Michael Moore’s “Capitalism: A Love Story”

The brave documentary by well known documentarian Michael Moore opened in Lexington North Carolina at a home that had been recently foreclosed on. Moore presented the authorities breaking into the house where he and his daughter and a few of his crew sat filming. It is with this intimidating scene that Michael Moore introduces “Capitalism: A Love Story.”  Though out the documentary, Moore details how the system of Capitalism is set up to keep the poor where they are and make the rich richer.

First, Moore defines capitalism as a free enterprise. He explains that this well worn out phrase means that businesses go up and down as the people’s pleasure changes. One day they will patronize one shop; when someone comes out with something better, they will patronize another and the original shop will go out. This, Moore implies, is fair Capitalism: everyone gets an equal chance to sink or float without help from the government or citizens.

Moore in a clear cut, elementary way, describes how President Nixon was manhandled by Don Regan, the right hand man of Merrill Lynch. Consequently, Moore explains, Nixon systematically destroyed unions. As a result of this action, predatory capitalists cut wages, terminated workers, and froze wages.  Nixon, in response then encouraged the use of credit. Moore notes that citizens began to experience personal bankruptcy. In addition to this, the media and the politicians began to spread propaganda far and wide. The message to the victims of Capitalism: the system is a good; one day if everyone works hard enough, we’ll all be rich.

Moore, in an attempt to analyze the morals of capitalism went to the church for their views on Capitalism. He asked the question, “Would Jesus agree with Capitalism; would he be a capitalist?”  The answers he received were always in the negative. Employing a hint of comic relief, Moore casts the sorrowful and despicable with the ridiculous and unreasonable. Moore also reveals many hidden secrets of big banking industries. City Group, he informs his audience, unknowingly released a plan to rule the world in a memo. He outlined how the memo discussed how well the plan was going and how America was no longer a democracy, but a aristocracy because the wealth of the land lay with a small percentage of people at the top. The memo also detailed the one danger to the plan’s success: the voting masses.

Moore also revealed an absolutely deplorable situation that occurred in a facility called PA Child Care, a juvenile detention center. Robert Powell, Co-owner of the facility bribed judges to fill the cells of the detention center. Youths who had done minor crimes were sent away at times for years or months longer than they were originally sentenced without parole or review.

Bringing the outrage to a climax, Moore interviews a family who has recently lost their home. The home represented heritage to them; unfortunately, he explains, they brought into the mafia-like pitch to sell the equity in their home. He informed the viewers that selling the equity in a home is like betting or borrowing against your home. If one cannot repay the bet, you loose your house. Once the house is lost, the “vultures” come in and sell it to the highest bidder and so the cycle goes on. Moore shows how when a family cannot pay their “bet” they are forced to take out credit or depend on predatory loans. These actions take the family even lower into debt until they are completely swamped. The wage cuts and freezes make it obstinately impossible to ever extricate themselves from the situation. The family Moore interviewed falls in this case.  They have nowhere to go or live, the land they are being forced off was once farm land owned by the wife’s family. To add vinegar to wounds the bank that foreclosed on them forced them to clean up their home. For this, upon handing over the keys, they would receive a check for one-thousand dollars.  

Moore details how an atrocity like this was possible. First, he informs the viewers that the regulations on loans were demolished; he likens this process to the breaking of a dam. It is a tiny hole at first, loose regulations turns into no regulations, predatory loans and shark loans abound, people are swindled out of their homes and suddenly the dam is bursting gushing over into a stock market crash.

Overall, Moore’s documentary was exceptionally insightful and extremely informative. The whole of America needs to view this film. In truth, those who oppose his message are those who are afraid, afraid that they themselves will be caught with their hands sneaking dollar folds from the National Treasury and that consequently their way of life will essentially be ruined.

Capitalism A Love Story: A Review

Michael Moore’s film, “Capitalism: A Love Story,” is anything but whimsically romantic as the title may suggest. To the contrary, it is a stirring satire on the evils and ironic wrongs of “free enterprise.” With the energy of a righteous crusader fighting for justice Moore bravely films in inner cities, foreclosed homes, Wall Street, and the steps of Congress asking for answers. His questions: “is Capitalism wrong? Why should the American people bail out big banks when we claim to have a system of free enterprise? Who really runs America? Is America still a democracy?” These questions essentially raise a brick wall of resistance against him, never the less, Michael Moore presses on.

Moore opens his film with re-runs of robbers stealing money from banks, a fitting open since it is clear that he feels the big bank’s CEO’s have robbed the American people and have been caught at it, yet got away. Employing comic relief, Moore portrays the end products of predatory capitalism and the outrageous ways that the predators escaped punishment.

Moore exposes how Angelo, CEO of Countrywide waived fees on loans for his friends but let the American public flounder in debt up to their earlobes. Moore exposed how even the Senator Banking Committee, the watch dog of loaning practices had participated in hypocrisy by agreeing to FOA standards (friends of Angelo), and benefiting from waived fees and “lost” paperwork.

Moore also exposes Dead Peasant insurance, encouraging viewers to visit deadpeasants.com to find out how much they are worth to their employers. The system is set up to benefit from the death of an employee. Companies project the expected lifespan of their workers and then complain in secret memos if the estimated projection is not reached. These companies benefit from their employee’s suicides and want even more to commit the act.

With a heavy hand and a scope that tells no lies, Michael Moore levels the truth at his viewers and dares them to do something about the situation. At the end of his documentary, he issues a plea to the viewers: join me, and make it quick. In the end, how quickly and how jointly the American public responds will determine if any changes in the fairness, or unfairness, in the game of American economics will be seen.