Jesse Ventura's The Wall Street Conspiracy

Tomas Coughlin
Mr. Josselyn
Information and Media Literacy - A4
30 March 2023

A Critical Analysis of Jesse Ventura’s “The Wall Street Conspiracy” James George Vanos, more commonly known as Jesse Ventura, was born on July 15, 1951, and is a famous American politician, author, actor, and professional wrestler. After high school, Ventura joined the United States Navy SEALs and served in the Vietnam War. He later became a professional wrestler throughout the 1980s and 1990s. After retiring from wrestling, Ventura served as the mayor of Brooklyn Park, Minnesota from 1991-1995 as an independent. Ventura was re-elected mayor in 1988 as a member of the Reform Party. During Ventura’s administration, he was well-known for his unconventional approach

In chapter 13 of American Conspiracies, entitled “The Wall

Ventura suggests that the government’s bailout of the banks allowed them to continue their illegal and unethical activities without any repercussions. Ventura’s claim here is exaggerated yet still holds some truth to it. Many criticize the bailout as it did not hold banks properly accountable for their role in the financial crisis and instead gave them a way to escape consequences for their actions. According to the New York Times, the government did in fact, impose conditions on the banks that received bailout funds, these conditions were not always enforced, were later completely lifted, and there was very little oversight on how these funds were used meaning banks could have used the money for purposes not intended. Ventura says that the bailout was a way to protect the interests of the financial elite at the expense of taxpayers because bailouts were paid for by taxpayer money which many people saw as unfair and unjust. Taxpayers felt as though they were being forced to pay for mistakes they had nothing to do with. While Ventura’s point is greatly exaggerated, his main point, the fact that the bailouts caused taxpayers to suffer for bank’s mistakes and allowed banks to continue to participate in illegal activity is true. Even if banks did not participate in illegal activity before or after the bailouts, it is entirely plausible since there is no