The Return of the Inflation Tax
The Wall Street Journal reports that the health bill will partially remove indexing for price inflation. As usual, the tax is geared against so-called "rich" citizens:
The tax would begin in 2011 on income above $500,000 for singles and $1 million for joint filers. Assuming a 4% annual inflation rate over the next decade, that $500,000 for an individual tax filer would hit families with the inflation-adjusted equivalent of an income of about $335,000 by 2020. After 20 years without indexing, the surcharge threshold would be roughly $250,000...
As we can see, due to the government's slow destruction of the monetary unit, entrepreneurs and savers are not only being ripped off by the printing press, they are being stealthily pushed into higher tax brackets for unreal gains in their income (thanks, Mr. Bernanke). The tax will also be applied to small business:
As for the business payroll penalty, it is imposed on a sliding scale beginning at a 2% rate for firms with payrolls of $500,000 and rising to 8% on firms with payrolls above $750,000. But those amounts are also not indexed for inflation, so again assuming a 4% average inflation rate in 10 years this range would hit payrolls between $335,000 and $510,000 in today's dollars. Note that in pitching this "pay or play" tax today, Democrats claim that most small businesses would be exempt. But because it isn't indexed, this tax will whack more and more businesses every year. The sales pitch is pure deception...
Even if you are for the further nationalization and cartelization of health care, please help us oppose this bill as it will undoubtedly trap more Middle-Americans in a ridiculously unreasonable tax situation that will damage their lives and ability to get by in the government's latest disaster: the economy.
~ Andrew Ward, Campaign For Liberty
Monday, November 09, 2009
Saturday, November 07, 2009
Operation Health Freedom
For free market, captialist solutions to health care ( there are such things ) click this link!
For free market, captialist solutions to health care ( there are such things ) click this link!
"Moore makes a good argument that in a free market economy (Capitalism) there is greed and corruption. But then, every system has greed and corruption. Autocracy (Kingdoms), Religious based systems....you name it. Corruption has more to do with the fact that most people are decent, and some are not.
However, let me give you this, as food for thought.
Moore has become rich, because of our Capitalist system.
Doing the same thing (documentaries) in other economic/political systems simply wouldn't work. Never mind the fact that he wouldn't be able to do his documentaries in the first place...and worst of all, in other economic/political/religious systems, Moore might find his remains in a can of dog food.
Our democratic, free economy system?
The best in the world."
~ Gene Simmons on Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story October, 2009
However, let me give you this, as food for thought.
Moore has become rich, because of our Capitalist system.
Doing the same thing (documentaries) in other economic/political systems simply wouldn't work. Never mind the fact that he wouldn't be able to do his documentaries in the first place...and worst of all, in other economic/political/religious systems, Moore might find his remains in a can of dog food.
Our democratic, free economy system?
The best in the world."
~ Gene Simmons on Michael Moore's Capitalism: A Love Story October, 2009
Friday, November 06, 2009
The Phony Radicalism of Michael Moore
With phony radicals like Michael Moore around, the ruling elite has nothing to worry about.
The filmmaker likes to pose as a radical critic of the status quo, but he isn’t. All the evidence you need is in his latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. Sure, he rails against home foreclosures, bank bailouts, low wages, other real and imagined problems, but his solution would not disturb the sleep of any big banker, corporate bigwig, or political big shot.
The tipoff comes right at the beginning of the movie. He paints an idyllic picture of life in America in the 1950s. His father worked for a big auto company, through which the family got free medical and dental care. All was well. He realizes that a major reason things were so good was that the U.S. military had destroyed Japan’s and Germany’s competitive industrial bases in World War II. But the dominance was great while it lasted. It was a time when an alliance of big government, big business, and big labor ruled the roost. The military-industrial complex was thriving. That seems fine with Moore, which puts him in the camp of the corporatists of Franklin Roosevelt’s Brain Trust, who thought free markets and competition among independent firms were passé. The new world required big monolithic entities that sat down together and worked things out nicely. The spirit of Mussolini hovered over all of it.
