Goody Goody Gumdrops

I know it’s been quiet here for a while.  But that’s because Moore has been comparatively quiet.  No longer.  Enjoy the trailer for his new film:

Now here’s a funny thing.  When it comes to bailouts and influence peddling, Moore and I are ... oh I can’t say it.  Come on, Mike.  Man up.  We’re ... on ... sort of ... maybe .. in a small way ... to some degree ... as far as it goes ... on ... well, not the same page.  But at least we’re both reading books.  How’s that?  That OK?

Bailouts are disgusting and the conflict on interest between our former Secretary of the Treasury, the heads of Fanny/Freddie, Congress and Wall Street were repulsive.  In the financial crisis, companies with political connections (or union payrolls) became “too big to fail” while companies without such pull were left to suck eggs.  A good film-maker could produce a searing indictment.

The thing is, that system of bailouts and influence is not capitalism.  If anything, it’s a reimagined version of the mercantilism that Adam Smith fought so hard against.

Now granted, this is just a trailer.  But it seems like Moore intends to head, predictably, into the “blue vs. white collar” schtick that has defined his economic thinking for his entire career.  Capitalism bad; socialism good.  Money men bad; workers good.  Repeat.

Anyway, we’ll see what happens when the movie comes out (October 2).  In the meantime, maybe we’ll ramp things up in September with a look back at Mike’s previous movies.