Early on, we see footage of people being evicted from their homes. What I don't get is why people feel entitled to their homes, even when they don't pay? For some reason, because their great grandpa built the house, or because they've lived there for 40 years, or because they have no where else to go they feel like they're entitled to break property rules which everyone is subject to. If people were not forced to pay rent or mortgages, the prices of homes would skyrocket and only those in the very top socioeconomic classes would be able to afford housing. Unless people are forced to pay for what they own or consume, those resources would have to be allocated by something/someone other than the market. And using Russia as a case study, I don't think that's something we want.
What makes American great is that more so than any other nation in the world, you get what you provide to society. But the flip side is, if you don't provide anything, you don't get a job, housing, food, etc.
"People who buy and sell repossessed homes only to make a profit are "taking advantage of the misfortune of others."" Is this misfortune the inability to pay for something that you entered into a legal contract to pay for?
Moore highlights the 90% top tax rate during the post WWII years as something great, which allowed government to improve infrastructure, build schools and hospitals, and provide free medical and dental. He does highlight the fact that America was thriving mainly because Germany and Japan had just had their nations and economies crippled as a result of the war.
He claims that the tax cuts enacted by Reagan were nothing more than a push for short term profit for big business, spurred on by secretary of the treasury Don Regan. Americans were now "encouraged to use credit." Encouraged yes, but no one is compelled to use credit. It's one's own fault if he spends beyond his means. Moore uses the statistic of the ratio CEO pay to workers pay, which increased by 649%. The American public just doesn't realize how good CEO's are at their jobs, the stress they endure, they lack of job security they are subject to; and can't accept the fact that someone can be paid so much more than themselves. Should I be able to accept that LeBron James has about 1000% more athletic ability than me? Should I be able to accept the fact that most foreigners are 250% more fluent in more languages than myself? Should I be able to accept the fact that Steve Jobs is unbelievably more qualified to run Apple than myself? Or are these simply injustices that make their monetary incomes a crime against humanity?
Moore discusses Flint and Detroit and the impacts of capitalism there, namely the large profits for the car companies in the midst of large layoffs in the 90's. I guess the reality that labor was cheaper in places other than East Michigan was too complex to understand; it's easier to just blame big business.
Moore hit the nail on the head in this respects. After decades of fantastic profits for GM, Germany and Japan rebuilt their car manufacturers and produced cars that were "safer, more fuel efficient, and rarely broke down." That's why they failed, not some breakdown in capitalism.
Moore relies heavily on individual stories, using emotion in an attempt to sway the viewer. But no one should base decisions, change their beliefs, or pass legislation because of individual stories. I'm sure there are many cases where someone was killed who fully deserved it. We haven't made murder legal. In cases of rape or incest, abortions are the better option. We haven't made abortion legal. I'm sure some people need the food in my refrigerator a whole lot more than I do. We haven't made theft legal. I'm sure many people who were good at their jobs got laid off. But we allow private business to conduct itself in the way it sees fit. If a worker wants more job security that they currently have, they are free to pursue alternative employment. That employment will likely pass less or require different skills, in order to compensate for the added job security they are providing.
America was founded by people who wanted a better life than the one they had. So with little more than the clothes on their backs, they risked their lives to travel here and begin a new life. Everything they gained was a result of their own work. They didn't feel entitled to anything. They weren't entitled to anything. Yet in today's age, people living in American feel they are entitled to all kinds of things, simply because they live here. A living wage, job security, a house, food, healthcare. These are all things that are not rights, they are privileges granted to those who earn them. I have no compassion for the worker who gets laid off and complains about the injustice of it all, instead of bettering himself. I have no compassion for the illegal immigrant who cannot obtain housing. You're worth to the country is only what you can provide to society. On being laid off in Detroit, "I don't think anyone at this plant deserves what they are doing to us." Yet another worker who feels entitled to his job, regardless of his value to the company.
"Pat Andrews has been looking for work. Every morning she scans the classifieds in vain." She had a very limited set of skills and she was not willing to move. Still, it's a great injustice and a failure of capitalism that she could not find a job. The unwillingness to use logic and common sense astounds me.
Moore tells the story of Wilkesbury, PA, where the local juvenile facility was privatized. Here is one place capitalism should not be. There should not be a monetary incentive involved with the legal system. Corruption in the legal system and in local law enforcement needs to be curbed. Moore does claim that "6500 children were unjustly convicted." I guess he knows what's right in every single case.
Moore talks about pilots, and the small incomes they make, some as low as 17,000. NEWS FLASH: Any pilot who can make more than that in another job is free to leave! If you don't leave, you either love your job enough to warrant the less pay....or you aren't qualified to get another job so complaining is unwarranted. "There would be no discussion in the media about why we have an economic system that allow a pilot to be paid less than a manager at Taco Bell." Any pilot can take that job at Taco Bell. A few pilots talk about their student loans, from 80,000 to 100,000. No one forced you to go to school. You did that in hopes of it being a wise investment. If, in light of what you now make, it wasn't a good investment, then maybe your market research and due diligence was lacking. But of course you should be bailed out from that, it wasn't your responsibility to make an informed decision about your future. I realize now that going to Hope College was a poor investment decision, and that's something I take full responsibility for. I don't blame other for my poor choice. I am now taking steps to improve myself in the eyes of employers, and hope to be compensated for that, not compensated out of pity.
Moore also raised the point that companies can take out insurance policies against their employees, naming themselves as the beneficiaries. He thinks this is somehow wrong, when it is no different than any other life insurance policy. The companies have a vested interest in protecting their asset. The companies are not profiting off their employees' deaths; they are paying the premiums demanded by insurance companies to protect their assets. Insurance companies hire the brightest mathematicians to be their actuaries, figuring out what premiums to charge based on the size of policy and the the life expectancy of the covered.
Moore talks to a few priests and bishops who called capitalism "immoral and a radical evil." First of all, it's easy for those who are not subject to capitalism to criticize it. Secondly, capitalism exists because most people are not religious and do not have morals. If everyone did, socialism would be the best option and would provide utopia. But as history shows us, people are not that way, and socialism did not results in utopia. One priest quotes that Jesus said "blessed are the poor." Jesus did say that, and it's every Christians responsibility to look out for the poor. It's not something that government can mandate.