Of course, Moore blasts Wall Street because it got all that taxpayer bailout money and is not being held accountable for it. That is worth getting mad about. But how would he feel if the money had been given with lots of conditions and regulations? He might have liked that.
He certainly doesn’t mind that the government had the taxpayers’ money to give away in the first place. He never once suggests that the people should keep their own money because the political elite has no right to it. He also never indicts the Federal Reserve for its legal counterfeiting. That would be the true radical position. Moore sides with the politicians. He even complains that the top income-tax rate was lowered from 90 percent some years ago! Conveniently, he gets the history wrong. He says Republican Ronald Reagan cut the 90 percent rate, but it was really Democrat Lyndon Johnson who did it, following through on John Kennedy’s proposal. (Reagan presided over a cut from 70 to 50 and then to 28 percent.) At any rate, he is perfectly comfortable with government’s taking 90 percent of people’s earnings. He seems indifferent about whether the money is made through honest trade or political privilege.
Favoring a high top rate may not win him favors from some in the establishment, but for generations there has been a wing of that establishment that understood that high marginal rates were the price of the lucrative corporate state. So Moore may not be the pariah among the ruling elite that he makes himself out to be.
Moore’s movie contains much else to make us doubt his radical bona fides. He blusters about Robert Rubin, Timothy Geithner, Lawrence Summers, and their relationship to the current financial problems. Rubin, a Wall Street hotshot, and Summers were Treasury secretaries under President Bill Clinton. Geithner ran the New York Federal Reserve Bank from late 2003 to 2009, overseeing the Wall Street bailouts. In Moore’s eyes, they are the rogues who, along with former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, gave us the meltdown of 2008.
So far so good. But when he gets to the election of Barack Obama in November 2008 he declares, "This is not what Wall Street wanted." Yeah? Then why are Moore’s bêtes noires Rubin and Summers close Obama economic advisors, and why is Geithner secretary of the Treasury?
A true radical would not have given Obama a pass. Moore says he’s for socialism, but all he means by that is that workers have some say in their companies. Nothing very radical about that.
If Moore were truly a radical critic of capitalism as he conceives it, he’d be for its true opposite: the radical separation of business and State — that is, the free market.
Copyright © 2009 Future of Freedom Foundation
With phony radicals like Michael Moore around, the ruling elite has nothing to worry about.
The filmmaker likes to pose as a radical critic of the status quo, but he isn’t. All the evidence you need is in his latest documentary, Capitalism: A Love Story. Sure, he rails against home foreclosures, bank bailouts, low wages, other real and imagined problems, but his solution would not disturb the sleep of any big banker, corporate bigwig, or political big shot.
The tipoff comes right at the beginning of the movie. He paints an idyllic picture of life in America in the 1950s. His father worked for a big auto company, through which the family got free medical and dental care. All was well. He realizes that a major reason things were so good was that the U.S. military had destroyed Japan’s and Germany’s competitive industrial bases in World War II. But the dominance was great while it lasted. It was a time when an alliance of big government, big business, and big labor ruled the roost. The military-industrial complex was thriving. That seems fine with Moore, which puts him in the camp of the corporatists of Franklin Roosevelt’s Brain Trust, who thought free markets and competition among independent firms were passé. The new world required big monolithic entities that sat down together and worked things out nicely. The spirit of Mussolini hovered over all of it.
Of course, Moore blasts Wall Street because it got all that taxpayer bailout money and is not being held accountable for it. That is worth getting mad about. But how would he feel if the money had been given with lots of conditions and regulations? He might have liked that.
