“Capitalism: A Love Story” DVD Review

Michael Moore thinks he is pointing out injustices through his latest documentary, “Capitalism: A Love Story“.  Instead, Michael simply reminds us that life isn’t fair in a free market economy where those who work hard sometimes get the short end of the stick through no fault of their own.

Review Of Documentary “Capitalism: A Love Story”

I find it ironic that one of the wealthiest documentary filmmakers is bashing Capitalism. Despite highlighting that 33% of “young Americans” now believe in Socialism (37% for Capitalism, 30% undecided), it’s hard to argue for a better system. 

It’ll be interesting to see if these young Americans still believe in Socialism by the time they reach their thirties and make some money. Socialism just creates a new set of problems for society. 

Is it really that bad buying a foreclosed property from someone who can’t pay their debt on time?  Property vultures are necessary to provide a floor in many devastated markets or else things go to zero and more people suffer.

There is a sense of self-righteousness when Michael tells the viewer that he can’t fight the system alone and encourages all to rise up. Michael you aren’t alone. Thousands upon thousands of us fight for what we believe in every single day. 

I wish Michael would put his money where his mouth is and donate all his proceeds to helping victims he continues to highlight.

A STRANGE PLACE

Have you ever seen a journalist report from some God-forsaken place where malnourished children are starving in the background? Do you ever think to yourself, instead of jibber jabbering away, why don’t you just shut up and provide some food for the starving children behind you? 

The documentary is kind of like that. Michael mocks ministers, judges, companies, government, and Wall St. He does so to the point where I start thinking, why not just do something other than make a documentary?

There are some important parts to the documentary which made me want to stand up and cheer. Most notably was the 6 day factory worker lock-out which got Bank of America to finally pay them $6,000 in unemployment benefits from zero. 

That made me proud, because people were standing up against a company who just threw them away like garbage. Digging deeper though, why is Bank of America responsible for their benefits just because they got some bailout money? Shouldn’t the company itself be responsible?

TIME FLIES

The problem lies in the timing of this documentary. Nobody could have foreseen that in just one year since Lehman’s bankruptcy, the economy would rebound so quickly. The fear mongering has subsided and a sense of normalcy has returned.

He praises Obama for his promises, which one year later have not all been kept. Making a shady deal with the Senator of Nebraska to get him to vote for the health care bill by exempting Nebraskans for paying is not right.  As a result, after 30 years of Democratic rule in Massachusetts, a Republican takes former Edward Kennedy’s place.

Michael trashes Wall St. for receiving $700 billion in bailout money, making it seem like everybody in the industry had a part in forcing people to buy homes they couldn’t afford. One year later, a majority of the $700 billion has been repaid with handsome returns boasted by the government. 

Are the taxpayers thanking Wall St. for their profits? No, because frankly, as taxpayers, we pay the same amount of taxes regardless of where our money goes!

CONCLUSION

I commend Michael for making another hit documentary about this latest downturn. The snark is entertaining and therefore worth the watch. He makes the viewer think about issues, but he does not convince me that Capitalism is indeed ‘evil” as all his interviewed priests proclaim. 

If Capitalism is truly evil, why is The Church one of the richest institutions in the world? If Capitalism is evil, is Bill Gates also evil for donating billions to fight disease and poverty? No, Capitalism isn’t evil and Michael Moore will profit handsomely once again.

Further Reading

• BusinessWeek: 10 Best Places To Own Property
• Why Becoming Debt Free Is Not A Great Idea!
• How To Deal With A Horrendous Day At Work
• The Katana: Favorite Posts of The Week Ending 11/15
• Let “Freement” Reign! Spending Paralysis, Material Lust And Obsession
• An Ambulance Screams By, Do You Feel Happy Or Sad?

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Regards,

Sam @ Financial Samurai – “Slicing Through Money’s Mysteries”