Maxed Out

Product Description:
THIS TAKES VIEWERS ON A JOURNEY DEEP INSIDE THE AMERICAN STYLE OF DEBT, WHEN THINGS SEEM FINE AS LONG AS THE MINIMUM MONTHLY PAYMENT ARRIVES ON TIME. SHOCKING & INCISIVE, THIS PAINTS A PICTURE OF A NATIONAL NIGHTMARE, WHICH IS ALL TOO REAL FOR MOST OF US.

Amazon.com:
In Maxed Out, author/director James D. Scurlock (Maxed Out: Hard Times, Easy Credit and the Era of Predatory Lenders) takes on America's debt crisis. Consequently, he touches on related issues like race, corporate malfeasance, and political subterfuge. Scurlock's multi-media approach incorporates statistics, news excerpts, and interviews, but it's rarely dull (comedy bits from Louis CK and tunes from Queen and Coldplay don't hurt). Speakers include economic professors, debt collectors, pawn brokers, investigative reporters, beleaguered consumers, and even Robin Leach (Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous). Instead of New York and Los Angeles, he concentrates on mid-size cities, like Minneapolis, Oklahoma City, and Seattle. Plenty of small towns also come into play. Though he never presses the point himself, Scurlock allows his subjects to note the similarities between the credit industry and the drug trade (others use such incendiary terms as "rape"). One thing he neglects to mention, however, is pride. If house payments are ruining your life, selling that property may be the only solution. In most cases, however, it's hard not to feel for those individuals who didn't know what they were getting into before they signed their lives away. For some viewers, this will be a dispiriting documentary--three subjects recount the suicides of relatives who found their debt too much to bear--but in explaining exactly how lenders and creditors make money, Maxed Out can help others to avoid some of their most egregious practices. In other words, debt may be a downer, but knowledge is power. --Kathleen C. Fennessy

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Customer Reviews

Rating: - Not suited for education
I purchased this video for a high school business class.I did not appreciate the "F-Word" dropped by one clip of a stand up comedian.The video had some good parts, but was way to slow in developing ideas.I've already thrown it away. D. Simpson, WYO
Rating: - A Must See To EVERYONE!
Whether you are a student, unemployed, homeless, or a multi millionare, if you still have a pulse, you need to see this movie. This movie should be a requirement for high school graduation. I believe if it gets through at least 1% of the high school graduation class, then it would make a tremendous impact on a person's life. I try to show this movie to as many people as possible.
Rating: - Great start that loses its way
The first half of Maxed Out should be required viewing for anyone thinking about getting a credit card for themselves (or especially for their children).Viewers are presented with sobering stats about predatory lending practices, mafia-like interest rates and the unspoken desire of banks to see their clients "get behind" and tread water by paying the minimum payments for years or even decades.

The film takes the noble and tough love approach by showing the mistakes made by people ... Read More
Rating: - never received product
I never received this product although I waited ample time allowing for holiday mail.Since there is no phone number to contact a customer rep and no easy way to e-mail, I have asked my credit card provider to charge back the fee and they agreed.You are entirely too difficult to reach.I mentioned the fact that I had not received this product when I rated the other dvd I ordered at the same time and I tried an e-mail address and reported that I had not received the dvd but no one has ever contacted ... Read More
Rating: - Let the Buyer Beware
It's a good message for the first half when it's expressing a cautionary tale on irresponsible borrowing.But the second half sorta derailed when it became a hit piece on Bush somehow being the brainiac [which no one has accused him of ever being a brainiac] that is forcing people underwater on easy/expensive credit.That doesn't fly, freedom means you are on your own.You are free to refuse credit...and I wish you would because the exuberant amount of fiat money in the system inflates all pricing ... Read More