crises. I am retiring next yr at 55 with 3 houses paid off worth 4.5 million. One is my place of residence the other 2 properties will give me $80,000per/yr rent . I will have an income stream of $20,000 per mnth through my super which gives me total $240,000 a yr to live comfortably. I have no debts .. Stay Motivated!!

  12. We have a system of cushy socialism for the super rich . this kind of brutal, savage, merciless capitalism for the poor, it's all designed to strip mine the middle class of this country of all of their equity, all of their assets, and move it to the upper echelons. And the COVID lockdowns were the final straw. As an investor, I was caught in the storm, my portfolio suffering significant losses. Now, I stand at the precipice, looking for a path to recovery, ready to rise from the ashes. I've set asides $250k to invest for future, unfortunately I'm a complete noob.

  14. The world is going digital and no one is prepared. Future banking will be 24/7 365 no day’s off. You won’t need to exchange currency because it will be automated, so will taxes. Ai will replace many jobs and new technologies will arise. But this transition will not be a smooth one unfortunately.

  15. America is currently plagued by the hydra-headed evil duo of inflation and recession. The worst part about this recession is that consumers are racking up credit card debt. In April alone, credit card debt went up 20% while rates have doubled in a year. Inflation is so high that consumers are literally taking debt for basic life necessities. Collapse has indeed begun.

  16. A weak dollar can signal an economic downturn, making me to ponder on what are the best possible ways to hedge against inflation, and I've overheard people say inflation is a money-eater thus worried about my savings around $200k.

  17. To my understanding this just proves how much we need an edge as an investor because playing the market like everyone else just isn’t good enough. I’ve been quite ensured about investing in this current market and at the same time I feel it’s the best time to get started on the market, what are your thoughts?!

  18. The US economy is grappling with uncertainties, global fluctuations, and pandemic aftermath, causing instability. Rising inflation, sluggish growth, and trade disruptions need urgent attention from all sectors to restore stability and stimulate growth.

  22. Boston Fed President Susan Collins said the central bank may hike interest rates further and will likely need to keep rates elevated for a "substantial" period of time. I’m thinking of investing $400k into my stock portfolio but unsure about the market.

  23. Problem isn't job growth, the REAL issue is job Pay… idiots. I'm all for a new union of rank and file members. But only if Union leadership only acts in the best interest of the rank and file members. I'm not afraid of anything, but being forced into servitude by corporate lobbyists.
    .

  24. US debt is not just unsustainable. US debt will never be paid back. It's that simple. Now the one million dollar question is: for how long are people going to bet that the US will pay interest on their debt. If people feel that the US is going to default, the entire wealth system in the US will collapse.

  26. Inflation is far more harmful to individuals than a collapsing stock or property market because it directly affects people's cost of living, which they immediately feel. It is not surprising that the current market sentiment is extremely pessimistic. In today's economy, assistance is critical if we are to survive.

  28. The 1% Millionaires stay rich by staying off high interest debts and investing passively. Personally i made my first million from having investments that spreads across stocks, etfs, coins and bonds.What i can say to early investors is diversification and solid management..at this point I'm actually grateful for my advisor Deborah Jean Dykstra.. it's been great.

  29. Things are strange right now. The US dollar is becoming less valuable because of inflation, but it's getting stronger compared to other currencies and things like gold and property. People are turning to the dollar because they think it's safer. I'm worried about my retirement savings of about $420,000 losing value because of high inflation. Where else can we keep our money?

  30. Inflation depreciates idle money. I'm in a privileged position to be able to save almost 65% of our net household income, as I placed it on safer investments. The key for us was not spending beyond our means. If you invest and have other sources of income outside of dividends then you will be able to live off dividends. Got north of $200K in my portfolio as I bought a lot of dividend stocks before, I'm buying more now, and I will buy more when it drops further

  31. America is currently plagued by the hydra-headed evil duo of inflation and recession. The worst part about this recession is that consumers are racking up credit card debt. In April alone, credit card debt went up 20% while rates have doubled in a year. Inflation is so high that consumers are literally taking debt for basic life necessities. Collapse has indeed begun.. Lloyd Bernard

  34. We're deffinately in a recession, I haven't felt this since 2009-2010. I can barely afford to buy food and I make more than avg money… 1 paycheck for mortgage other trying to pay off bills…

  35. Some economists have projected that both the U.S. and parts of Europe could slip into a recession for a portion of 2023. A global recession, defined as a contraction in annual global per capita income, is more rare because China and emerging markets often grow faster than more developed economies. Essentially the world economy is considered to be in recession if economic growth falls behind population growth.

