The u. S. Economy, which used to be the envy of the world, is in the most serious trouble since the Great Depression. Inflation is rising, while the standard of living is declining. There was tremendous inflation, and not much growth. The country was not in a Great Depression in 1980, but the United States was in the dumps. On wall street, it was cold, gray, wet, and miserable. In was no comfort to be found outside. And for investors, there was not much inside either. The tickers carried almost nothing but bad news. We would come off a terrible decade for investing. People were skeptical of the stock market. It was a very sleepy wall street back then. Most economists expect a serious recession, with at least 2 million more americans losing their jobs. I regret to say were in the worst economic mess since the Great Depression. Literally from the first moments of his presidency on, president reagan let it be known that his top priority is the nations economy. I put a freeze on pending regulations and send up a task force under Vice President bush to review regulations with an eye toward getting rid of as many as possible. The philosophy behind deregulation is that it works better. This bill represents the first step in our administrations comprehensive program of financial deregulation. Introducing deregulation, finance began to get much more creative and profitable. In money matters, wall street, where leaping stocks have investors jumping. The Dow Jones Industrial average will stand at its highest ever. The past few months have been among the wildest in wall streets history. Stock and bond prices soared in a frenzy of activity. Optimists on wall street are talking about the beginnings of economic recovery. Supporters of deregulation point to the stock market as evidence that a deregulated economy makes money for everyone. The stock market took off like a rocket. And the public saw this happening, and they would read about it. And so all sorts of people who used to have nothing to do with this world started pouring their own money into it. Thats in large part also what drove prices to go even higher. The Ronald Reagan motorcade rolled onto wall street today to the New York Stock Exchange. In the last five years, weve moved from malaise, to hope, confidence, and opportunity. The volume of shares traded hitting record highs, and more americans than ever before participating in the market. Were bullish on the american economy. [ applause ] when reagan shows up at the stock exchange, yelling ronnie, ronnie, is a way of saying americas break. That was Ronald Reagans genius. He was able to link economic faith to faith in america. No sitting president had visited the New York Stock Exchange before. No president would have beaten him for the honor had a vote been taken. They gave him round after round of cheers. Were going to turn the bull loose. The whole world, from reagans white house on, was basically saying wall street is the engine of our economy. It represents growth. It represents opportunity. It represents the american dream. So these guys were basically saying, were going to go do it. This is the big draw on wall street, the smell of money. This is where the action is. This is the over the counter trading. More than 17,000 daily transactions involving millions of shares and millions of dollars, made and lost here every day. And its a game for young people. When you get home at the end of the week and you look back at what youve done, what gives you a sense of satisfaction . I guess making a lot of money. For yourself . Myself and for the firm. When the economy started to recover and become more vibrant, there was a great sense of exhilaration that we survived this miserable period. Lets celebrate, lets party. We have money to spend. Today the fad among young people is to have big salaries, fancy clothes and fast cars. Today theyre called yuppies. But who are these partiers . A yuppy is a person who owns a mcintosh and drinks white wine and thats me. Im having a great time here. A 29yearold is making a Million Dollars a year, expecting to make 1. 5 million next year and 2 million the year after that. For this generation, business is hip. Capitalism is no sin, its in. Is money the number one goal . Yes. All of the fun is waiting for you at the castle trumps castle in a world where mere millionaires are a dime a dozen, theres a new billionaire in town. Hes 40 years old. His town is new york city. Hes made his money mainly from manhattan real estate. He puts his name on almost everything he builds. He says its a symbol of quality. But others say its part of the hype. Donald trump, he is the brand, and he is the symbol of a new swashbuckling approach to commerce and conspicuous consumption. We definitely do have people who have become celebrities just from being rich. Ill take the trumps as an example. Their celebrity is generally that they are rich. Donald trump has also ventured into gambling and professional football and says he could negotiate a Nuclear Disarmament treaty with the soviet union. They say hes land hungry, money hungry, power hungry. The power is nonsense. I love the creative process. What about the name of trump city . Trump tower were sitting in. Trump plaza. Trump castle . It sells, mike. All i know is thats all it is . It has nothing to do with the ego. All i know is it sells. What do you do . Security. We dont need security. We have people outside. Leona helmsley was the wife of harry helmsley, one of the mayor, much bigger than trump, Real Estate Developers in new york. I asked for something. I did not get it from you. I want it. You have nothing to do . The queen of mean. The idea was that she was so mean because she wanted you to have a great experience at one of her hotels. Really . She was just mean. Oh, my. Its paradise. He stands here and he says, im taking inventory. I