Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Capitalism: A Lunatic's Story


Now that we are fully in spring I decided that I needed some compost for my garden. I didn't want anything too pure, you know - like range cow manure. I wanted something stinky, fully of crap, but with a little life to it. I got to Home Depot and knew I was in the right part of the store when I found a display of Michael Moore's new movie - Capitalism: A Love Story.

I watch every Michael Moore movie that comes out. I don't buy the movie. I don't pay for it OnDemand. Nor do I fill a slot with it on Netflix. Instead, I get it for free at the library. I figure this way I am using the method that provides the least money to MM and no direct money from me.

As you would suspect, Capitalism: A Love Story is told from the perspective of a raving madman who is angry at the world and wants to turn it upside-down in order to fix it. The movie could easily be a propaganda film for the Democratic Party and their push toward a Socialist government.

Michael Moore takes legitimate economic problems, such as the bank's freeze on credit, and uses anecdotal evidence to come to radical conclusions that all corporations are greedy and Wall Street wants everyone to be poor.

Anyone who's taken an Intro to Economics course knows that a successful government is one were the society is productive and thriving as much as possible. You cannot take more money from the peasants than what the peasants have.

However, one thing was brought to my attention was the continued ethical dilemma, or maybe outright fraudulent behavior, of retiring Senator Christopher Dodd. The Chairman of the Finance Committee is coming off strong against the evil Wall Street and big banks that are hurting the middle class and the working poor. Dodd now wants to come down hard on irresponsible lenders that helped create this economic crisis that we are in.

Moore points out, however, that Dodd was the recipient of low interest loans totalling in the hundreds of thousands, if not millions, of dollars from Countrywide Financial, now a subsidiary of the Bank of America - a bank that's not even on Wall Street. (It's on Tryon Street in Charlotte, North Carolina)

And what do you suspect that Mr. Dodd will do once he retires (rather than accept defeat in the next election)? The obvious answer is he will work for one of these large banks - probably Bank of America. He will reap the benefits of his Senatorial seat. He will be paid millions of dollars to be a consultant. He will receive millions of dollars in speaker fees. Senator Dodd will continue to abuse the power that he has (had) and continue to get richer at the expense of Americans.

And for Michael Moore, an apologetic socialist-loving liberal, to criticize Dodd for his actions speaks volumes for how unscrupulous Senator Dodd is. Fortunately, he will be gone this time next year. Unfortunately, I will still need to add to my compost pile, but I know Michael Moore will be there for that.

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