Maxed Out

Foreclosures are hitting record highs; Americans are declaring bankruptcy at rates ten times that during the Great Depression, and more college students drop out because of debt than due to poor grades. Award-winning documentary filmmaker James Scurlock explored the enormity of consumer debt in our society and its consequences in his 2006 film Maxed Out. Scurlock blames financial institutions and a pliable Congress for allowing bankers to make the rules on extending credit. Larry talks with Scurlock about his companion book Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (Scribner) which is a call to change how we think about debt.

Foreclosures are hitting record highs; Americans are declaring bankruptcy at rates ten times that during the Great Depression, and more college students drop out because of debt than due to poor grades. Award-winning documentary filmmaker James Scurlock explored the enormity of consumer debt in our society and its consequences in his 2006 film Maxed Out. Scurlock blames financial institutions and a pliable Congress for allowing bankers to make the rules on extending credit. Larry talks with Scurlock about his companion book Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders (Scribner) which is a call to change how we think about debt.