He certainly doesn’t mind that the government had the taxpayers’ money to give away in the first place. He never once suggests that the people should keep their own money because the political elite has no right to it. He also never indicts the Federal Reserve for its legal counterfeiting. That would be the true radical position. Moore sides with the politicians. He even complains that the top income-tax rate was lowered from 90 percent some years ago! Conveniently, he gets the history wrong. He says Republican Ronald Reagan cut the 90 percent rate, but it was really Democrat Lyndon Johnson who did it, following through on John Kennedy’s proposal. (Reagan presided over a cut from 70 to 50 and then to 28 percent.) At any rate, he is perfectly comfortable with government’s taking 90 percent of people’s earnings. He seems indifferent about whether the money is made through honest trade or political privilege.
Favoring a high top rate may not win him favors from some in the establishment, but for generations there has been a wing of that establishment that understood that high marginal rates were the price of the lucrative corporate state. So Moore may not be the pariah among the ruling elite that he makes himself out to be.
Moore’s movie contains much else to make us doubt his radical bona fides. He blusters about Robert Rubin, Timothy Geithner, Lawrence Summers, and their relationship to the current financial problems. Rubin, a Wall Street hotshot, and Summers were Treasury secretaries under President Bill Clinton. Geithner ran the New York Federal Reserve Bank from late 2003 to 2009, overseeing the Wall Street bailouts. In Moore’s eyes, they are the rogues who, along with former Fed chairman Alan Greenspan and former Treasury Secretary Henry Paulson, gave us the meltdown of 2008.
So far so good. But when he gets to the election of Barack Obama in November 2008 he declares, "This is not what Wall Street wanted." Yeah? Then why are Moore’s bêtes noires Rubin and Summers close Obama economic advisors, and why is Geithner secretary of the Treasury?
A true radical would not have given Obama a pass. Moore says he’s for socialism, but all he means by that is that workers have some say in their companies. Nothing very radical about that.
If Moore were truly a radical critic of capitalism as he conceives it, he’d be for its true opposite: the radical separation of business and State — that is, the free market.
Copyright © 2009 Future of Freedom Foundation
Saturday, October 31, 2009
Happy Samhain Greetings To All!!
Blessed Be!
Samhain Lore (October 31st)
Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat.
It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.
Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.
This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.
Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn. Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually falls on November 7th), and Martinmas (that is celebrated November 11th), Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.
Blessed Be!
Samhain Lore (October 31st)
Samhain, (pronounced SOW-in, SAH-vin, or SAM-hayne) means "End of Summer", and is the third and final Harvest. The dark winter half of the year commences on this Sabbat.
It is generally celebrated on October 31st, but some traditions prefer November 1st. It is one of the two "spirit-nights" each year, the other being Beltane. It is a magical interval when the mundane laws of time and space are temporarily suspended, and the Thin Veil between the worlds is lifted. Communicating with ancestors and departed loved ones is easy at this time, for they journey through this world on their way to the Summerlands. It is a time to study the Dark Mysteries and honor the Dark Mother and the Dark Father, symbolized by the Crone and her aged Consort.
Originally the "Feast of the Dead" was celebrated in Celtic countries by leaving food offerings on altars and doorsteps for the "wandering dead". Today a lot of practitioners still carry out that tradition. Single candles were lit and left in a window to help guide the spirits of ancestors and loved ones home. Extra chairs were set to the table and around the hearth for the unseen guest. Apples were buried along roadsides and paths for spirits who were lost or had no descendants to provide for them. Turnips were hollowed out and carved to look like protective spirits, for this was a night of magic and chaos. The Wee Folke became very active, pulling pranks on unsuspecting humans. Traveling after dark was was not advised. People dressed in white (like ghosts), wore disguises made of straw, or dressed as the opposite gender in order to fool the Nature spirits.
This was the time that the cattle and other livestock were slaughtered for eating in the ensuing winter months. Any crops still in the field on Samhain were considered taboo, and left as offerings to the Nature spirits. Bonfires were built, (originally called bone-fires, for after feasting, the bones were thrown in the fire as offerings for healthy and plentiful livestock in the New Year) and stones were marked with peoples names. Then they were thrown into the fire, to be retrieved in the morning. The condition of the retrieved stone foretold of that person's fortune in the coming year. Hearth fires were also lit from the village bonfire to ensure unity, and the ashes were spread over the harvested fields to protect and bless the land.
