Musical Numbers: Bonds
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Money on the move.
Musical Numbers: Bonds
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view as single pageIf this year’s credit crisis taught us anything, it’s that we all need to brush up on our economic vocabulary. But we’re not here to try to explain how terms like credit-default swaps, collateralized debt obligations, and mortgage-backed securities made it into the news for the thousandth time. Instead, we’re starting with the basics; and we’re doing it with the help of a little music. The Big Money presents a Schoolhouse Rock-style video on bonds and what, exactly, they do. Click “Play” below to see them all grow to maturity.
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Support for the Defense
I am going to side with James in this debate. Economics is a difficult topic to discuss intelligently especially when the terms are so alien to Joe-Six pack. As a debate coach and competitor, I hated economics because I didn't know what I was talking about. Now that I am older and wiser, I enjoy the subject and teach it to younger people so they do not have to struggle the way I did. This gives them a competitive advantage on the high school and college circuit.
By making the topic fun, easy to understand and interesting this will help educate people about the terms that economists use on talk shows promiscuously. I say that this help creates a better informed consumer of news and information. Nothing is worse than having a repeat of the scene in “Ferris Bueller’s Day Off” where Ben Stein is killing high school students with general economic terms.
To borrow a phrase from my conservative friends, I think that digitalpug is being a little "Elitist". Maturity of opinion requires small steps I think that this video is a step in the correct direction. I am looking forward to further videos covering leveraged buy outs, supply side economic theory, the difference between fiscal and monetary policy, and a discussion of inflation and deflation.
Keep up the good work.
A qualified defense
Digitalpug:
Thanks for the comment, and I take your point. On the other hand: Have you looked at the video on other financial sites? For the most part, it's a camera aimed at someone who's reading a script to you which you could absorb much faster by reading it yourself. No smarter than this, and a lot duller. No one is suggesting that videos like this one are a substitute for the kind of journalism you seem to endorse; you'll find that elsewhere on this site. I'll be the first to admit that we won't get it right with every video, but I hope you'll appreciate that at the least the goal of producing video that's fresh, that's Web-tailored, and that's a little bit fun is worthwhile.
James Ledbetter
Editor, The Big Money
Bonds Education
So this is what America's journalism has come to? SNL-type parodies of SchoolHouse Rocks? We really have become a stupid and lazy lot. The producers of this video must think they are quite cute and are giggling like school girls over their wit. If you want to show this to kids in school, hey, that is one fine. However, making precious, cutesy-pie infortainment like this for adults just makes us look dumber and lazier than we Americans already are. Perhaps if you put a bit of effort and money into your reporting and talked to us like mature people we would become adults. This kind of reporting is the norm now and we all suffer as we watch our IQs and economy drop, giggling all the way down the drain.