The financial storm

“Understanding the Economic Crisis in Plain English” – that was the title of the presentation for grades 7-12 today.  In his lively and most informative presentation PDS parent and trustee Bruce Judson explained the origins of the current financial crisis. His talk set out the dominoes of the events that led the way.  You can see the presentation yourself at Bruce’s website The Financial Storm.

So if students are discussing mortgage backed derivatives and collateralized debt obligations at dinner tonight don’t be surprised.  He also advised students cut their parents  parents some slack.

Here he is in action on the stage at the James Earl Jones Theater this afternoon.

The bottom lines:

A crisis is an opportunity to rebuild our society in a better way.Now is the time to focus on solutions not blame.

Bruce is a senior Faculty Fellow at the Yale School of Management. He is the author of several notable books and his careful analysis led him to be prescient about this current crisis.  He saw it long before it hit the front pages.  He is currently writing a book  to be published in the fall of 2009  on the political shocks that will flow from the economic crisis.