own this, i own this, i own this, and that one and that one and that one. He plays monopoly but with real buildings. With real buildings. They bought this connecticut estate a year ago, 26 acres, 28 rooms for just the 2 of them. And this building structure is what . Its the enclosure of the swimming pool. And up top . On top were going to have, of course, a dance floor. Dance in an oldfashioned way Leona Helmsley became a kind of symbol of the excesses of the 80s. Am i comfortable . I make a living. Got it . Got it. Its slippery. Nooooo. Noooo. Nooooo. Yeeeesss. Quick, the quicker picker upper bounty picks up messes quicker and is 2x more absorbent than the leading ordinary brand. Hey look, i got it. Bounty, the quicker picker upper. So we improved everything. We used 50 fewer ingredients added one handed pumps and beat the top Safety Standards the new johnsons® choose gentle this is the way we live now. Nice, even temperature. No rain, no snow, no loud noises. Music is playing. Everythings perfect in the mall. In the 1980s, you have 16,000 malls popping up like mushrooms, and they become the high temples of the Great American religion, shopping. Pam and melissa, 15 years old, come to the mall almost every day. They call themselves mall rats. I love it. Its only 24. Consumerism definitely took over in the 80s. People emerged from the 70s from tough Economic Times and went, wow, we can now spend. I want you to think about this also. Thats what is going to set your eyes off. The economy started growing, and it was largely a consumerdriven growth. But the consumer economy was funded by debt. The National Bankruptcy rate is soaring. Greg and diana, annual income, 32,000. They had over 12,000 in unsecured debts, bought a washer, dryer, and beta max tv recorder, then went bankrupt. I knew i didnt have the money. If youve got plastic money, theres Nothing Holding you back. It was acceptable to have a credit card, more than acceptable to have debt. If you wanted to pull it out of your wallet and use it. Live from tampa bay, florida, its the Home Shopping club. Every doodad and tchotchke that mans hand hath wrought. Americans seemed utterly hooked on Home Shopping. I have you down for two of the plush musical bunnies. There are Home Shopping club parties. Likeminded consumers gathered together to do what comes naturally. I want four of those bird figurines. You dont have to leave your house and stuff will come to you. Welcome to america. Give us 300 more people to call on their credit card right now. If you and enough people will send me 100 immediately, i need some very quick money. Go to the phone right now. Now quick talking about saying you believe in god without ever acting on his word. Now. Faith is an act in all, there are 1,600 television ministers. Of the 1. 5 billion grossed annually, just three of them, pat robertsons, Jimmy Swaggerts and jim bakkers, took in 500 million. The primetime preachers say they need the money to stay on the air, and they need to stay on the air to raise money. Money for the kind of electronic equipment any network would be happy to own. I believe god wants us in the next 30 days to have every one of these bills paid in full, and ptl can live if we pay our bills. We can pay the bills if we would all just do something. As televangelism grows, jim bakker, is the one that truly gets it. He understands that preaching on television is not just about standing up and giving a fire and brimstone speech. He understands in the age of television, the Johnny Carson approach to televangelism, being more intimate, showing your lifestyle and your beautiful family, is what brings people in. And hes a brilliant entrepreneur and a brilliant salesman of himself. Ptl. And here are jim and tammy their appeal is powerful. Last year, a Million People responded to the bakkers constant request for money. How many do you have right now . Just about 30. 30 what . Silver 7,000 clubs. Thats 90,000. Praise god. The bakkers have been criticized for their own lavish lifestyle. Just because im a christian doesnt mean i dont like nice things, either. I love nice things, and jim and i work very, very hard for nice things. They say the only difference between men and boys is the price of their toys. Toys like a fleet of luxury cars and fancy homes from palm springs, california, to south carolina. They think by them living well, by them having rollsroyces, everyone will thing, ah, god is shining his countenance upon them and, thus, upon us. And ptl becomes the vehicle for their media empire, for their theme parks. If we are to be fishers of men, thats what the bible says, we are fishers of men, weve been using some pretty lousy bait. Weve just built better bait to reach people. You can have a Lifetime Partnership with ptl for a onetime gift of 1,000. Four days and three nights every year for the rest of your life. That mix of god and greed ends up derailing them and ends up leading them to breaking the very rules that theyre preaching about. Television evangelist jim bakker has stepped down as the head of the praise the lord or ptl ministry. It came because of a sexual encounter seven years ago. Jessica hahn is to be paid monthly as long as she keeps quiet about the incident. It turns out jim bakker has been paying off this secretary, and that shakes the evangelical world. The evidence seems to indicate that effort and money have been expended to cover moral failure. If jim bakker paid jessica hahn hush money, quote unquote, what else has he been doing with the ptl money . Do you worry about the investigation . Not at all. History will prove the bakkers were honest people. We interrupt this program for a special report. Jim bakker, the defrocked head of the ptl ministry, has been found guilty on all 24 counts of fraud and conspiracy by a jury in charlotte, north carolina. Bakker kept selling Lifetime