Various other names for this Greater Sabbat are Third Harvest, Samana, Day of the Dead, Old Hallowmas (Scottish/Celtic), Vigil of Saman, Shadowfest (Strega), and Samhuinn. Also known as All Hallow's Eve, (that day actually falls on November 7th), and Martinmas (that is celebrated November 11th), Samhain is now generally considered the Witch's New Year.
Tuesday, October 27, 2009
David Eddings
July 7th, 1931 ~ June 2nd, 2009
SFFWorld is sad to report on the death of Fantasy writer David Eddings, who passed away at his home in Carson City, Nevada on the 2nd June 2009, aged 77.
Eddings is best known for his many epic fantasy series, including The Belgariad, The Mallorean, and the Dreamers.
Eddings was predeceased by his wife and co-author Leigh Eddings (who died in 2007) Though initially authored by only David, it was later revealed that Leigh helped write all his books, and she was credited as co-author on many from the mid-1990’s onward.
Born in Spokane in Washington state in 1931, David was raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle. After graduating from high school in 1949, he worked for a year before majoring in speech, drama and English at junior college. Eddings displayed an early talent for drama and literature, winning a national oratorical contest, and performing the male lead in most of his drama productions. He graduated with a Batchelor of Arts degree from Reed College in 1954, studying Middle English. A master of arts degree followed, from the University of Washington in 1961. He wrote a novel for a thesis at Reed College before being drafted into the US Army. After several years as a college lecturer, a failure to receive a pay raise drove Eddings to leave his job, move to Denver and seek work in a grocery store.
After a time working on missile development for the Boeing Company, Eddings wrote his debut novel, a contemporary adventure called High Hunt, in 1973. According to The Bookseller, he switched to fantasy after noticing a copy of The Lord of the Rings was in its 73rd printing. Eddings realized that the world of fantasy might hold some promise for his talents, and immediately began to annotate a doodle of a map drawn years earlier, which later became known as the world of Aloria.
Towards the end of David’s life, things did not always go well. On January 26, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw it into the puddle to test if it was still flammable.
On February 28, 2007, Leigh (born Judith Leigh Schall), died following a series of strokes. She was 69. This death of Leigh affected David deeply, and it is perhaps no coincidence that there have been no new books published by Eddings from 2006 until his death.
*******************************
Joshua says: I was behind the curve on this one. I just learned about it last night when I searched the net to see ... well, if he was still alive. I did not expect him to write after his wife died in 2007, and in fact, he did not. David Eddings' last book was published in the fall of 2006, and two rows of bookshelf in my house are taken up with hardcover copies of his and his wife's life work.
I became an avid reader from 1992 onward, and found I could relate particularly to his book titled The Losers, which I consider his best work.
July 7th, 1931 ~ June 2nd, 2009
SFFWorld is sad to report on the death of Fantasy writer David Eddings, who passed away at his home in Carson City, Nevada on the 2nd June 2009, aged 77.
Eddings is best known for his many epic fantasy series, including The Belgariad, The Mallorean, and the Dreamers.
Eddings was predeceased by his wife and co-author Leigh Eddings (who died in 2007) Though initially authored by only David, it was later revealed that Leigh helped write all his books, and she was credited as co-author on many from the mid-1990’s onward.
Born in Spokane in Washington state in 1931, David was raised in the Puget Sound area north of Seattle. After graduating from high school in 1949, he worked for a year before majoring in speech, drama and English at junior college. Eddings displayed an early talent for drama and literature, winning a national oratorical contest, and performing the male lead in most of his drama productions. He graduated with a Batchelor of Arts degree from Reed College in 1954, studying Middle English. A master of arts degree followed, from the University of Washington in 1961. He wrote a novel for a thesis at Reed College before being drafted into the US Army. After several years as a college lecturer, a failure to receive a pay raise drove Eddings to leave his job, move to Denver and seek work in a grocery store.
