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Reaganomics and Obamanomics battle in new documentary
Published: 16 October, 2010, 03:56
Edited: 18 October, 2010, 03:14
TAGS: Obama, Politics, USA, Economy
The debate over capitalism and socialism rages on and has found a new medium in a documentary film released today in the United States.
“I Want Your Money” directed by Ray Griggs tackles the battle between Reaganomics and Obamanomics; using animations and interviews with American political figures.
“Government isn’t listening to the people,” said Griggs. “The media wasn’t holding the current administration accountable as they did when Bush was in office, so I figured why don’t I step up to the place and use my talents.”
Griggs explained that he is worried about future generations and how the national debt and today’s policies will affect them.
In the film Griggs uses Reagan’s policies as a contract to US President Barack Obama. Although Regan expanded the size of the US government, expanded the military and the successes of his economic policies are disputed.
“They [Reagan policies] worked tremendously. He created 28 million jobs. There was spending in the military and making it bigger, but again he had to deconstruct the Soviet Union and what was going on there,” he said.
Many of the people who worked on the film did not want their names attached to it. They were afraid to admit their views because Hollywood leans so far to the left, they were apprehensive about being ‘black listed,’ explained Griggs.
“They have trouble getting work, I hear it all the time out there,” he added.
Griggs included commentary from political names like Mike Huckabee and Newt Gingrich in order to bring in policy makers and experts in the fields of policy, government and economics. While he said he attempted to find spokespersons from the left, they would not agree to participate in the film.
Socialism has a bad reputation in the US, but so does capitalism argued Griggs.
“When you hear the world capitalism they think corporate greed, CEOs that are screwing people out of money or they think about driving Ferraris or all about the dollar. They don’t realize that capitalism is small businesses,” he said. “Capitalism is viewed the same way from the left as the right views socialism. So, they’re two contrasting things that each one does not have the right definition for.”
American free trade is only system proven in history to better lives. Socialism doesn’t offer that, argued Griggs.
“China for example, they had socialism for the longest time, they realized, hey you know what, it’s not working so now they have changed to Capitalism,” said Griggs.
He added that those who have seen the movie have had a positive response and that it has been promoted mainly through a grassroots movement of people telling their friends and posting on Facebook and Twitter.
16.10.2010, 01:45
3 comments
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Capitalism hasn't been about small business for a long time, though it is still often about purchasing and/or crushing small business. The neoliberal capitalists holding the American economy hostage for bailout money today found a loving home with his cited hero Ronald Reagan, and I still don't understand how your average right-wing American can mention his name in a positive light while denouncing the billionaires running their lives. I'm surprised Glenn Beck didn't get cast for this "documentary," as a leading voice in discouraging useful discourse.
There is very little significant differences between Obama and Reagan economic models… This is nothing more than discursive construction of fake distinction between corporate control of the state and the economy under Reagan and corporate and control of the state and economy under Obama..
Socialism? With socialism who makes the decisions. Who makes the decisions of what the economy is supposed to be.
Capitalism here is not the criminal. The form of capitalism in the U.S now is not the Ayn Rand type of capitalism. From the early 1900s, in 2010 and 2011, 'crony capitalism' is the pervasive form of capitalism in the U.S.
Socialism is the dumbest people of society telling the intelligent people what they can do, that is the best case scenario. The worst case is the Chinese Communist Party where people are told by the elites what to do with their assets. The median cases is where socialism benefits the people. Getting it between the middle is the hard part.