Rhody Trader

I was provided with a free copy of Broke: The New American Dream by it’s director, Michael Covel last week. Last night I gave it a look and figured I’d provide my thoughts.

Overall, I’d definitely call the documentary an enjoyable view. There are a lot of very interesting folks interviewed through the presentation – some very well-known names and some others who are perhaps not quite so well known in the public, but who are very noteworthy anyway. Interestingly, Peter Borish is one of those included. He was also featured in the Trader documentary working with Paul Tudor Jones.

The film starts off with a focus on the real estate market and what’s happened there. It then discusses gambling, Social Security, and the popularity of lotteries. The final part of the production focuses mostly on trading and investing.

Let me make two initial comments of a critical nature.

The first is the “How Wall St. Sold Out America” sign that shows on the front of the DVD, the site, etc. I think it’s a pretty blantant attempt to generate public interest through controversy, and nothing more than that. There is no discussion of any consequence in the film about Wall Street causing the mess we’re in.

Secondly, after watching the DVD I couldn’t actually tell you what the singular point of it was, if there is one. Covel definitely didn’t go the tried and true route of blaming the Fed or blaming the banks or blaming any of the others the media has loved to target up to this point. He seems to have been been placing the general blame on society for a combination of greed and a lack of understanding of risk, but I’m not entirely sure.

Now, that said, I did find the video entertaining and thought-provoking (some really funny outtake stuff in the closing credits). In particular, there’s a discussion of state-run lotteries which could very well have you thinking about some things in a different way. How does a government which seems so bent on protecting you from yourself justify promoting something which is a losing proposition in a worse way any Vegas casino?

The best part of the whole film, to my mind, is the discussion of trading. Granted, trading is major focus, so that’s probably a predictable thing. There were some great comments about developing as a trader and managing risks, though, from some folks who know a thing or two about it. If you were only to watch that part of the DVD I think it would be entirely worth it.

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