After a time working on missile development for the Boeing Company, Eddings wrote his debut novel, a contemporary adventure called High Hunt, in 1973. According to The Bookseller, he switched to fantasy after noticing a copy of The Lord of the Rings was in its 73rd printing. Eddings realized that the world of fantasy might hold some promise for his talents, and immediately began to annotate a doodle of a map drawn years earlier, which later became known as the world of Aloria.
Towards the end of David’s life, things did not always go well. On January 26, 2007 it was reported that Eddings accidentally burned about a quarter of his office, next door to his house, along with his Excalibur sports car, and the original manuscripts for most of his novels. He was flushing the fuel tank of the car with water when he lit a piece of paper and threw it into the puddle to test if it was still flammable.
On February 28, 2007, Leigh (born Judith Leigh Schall), died following a series of strokes. She was 69. This death of Leigh affected David deeply, and it is perhaps no coincidence that there have been no new books published by Eddings from 2006 until his death.
*******************************
Joshua says: I was behind the curve on this one. I just learned about it last night when I searched the net to see ... well, if he was still alive. I did not expect him to write after his wife died in 2007, and in fact, he did not. David Eddings' last book was published in the fall of 2006, and two rows of bookshelf in my house are taken up with hardcover copies of his and his wife's life work.
I became an avid reader from 1992 onward, and found I could relate particularly to his book titled The Losers, which I consider his best work.
Monday, October 12, 2009
Michael Moore's New Identity Crisis
Michael Moore's New Identity Crisis
Released on the 60th anniversary weekend of the Chinese Revolution, Michael Moore's new shockumentary "Capitalism: A Love Story" proves once again how hard it is to be rich in America. Last year, when his net worth finally exceeded that of his old nemesis General Motors, Moore was forced to sit down and have a serious talk with himself. How do you preach about the evils of capitalism when you make roughly $21 million on "Fahrenheit 9/11," a film trashing George Bush? Any way you look at it, that's a hefty return on a $6 million investment.
In 2008, serious fans at his film festival in Traverse City, Mich., whined publicly that they couldn't afford to buy tickets for a Madonna documentary about Malawi children orphaned because of AIDS. And I was disappointed to find that neighbors in my high-unemployment western Michigan hometown of Muskegon needed to drive three hours to Moore's closest free "Capitalism" screening for the jobless. You just can't beat the oil companies.
Another potential source of embarrassment comes from people who helped the filmmaker become rich and famous. Take old buddies like Bruce Schermer, the cinematographer who received a whopping $5,000 for shooting 60 percent of Moore's breakthrough debut, "Roger and Me," which sold to Warner Brothers for $3 million.
Perhaps these were some of the troubling questions Moore was dealing with in his conversations with priests and bishops who enjoy cameos in "Capitalism." Although the new documentary's first weekend in wide release was a small fraction of the opening for Moore's 2004 "Fahrenheit 9/11," a $4.8 million start is impressive. As any Hollywood capitalist will tell you, it's not easy keeping up with serious competition like "Zombieland" ($25 million) and "The Invention of Lying" ($7.3 million).
As Michael Moore's biographer, I've enjoyed the privilege of sorting through some of these contradictions with people like John Pierson, the producer's rep who made that record-breaking $3 million documentary sale to Warner Brothers and then was asked by Moore to slash his fee 50 percent. (Pierson declined.) I've also met many of the beneficiaries of Moore's largesse, and believe me, he has been very generous to causes he believes in -- like the environment and the Traverse City Film Festival near his million-dollar-plus home on the shore of Michigan's idyllic Torch Lake.
