Trend: Bankrupt!: Maxed Out

"...back in the '60s and '70s ... a lot of bankers objected to credit cards and said they were not going to give consumers the noose from which to hang themselves--that was immoral, that was unethical ... They understood that people would abuse credit if given too much of it, and the banker had to fill this role of regulator. That philosophy doesn't exist any more."

That's a comment from documentary filmmaker James Scurlock in a recent Newsweek interview about his film Maxed Out, which traveled around the country interviewing people who were victims of predatory lending practices, greed, and ignorance.

Brief Synopsis:
When Hurricane Katrina ravaged America's Gulf Coast, it laid bare an uncomfortable reality—America is not only far from the world's wealthiest nation; it is crumbling beneath a staggering burden of individual and government debt. Maxed Out takes us on a journey deep inside the American debt-style, where everything seems okay as long as the minimum monthly payment arrives on time. Sure, most of us may have that sinking feeling that something isn't quite right, but we're told not to worry. After all, there's always more credit!

Maxed Out shows how the modern financial industry really works, explains the true definition of "preferred customer" and tells us why the poor are getting poorer and the rich getting richer. By turns hilarious and profoundly disturbing, Maxed Out paints a picture of a national nightmare which is all too real for most of us.

Get more athttp://www.maxedoutmovie.com/

via Consumerist