Maxed Out

I saw this movie at the SXSW film festival and can't recommend it enough. It is AWESOME - right up there with a lot of the great documentaries that have come out the past few years. Basically it's about the predatory practices of the credit card companies, and how the government just seems to look the other way. Doesn't sound all that entertaining, right? I guarantee it will tick you off...and then make you a little nervous (see it and then tell me you won't think twice before applying for another credit card). Some of the things it covers are the ways that credit card companies have refined their practices to prey on college students (without jobs), the mentally disabled, people in bankruptcy, etc. and are never held accountable by the government for their actions (if fact, the CEO of a bank that was fined $400 million dollars for SHREDDING customers checks to charge false late fees was actually made a member of the current administration's cabinet). It also spotlights the fact that the largest campaign contributer in the 2004 election was the banking institution that coincidentally co-authored a bill that made it harder for middle-class Americans to file for bankruptcy. I hope this movie is put into wide release. I think it's something everybody in this country should see.