But like Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates, Michael Moore has to deal with the fact that the system that helped make him the world's most successful documentary filmmaker is also putting a lot of people out of work and forcing them out of their homes in Peoria. To his credit, he has been consistent in his opposition to tax cuts for big business. He refused to apply for generous 40 percent Michigan tax credits for his film at a time when productions with stars like George Clooney, Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood and Drew Barrymore were doing just that.
Yet for some unknown reason Moore continues to pummel his birthplace, Flint, as an economic basket case. He has yet to say a word about the impressive accomplishments of his old friend and colleague, Dan Kildee, who has created a land bank that is becoming a national model. The Flint treasurer has found constructive ways to prevent foreclosure for hundreds of residents, rehabilitated over 1,300 homes and helped convert abandoned downtown properties into major housing units for students at the University of Michigan campus, where Moore dropped out years ago because he couldn't find parking.
Why is there nothing about this important Flint success story in a film heavily focused on foreclosure? The answer has something to do with Moore's diminished interest in the town that made him famous. He's a lot happier living in a popular resort area where plenty of potential donors share his philanthropic vision for the Traverse City Film Festival and the reborn State Theater.
Paying lip service to the problems of the poor by wrapping ceremonial crime scene tape around Wall Street banks is far easier than giving credit to old friends in Flint who are correcting some of the deficiencies in the foreclosure business. Not giving credit where it is well earned perpetuates the central Don Quixote myth of Moore's career. Only by accepting the defeat of capitalism will his fans have an opportunity to subscribe to his vision of our future.
In his new film, Moore sidesteps the unfortunate possibility that both capitalism and communism could collapse on the same day. Then where would any of us be?
Moore's greatest frustrations, such as his failure to straighten out the auto industry with "Roger and Me" or curb excesses of the gun lobby with "Bowling For Columbine," have led him to the conclusion that capitalism can never work for the masses. But as a major beneficiary of the system, he can never be a totally objective messenger any more than Bill Gates can tell us how to make Windows Vista bug-free.
His cry for fans to join him in reforming the system by replacing capitalism with a better alternative sounds good. I know that all 10 of the people in the theater with me on the night I saw "Capitalism" were grateful for the opportunity to pay for his advice. But as any banker will tell you, capitalist snake charmers, for all their faults, have a tricky way of persuading you to stagger back into the ring for one more round with come-ons like bankruptcy.
If Moore's thesis is right, he needs to begin anew with the notion that any constructive solution is built around practicing what he preaches. Here's hoping that Moore will turn his own Dog Eat Dog production company into the kind of employee-owned and operated business he showcases in "Capitalism." That would be a real blockbuster.
___
Roger Rapoport is the author of "Citizen Moore: The Making of An American Iconoclast."
___
(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Michael Moore's New Identity Crisis
Released on the 60th anniversary weekend of the Chinese Revolution, Michael Moore's new shockumentary "Capitalism: A Love Story" proves once again how hard it is to be rich in America. Last year, when his net worth finally exceeded that of his old nemesis General Motors, Moore was forced to sit down and have a serious talk with himself. How do you preach about the evils of capitalism when you make roughly $21 million on "Fahrenheit 9/11," a film trashing George Bush? Any way you look at it, that's a hefty return on a $6 million investment.
In 2008, serious fans at his film festival in Traverse City, Mich., whined publicly that they couldn't afford to buy tickets for a Madonna documentary about Malawi children orphaned because of AIDS. And I was disappointed to find that neighbors in my high-unemployment western Michigan hometown of Muskegon needed to drive three hours to Moore's closest free "Capitalism" screening for the jobless. You just can't beat the oil companies.
Another potential source of embarrassment comes from people who helped the filmmaker become rich and famous. Take old buddies like Bruce Schermer, the cinematographer who received a whopping $5,000 for shooting 60 percent of Moore's breakthrough debut, "Roger and Me," which sold to Warner Brothers for $3 million.