Partnerships at heritage usa, even though he knew they were oversold. The Heritage Grand Hotel could only accommodate 25,000 partnerships but 65,000 were sold. And for the lowerpriced bunk house partnerships, about 7,000 were sold for a building that had only eight rooms. Estelle sent jim and bakkers ptl club was sent 15 a year. She thought the donations would help her. I have made billionaires out of those people when i dont even have enough to live on. Bakker could be sentenced to 120 years in prison and fined over 5 million. I would say i feel sad, but encouraged in god. Tammy bakker said she can best describe her feelings in song. On christ the solid rock i stand all other ground is sinking sand its not over until its over. Of Growth Opportunities e with a level of protection in down markets. So you can be less concerned about your retirement savings. Talk with your advisor about shield℠ annuities from brighthouse financial, established by metlife. That i never would have imagined. Ancestrydna was able to tell me where my fathers family came from in columbia. Its just been a reconnection to my roots. 20 million members have connected to a deeper family story. Order your kit at ancestry. Com. To a deeper family story. Everything was so fresh in the beginning. But that plug quickly faded. Luckily theres new febreze plug. It cleans away odors and freshens for 1200 hours. Breathe happy with new febreze plug. So we improved everything. We used 50 fewer ingredients added one handed pumps and beat the top Safety Standards the new johnsons® choose gentle they have businesses to grow customers to care for lives to get home to they use stamps. Com print discounted postage for any letter any package any time right from your computer all the Amazing Services of the post office only cheaper get our special tv offer a 4week trial plus postage and a digital scale go to stamps. Com tv and never go to the post office again theres no place likargh e im trying. Yippiekiyay. Mom. Today, we travel to the Lone Star State to visit tycoon, entrepreneur t. Boone pickens, the highest paid ceo in the country. Even here, wall street is in charge. Wall street being a parrot, green as in money. He reigns over an entry foyer that runs the entire length of the house. And at the end of that foyer, we find this morning boone pickens. Good morning, sir, how are you . Good morning, harry. Why dont we go ahead and head into the trophy room, if you dont mind. Sure. T. Boone pickens was a texas oilman who became the original corporate raider. He would buy a bunch of stock in a company, talk about how the executives needed to be tossed out, and make a play to take over the company. The company is only 1 20th the size of phillips, buys 5. 8 of the stock privately. Now pickens lets it be known that he wants to buy another 15 from the shareholders and thus gain a seat on the corporate board. Theres one thing i want to put in place is that stockholders own companies and management is employees. Phillips agreed to buy back its stock from t. Boone pickens to stop his takeover bid. The profit to pickens and his partners, 89 million. Its no secret, youve made about 500 million through losing on your attempted takeovers. Do you go into it anticipating the losses are still going to stand you very well . You never like to lose, but if you lose and make money, well, it makes it a little easier. I remember the guy got up and said, i have a question. He said, youre making a lot of money out of this. And i said the shareholders are, too. He said, yes, but youre a fast buck artist. Fast buck artist . I said, who in the hell would want to be known as a slow buck artist . I see it as a Free Enterprise system working at its best. Pickens was really the first major investor to realize how undervalued American Companies were and what you could buy there. And it was his early tilt gulf, city services, at all these famous deals that brought this new reality to the attention of other investors who followed in his wake and sought to imitate what he did. I freely admit, i am an investor and i want to make a profit. I admit im not robin hood. It is not wrong to want a profit in capitalist america. Its fair. Ivan boesky made a fortune buying into companies being taken over by takeover artists. Boesky doesnt want to run those companies. He wants to profit in the runup from their stock prices. Forbes magazine lists boesky among the 400 richest people in america. Estimating his wealth at well over 200 million. Wheres my share of the profits . Ivan boesky gave the commencement speech in 1986 at berkley and he became famous for one line in that speech. I urge you as a part of your mission, seek wealth. Its all right. A new film wall street used boeskys words as the basis for some of the dialogue. Greed is good. Greed is right. Greed works. When Michael Douglas in the movie said greed is good, i mean, it was a cartoon expression. But theres truth to it. There was a sense that it is okay to be greedy. It is okay to maximize your wealth. What i want to see above all is that this country remains a country where someone can always get rich. Big companies gobbling up little companies. Little companies gobbling up big companies. 8 years ago, there were 1,500 corporate takeovers. Last year there were 4,000 involving 200 billion. This kind of deal is called a leveraged buyout. The company borrows the money, using its assets as collateral for the loan. In return the Company Issues ious. Because its so risky, those ious carry high interest rates, and theyre called junk bonds. You may not have heard of Michael Milken, of the Investment Firm of drexel incorporated, but this 40yearold wall street whiz is said to be the most powerful financier in america. He brought respectability to low rated junk bonds and then used the money to finance corporate raids and takeovers. Wi