Our Confusing Economy

I found Terry Gross' interview with Michael Greenberger so interesting that I hunted up this interview from April. In it Greenberger explains in simple terms (that even I can understand) what the "shadow economic system" is. Here are some interesting factoids from the interview:

• There is more money tied up in complex banking "derivative" products like credit default swaps and hedge funds than in stocks and bonds.
• Phil Gramm, who introduced the legislation to completely deregulate derivatives (read that "and caused the current economic fiasco"), was John McCain's chief financial advisor until July 2008 and he continues to be his unofficial adviser on economic and financial matters.