IT’S A WONDERFUL LIFE: LIVE IN CHICAGO! BACKSTAGE GUIDE 17 won’t be taking their honeymoon, but will instead be using that money to temporarily bail out the Building and Loan. I found the speech that George delivers in that scene interesting because it focuses on some issues that our economy is still wrestling with today, notably the power and relative security that society offers to homeowners in contrast to those who are perpetual renters and subject to the whims and graces of landlords. Of course, prices have risen and loan products have gotten infinitely more complex (not to mention regulated), but I thought the conversation about foreclosure and housing security was still relevant to our current economy. BL: There clearly wasn’t renter protection in Bedford Falls, and the housing market didn’t have enough competition. It was a Potter monopoly without regulation. But the issue of who should and shouldn’t get credit is still a conversation our society is grappling with, especially in the wake of the financial crisis. Potter talks about this early on when he challenges Bailey: Why would you give Ernie Bishop, the taxi driver, a loan? You know he’s going to miss payments and foreclosure might be a possibility. Bailey gets to be the good guy who makes risky loans and forgives people when they miss payments, but he’s also risking his business along with it. I also couldn’t help but think about payday loans during this movie. Bedford Falls is a middle-class town, but there are working-class people—such as Ernie and Martini—who can barely afford a house. Without George Bailey, the two would wind up living in run-down rental shacks with nothing to show for their blue-collar work. But Potter thinks that the working class should be “thrifty.” He questions why people can’t just be more disciplined and save money, the same way people with means today wonder why anyone would take out something as awful as a payday loan. I think the movie explores a lot of the questions we grapple with when it comes to credit, like who should have it and on what terms. GW: I think part of what makes “It’s a Wonderful Life” such an appealing movie is that people can easily rally around Bailey as the savior of the community. He’s a hard-working and self- sacrificing businessman, who is helping out his neighbors. In the end, the community saves itself. I think what’s interesting is that in reality, many places probably didn’t have a George Bailey. And certainly now—with bank consolidation—there are fewer and fewer neighborhood financial institutions, and certainly fewer individuals who could help bridge those gaps. In those instances, people who are having a hard time would have much less heart-warming options: government services or dangerous, expensive short-term loans, like payday or auto titles. BL: A dose of harsh reality in the film is how big of a jerk Potter is. It always made me really angry that he accidentally received that $8,000 that caused the second bank run at Bailey Building and Loan, yet never told anyone he had it, never gave the money back, and never had any intention of doing the right thing. He’s the coldhearted capitalist, and in the mid-1940s, I think the mores surrounding financial gains were really different. This is pre-Wall Street, pre-“greed is good.” Potter argues that Bailey is undercutting him by running an inefficient market and charging below-market prices for housing. It’s so interesting to me that Capra presented charging below-market prices as the decent thing to do. But the ultimate importance (at least financially) of this film to me is the role of banks in society. This all reminded me of the Abacus case, which involved a bank in New York, in Chinatown, that was lending to members of the community and judging creditworthiness based on a person’s character and their ties to the community. Essentially credit was provided and managed by the community instead of having mortgages that are signed then sold off again and again. Abacus was eventually investigated for mortgage fraud, but found not guilty by a jury. And yet the scolding words of the district attorney who prosecuted them (“Abacus is a bank, not a community-service organization”) really make me think of George Bailey and his predicament in today’s terms. GW: I thought of that too! I think when you watch the movie with a focus on the financial aspects, it’s easy to see plenty of modern-day parallels. And, while the holiday spirit is deeply woven into the narrative, the fact that George Bailey wouldn’t be able to help his neighbors the way he once did—which nowadays might be categorized as mortgage fraud—can feel like a bit of a bummer when you think about how many people could probably use a little financial help. That our banking system is so much more interconnected and, some would say, immensely complex, is a big part of the problem. (edited from TheAtlantic.com) Ward Bond (Bert) and Frank Faylen (Ernie) in “It’s a Wonderful Life” (1946)