Stupidity, corruption and lots of money

  In addition to the fall of Lehman and AIG, last year's financial crisis also saw the economies of entire nations collapse. Iceland, Greece and most notably Ireland have been economically devastated. In Ireland, the Celtic Tiger, once the home of an economic miracle, now will take decades and billions to recover. How did this happen? What role did Wall Street play and what role did the Irish government play in propping up one of the worlds great real estate bubbles and how did it precipitated the crisis? Ireland's premiere financial journalist, Fintan O'Toole, in his book Ship of Fools: How Stupidity and Corruption Sank the Celtic Tiger explains how Ireland manged to achieve such a spectacular implosion. It's a cautionary tale of corruption, carelessness, and venality. My conversation with Fintan O'Toole: