Press Play with Madeleine Brand
Bank of America, Literally
It was adventure on the high seas: Four ships had gone off-course in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Eastern Seaboard. Government officials were hot on their trail, but not because of any danger or crime. The U.S. marshals on the case were essentially acting as repo men, tracking the ships because their owners had defaulted on a government loan.
By Madeleine Brand • • 1 min readIt was adventure on the high seas: Four ships had gone off-course in the Gulf of Mexico and on the Eastern Seaboard. Government officials were hot on their trail, but not because of any danger or crime. The U.S. marshals on the case were essentially acting as repo men, tracking the ships because their owners had defaulted on a government loan. In fact, the federal government is the biggest creditor in the country; how did that happen? And why isn’t there anyone in charge of the literal Bank of America?
