Dean Baker

Dean Baker is co-director of the Center for Economic and Policy Research in Washington, DC. He writes a weekly column for the Guardian Unlimited (UK), and his blog, Beat the Press, features commentary on economic reporting. He received his Ph.D in economics from the University of Michigan. Baker has written several books, his latest being Plunder and Blunder: The Rise and Fall of the Bubble Economy (PoliPoint Press, 2009), which chronicles the growth and collapse of the stock and housing bubbles. He previously worked as a senior economist at the Economic Policy Institute and an assistant professor at Bucknell University. He has also worked as a consultant for the World Bank, the Joint Economic Committee of the U.S. Congress, and the OECD's Trade Union Advisory Council.  He was the author of the weekly online commentary on economic reporting, the Economic Reporting Review (ERR), from 1996 - 2006.

DEAN BAKER'S FIVE FAVORITE FILMS ABOUT MONEY

1. | 

Matewan

Great movie about a coal mining town in West Virginia where the workers go on strike against the mine owners. The mine owners bring in Italians and blacks from the south to work as scabs. Both end up joining with the striking workers. The best scene is where James Earl Jones decides to join the strikers and brings the other African American miners with him. He throws down his shovel and tells the supervisor, "I believe that this belongs to you." (The day before, the supervisor explained to the workers how they would be renting their equipment, with the rent deducted from their pay.)

2. | 

Wall Street

This was made based on the insider trading scandals of the 80s. The best scene is when Michael Douglas (playing a sleazy investor) tells his would be protégé "if you're not on the inside, you're on the outside." The context is that he wants the kid to get insider information for him.

3. | 

Eight Men Out

Great movie about the 1919 Chicago Black Sox scandal. The White Sox's owner, Charles Comiskey, ripped off his players at every opportunity. They took revenge by throwing the World Series.

4. | 

The Third Man

A third rate author goes to visit an old friend in post-war Vienna. It turns out his buddy has made a fortune selling watered down penicillin on the black market. His friend wants the author to join him in the scam. The author struggles with being loyal to his friend, who has become a greedy scumbag, and doing the right thing.

5. | 

A Very British Coup

I believe this was actually a filmed version of a play. A serious left-winger becomes Prime Minister in the U.K. The elites are outraged. They use connections inside and outside government to try to bring him down.