02753cam a2200349 4500 553043804 TxAuBib 20120224120000.0 100408s2010||||||||||||||||||||||||eng|u 2010015067 9780385529952 alk. paper 0385529953 alk. paper 9780385529976 ebook 038552997X ebook (OCoLC)495781128 DLC DLC BTCTA YDXCP C#P RCJ BUR BWX ABG VP@ DLC TxAuBib Taibbi, Matt. Griftopia : bubble machines, vampire squids, and the long con that is breaking America / Matt Taibbi. 1st ed. New York : Spiegel & Grau, 2010. 252 p. ; 25 cm. The grifter archipelago, or, Why the Tea Party doesn't matter -- The biggest asshole in the universe -- Hot potato : the great American mortgage scam -- Blowout : the commodities bubble -- The outsourced highway : wealth funds -- The trillion-dollar band-aid : health care reform -- The great American bubble machine. The financial crisis that exploded in 2008 only prologue. The rise, fall, and rescue of Wall Street in the bubble-and-bailout era was the coming-out party for the network of looters who sit at the nexus of American political and economic power. The grifter class--made up of the largest players in the financial industry and the politicians who do their bidding--has been growing in power for a generation, transferring wealth upward through increasingly complex financial mechanisms and political maneuvers. The crisis was only one terrifying manifestation of how they've hijacked America's political and economic life. Rolling Stone's Matt Taibbi here unravels the story, digging beyond the headlines to get into the deeper roots and wider implications. He traces the movement's origins to Ayn Rand and her most influential acolyte, Alan Greenspan; he uncovers the hidden commodities bubble that transferred billions of dollars to Wall Street while creating food shortages around the world; and he shows how finance dominates politics with an inside account of the high-stakes battle for health-care reform--a battle the true reformers lost.--From publisher description. 20120224. Political corruption United States. Deception Political aspects United States. Despotism United States. Financial crises United States History 21st century. United States Politics and government 2009- United States Politics and government 2001-2009. United States Economic conditions 2009-