  38. Yes. Look at the EU, where gas has always been upwards of 8$/gallon. We subsidize the price for political reasons, this will stop. Price will not go down to where it was. THIS alone will fuel higher prices forever on everything.

  39. Yeah, I've been through 5 "once in a lifetime" financial crisis events since I got out of highschool in 06, this is just par for the course and honestly, I don't care.

  42. The US economy has been dying for half a century but people didn't realize it because they were working and getting paid. But month after month, year after year without a single exception the country got poorer and poorer until now it is broke and hopelessly in debt and still losing money every month, more and more. The US foreign debt is about $34 trillion now, but there is also the internal "debt" owed to Americans in the form of entitlement programs. And that brings the debt up to over $81 trillion.
    And the debt is growing faster than ever. They can't even slow down the debt, much less ever turn it around to gain anything. It's like a black hole. They have the original debt, the interest on the debt, the interest on the interest, (etc) all compounded back into the principal year after year. They can always just print money to pay the debt, but that just leads to higher prices and hyperinflation and assures that no other country will ever give them credit again.
    Truth is, unless the US discovers a platinum mine or something its currency is on the verge of collapsing totally and losing ALL of its value, which would make the US one of the poorest nations on earth.

  45. More power to the 'We are the ARMED 99 percent!' They are ARMED with hackers too. The evil billionaires are being taken out and American citizens are taking their country and quality of life back.
    Made up of the American citizens through word of mouth. If a citizen has something they can do to take down the evil billionaires robbing America's wealth, they just have to be ready to strike, independently or as a mini group, or the whole organization as a whole. There is no application to join, lodge or headquarters. Just descreet communication from citizen to citizen, that can relay messages very efficiently. It is a matter of survival for American citizens to stop them now. It's insane to allow any one person to have that astronomical amount of money and power at the expense of 99 percent of the nation being poor, hungry and even homeless for years though they are skilled professionals
    If The economy is terrific according to Biden, why would he have to forgive debt or raise interest rates? He is totally contradicting himself. All those things are admitting USA economy is terrible and unemployment is sky high. The government needs to be on trial for purjury for releasing fraudulent jobs reports to trick investors.
    Why doesn't America go after the evi billionaires stealing their wealth and driving the country's citizens into impoverishes slavery style.
    Morlocks with such destructive tendencies toward their fellow human beings
    Regarding Biden forgiving loans that college students weren't even entitled to get anyway, instead work for their college money. Parents paying for a kids college when the kid was supposed to do the hard work to earn their college is a real evil of America. And America wonders why planes flew into their towers of evil.
    They would have to let all future Americans get their college money for free also and not have to pay back it back or it would be evil favoritism and he'll to pay. January 6th would seem like nothing.
    The department of education owes a lot of restitution to those innocent students they denied aid to decades ago because they were identity theft victims.
    Let Donald Trump and supporters hold the department of Education at gunpoint and accountable for stealing innocent Americans futures, who were very intelligent kids. More stifling of America's talent
    In real free enterprise capitalism, there is competition which keeps prices low as companies try to get the business by having the lowest prices. Prices are made as low as possible without going out of business. It is minimizing profits.
    In a monopoly, corporations have no competition to force them to lower their prices, but instead charge the HIGHEST price they can get away with and people still buy it. These evil American corporations buy the completion. All the fast food restaurants are owned by one company. All the broadcast stations, etc. Even the prisons, which are government property, are owned by corporations.
    That is physical proof the United States is an oligarchy. Billionaires own the government
    Worse evil, These evil monopolies try to deceive the public into making it look like separate businesses competing, but they are all owned by one company so the prices are high at all of them, creating an inflation of prices at every place because they are all owned by one place as a monopoly following the charging highest price you can get away with rule. Oil corporations gouging diesel to run prices up at their profit ROBBING the United States of it's wealth and into soon to be Trillionaires pockets. They steal investors money on the stock market conning them into trusting them with citizens money then lying to investors forming a bubble and causing a crash where the money disappears and then the government they own bails them out with citizens money, which is stealing even more money from the citizens. When the government is supposed to bail out the investors whose money went 'missing'. Though not missing, HIDDEN from investors is more the truth.

  48. I wonder if people that experienced the 2008 crash had it easier because this market conditions are driving me to insanity, my portfolio has lost over $27000 this nov. alone my profits are tanking and I'm don't see my retirement turning out well when I can't even grow my stagnant reserve

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