By Dave Shiflett (Bloomberg) – Belief in the almighty dollar may be a bit on the wane, yet history indicates we should keep the faith. So indicates “The Ascent of Money,” a sweeping two-hour special airing on PBS Jan. 13 at 9 p.m. New York time. Host Niall Ferguson, a Harvard professor, reminds us that meltdowns and swindlers are nothing new. Ferguson offers a precise definition of his subject: money, he says, is “the tangible expression of the relationship between lender and borrower, creditor and debtor, a relationship built on trust.” He shows a small clay tablet from ancient Babylon promising to pay a debt of “300 measures of grain on harvest day.” That piece of clay tells a great story, he says. Credit, which Ferguson calls “a system of mutual trust,” allowed humans to rise above subsistence farming and eventually live in plush penthouses. Well, some of us anyway. Ferguson interviews many heavyweights including Paul Volker, now an adviser to President-elect Barak Obama, who says our economy is indeed a “confidence game” based on a foundation of trust, though sometimes confidence is misplaced, as when mortgages were given to people who may not have had jobs. The sub-prime crisis, which Ferguson explores in depth, is a case of good intentions gone awry. Politicians, including President George Bush, wanted to make homeownership available to minority citizens still suffering the legacy of red-lining, which denied low-cost mortgages to low income, mostly minority citizens. Red-lining, Ferguson says, was a key factor in the 1967 Detroit riots, which claimed 43 lives and were mainly directed at property, with some 3,000 buildings looted and/or torched. Yet many sub-prime borrowers defaulted and even homeowners making their payments are now learning a hard lesson: Those hoping to retire on the proceeds of a home sale should probably come up with a Plan B. “It turns out that no amount of financial alchemy can turn little suburban boxes into treasure chests with roofs,” he says. Ferguson is as much at home among blue collars as mega titans. He yacks with hedge fund maestro George Soros, Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group, and PIMCO bond king Bill Gross. He also snoops around at the lower end of the spectrum, including Memphis, Tennessee, which he calls “the bankruptcy capital of America.” Companies offering “payday advances,” a pawn shop “the size of a department store,” and, for the really desperate, a place to “sell blood for 25 dollars a pop” constitute “an economic sector based on people who are broke.” He takes a ride Richie, a repo man, who tells of being bloodied with a rifle barrel. Ferguson says it sounds exciting and maybe he’d like to try his hand at this trade. “I’ll tell you what,” Ritchie beams, “it’s interesting.” Ferguson revisits various swindles including Enron, which promised “wealth beyond the dreams of avarice” but actually delivered “the biggest corporate fraud in modern American history.” He singles out former Fed Chairman Alan Greenspan for a lashing: “Without Greenspan’s policies Enron’s bubble would have been impossible.” Always passionate but never alarmist, Ferguson closes with a look at “Chimerica,” an economic entity comprised of China and America in which “East Chimerica did the saving while West Chimerica did the spending.” This arrangement may be waning, he says, though that doesn’t mean it’s time to open a vein. Economies have “never run smoothly,” Ferguson says, and they “never will.” So take heart, investors, and move away from that ledge. DAMAGES Meanwhile, elsewhere in Manhattan, Patty Hewes and her merry band of cutthroats – excuse me, lawyers – are now in their second season of “Damages,” which airs on FX at 10 p.m. New York time. Patty (Glenn Close) still looks good in a skirt and can flash a totally insincere smile, yet she seems weary from last season’s wrenching class action suit against Arthur Frobisher (Ted Danson). These days she’s fixated on setting up a foundation to help New York’s hungry, which cynical viewers may see as an atonement grope. Danson, gunned down at the end of last season, now lies in a hospital, bearded and moaning to his orderly about how “pathetic” he is. “I’m the most hated man in America and you’re being nice to me.” He was much more compelling as an unrepentant villain. If we’re lucky the orderly will slip a little rat poison in his IV. Patty still drinks bourbon while the sun is high and twists arms with aplomb but the focus of ferocity has shifted to aid Ellen Parsons (Rose Byrne), who has gone tarantula. She holds Patty responsible for her boyfriend’s death and is working with the FBI to bring her down. If that doesn’t work, it appears she may turn to the firm of Smith and Wesson for satisfaction. At the end of last week’s opener Ellen pointed a pistol at the camera and pulled off two rounds. Maybe this week we’ll see if she shot Patty, or only her stockbroker. Whichever, still an entertaining hour. (Dave Shiflett is a critic for Bloomberg News. The opinions expressed are his own.)