Perhaps these were some of the troubling questions Moore was dealing with in his conversations with priests and bishops who enjoy cameos in "Capitalism." Although the new documentary's first weekend in wide release was a small fraction of the opening for Moore's 2004 "Fahrenheit 9/11," a $4.8 million start is impressive. As any Hollywood capitalist will tell you, it's not easy keeping up with serious competition like "Zombieland" ($25 million) and "The Invention of Lying" ($7.3 million).
As Michael Moore's biographer, I've enjoyed the privilege of sorting through some of these contradictions with people like John Pierson, the producer's rep who made that record-breaking $3 million documentary sale to Warner Brothers and then was asked by Moore to slash his fee 50 percent. (Pierson declined.) I've also met many of the beneficiaries of Moore's largesse, and believe me, he has been very generous to causes he believes in -- like the environment and the Traverse City Film Festival near his million-dollar-plus home on the shore of Michigan's idyllic Torch Lake.
But like Andrew Carnegie and Bill Gates, Michael Moore has to deal with the fact that the system that helped make him the world's most successful documentary filmmaker is also putting a lot of people out of work and forcing them out of their homes in Peoria. To his credit, he has been consistent in his opposition to tax cuts for big business. He refused to apply for generous 40 percent Michigan tax credits for his film at a time when productions with stars like George Clooney, Hilary Swank, Clint Eastwood and Drew Barrymore were doing just that.
Yet for some unknown reason Moore continues to pummel his birthplace, Flint, as an economic basket case. He has yet to say a word about the impressive accomplishments of his old friend and colleague, Dan Kildee, who has created a land bank that is becoming a national model. The Flint treasurer has found constructive ways to prevent foreclosure for hundreds of residents, rehabilitated over 1,300 homes and helped convert abandoned downtown properties into major housing units for students at the University of Michigan campus, where Moore dropped out years ago because he couldn't find parking.
Why is there nothing about this important Flint success story in a film heavily focused on foreclosure? The answer has something to do with Moore's diminished interest in the town that made him famous. He's a lot happier living in a popular resort area where plenty of potential donors share his philanthropic vision for the Traverse City Film Festival and the reborn State Theater.
Paying lip service to the problems of the poor by wrapping ceremonial crime scene tape around Wall Street banks is far easier than giving credit to old friends in Flint who are correcting some of the deficiencies in the foreclosure business. Not giving credit where it is well earned perpetuates the central Don Quixote myth of Moore's career. Only by accepting the defeat of capitalism will his fans have an opportunity to subscribe to his vision of our future.
In his new film, Moore sidesteps the unfortunate possibility that both capitalism and communism could collapse on the same day. Then where would any of us be?
Moore's greatest frustrations, such as his failure to straighten out the auto industry with "Roger and Me" or curb excesses of the gun lobby with "Bowling For Columbine," have led him to the conclusion that capitalism can never work for the masses. But as a major beneficiary of the system, he can never be a totally objective messenger any more than Bill Gates can tell us how to make Windows Vista bug-free.
His cry for fans to join him in reforming the system by replacing capitalism with a better alternative sounds good. I know that all 10 of the people in the theater with me on the night I saw "Capitalism" were grateful for the opportunity to pay for his advice. But as any banker will tell you, capitalist snake charmers, for all their faults, have a tricky way of persuading you to stagger back into the ring for one more round with come-ons like bankruptcy.
If Moore's thesis is right, he needs to begin anew with the notion that any constructive solution is built around practicing what he preaches. Here's hoping that Moore will turn his own Dog Eat Dog production company into the kind of employee-owned and operated business he showcases in "Capitalism." That would be a real blockbuster.
___
Roger Rapoport is the author of "Citizen Moore: The Making of An American Iconoclast."
___
(c) 2009, McClatchy-Tribune News Service.
Distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services.
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
"From what may anyone be saved? Only from themselves! That is, their individual hell; they dig it with their own desires!"
Edgar Cayce March 18th 1877 ~ January 3rd 1945
reading (262-40)
Edgar Cayce March 18th 1877 ~ January 3rd 1945
reading (262-40)
