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Over the years, Frank Capra's It's a Wonderful Life has become a Christmas classic—a heartwarming, eye-watering parable about virtue being its own reward.
The story of George Bailey, the big-hearted proprietor of Bailey Savings & Loan, is morally uncomplicated. Bailey is a generous lender and lenient collector; his rival, a miserly, hard-hearted millionaire banker named Henry Potter is an unrepentant villain who derides Bailey for his lack of business acumen and lax lending standards.
But knowing what we know now, about the dangers of subprime mortgages and the virtues of disciplined bankers, perhaps it's time to reconsider the financial—if not the sentimental—lesson of It's a Wonderful Life. In short: Was George Bailey a reckless subprime lender? Was Henry Potter a sober, misunderstood businessman?
The story of George Bailey, the big-hearted proprietor of Bailey Savings & Loan, is morally uncomplicated. Bailey is a generous lender and lenient collector; his rival, a miserly, hard-hearted millionaire banker named Henry Potter is an unrepentant villain who derides Bailey for his lack of business acumen and lax lending standards.
But knowing what we know now, about the dangers of subprime mortgages and the virtues of disciplined bankers, perhaps it's time to reconsider the financial—if not the sentimental—lesson of It's a Wonderful Life. In short: Was George Bailey a reckless subprime lender? Was Henry Potter a sober, misunderstood businessman?
But consider this: Perhaps Mr. Potter wasn't just a heartless Scrooge. Perhaps Mr. Potter, in the absence of sufficient regulatory oversight, was the one voice of sanity keeping the good people of Bedford Falls from over-leveraging themselves.
Perhaps, if we had all taken Mr. Potter a little bit more seriously, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.
Perhaps, if we had all taken Mr. Potter a little bit more seriously, we wouldn't be in this mess to begin with.
Damn that George Bailey!
He almost single-handed battled the commercialization of Christmas. 
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