In 2008, the housing market crashed. Any American who has two ears and a pair of eyes knows this information. It was the biggest recession since the Great Depression. It knocked out the economy, ruined the job market, and caused millions to lose their homes. People are still feeling the effects of this disaster today, trying to make it back to where they were financially before the crash,where there was certainty in their job and belief in their investments. Americans had hope in the money world and had confidence that their futures were secured. Hard times fell on everyone from the poor to the rich. The most affected group of Americans were the select few who decided to do what no else would ever even imagine doing.

There was an unpopular group of investors who decided to take the biggest risk of any of their careers. To bet against the American people, to put all their chips on the idea of America failing. Who in their right mind would bet against the biggest banks in the world? Well, Michael Burry, Warren Buffett, Steve Eisman and John Paulson took that risk, they anted up and just went for it. Going for it was their best decision of their life. These men made a fortune. They did something that is incredibly genius.

Michael Burry in 2005 saw something no one else could. He took a look into the housing market and investigated how mortgages were being handled. He ended up stumbling upon some funny information. Mr. Burry found that the big banks were handing out loans too big for the American people, they were high-risk loans and there was an abundance of them and he realized there was going to be a crash. So Michael Burry started a credit default swap market so he could short the housing market. Then he decided to place a hold on all activity on his funds, otherwise known as a moratorium, so that the banks could not receive their money back. Other men joined him in this investment and the other men cashed out just as big as Michael did. These men can now bathe in money, a majority of these big short guys walked away with billions.

Now all of this money for them is great. Good for them, they did what many couldn’t do but why didn’t they take their knowledge and power and use it to help the American people? I’m not saying what they did was wrong; they saw a business opportunity and took it. It just happened to be at the cost of the American economy and livelihood. These are the top 1 percent of Americans who receives tax breaks and who are debatably the cause to the extreme income inequality in this country. I’m not trying to bash these brilliant men. They truly did something remarkable. Anyone can go watch the movie "The Big Short" or read the book and realize how amazing this whole operation was.

This idea that started with Michael Burry, that influenced many businessmen, could have been completely different. What if they took an idea this great and used it for the American people, used it to save the housing market? Now maybe it was way past that point, maybe, but men this smart could have done anything they put their minds to. I don’t hold their actions or decisions against them, business or moral ones, but maybe the country would be a little different, a little better off if these men had switched their thinking. If they had been on the defensive side instead of the offensive. If they would've defended this country in a time of need, a time where they were the only ones able to save us from a devastating crash. I think that’s our problem; our thinking is off. It’s been a little off ever since 2007, it’s been a little backwards. Doing best for ourselves instead of our country. Making decisions that benefit us and put the rest of the country at a disadvantage.

Now I am just a young college student who has only taken one economics class. So I know close to nothing about the business world and the market system. But what I do know is that something is off here, there is something wrong with our system. Whether it’s the housing market or the businessman running them. Someone, somewhere went wrong and caused a big mess to occur. A big mess that only a few saw and only a few cashed in on. I find it funny how something this huge with such a big payout is not just being put into the spotlight. This is the biggest short any investor could go for, it’s almost too big, like big

enough where it was planned. A planned market crash so the rich can become richer and the poor can become poorer. It wouldn’t be the craziest thing this country’s ever done.