Inequality for All

Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich does an excellent job of cutting through all the b.s. perpetrated by the media about the economy to present factual information about how the economy has changed. While I have no doubt that those on the radical right will simply dismiss his film with the usual right-wing name calling, and those on the far left will say he doesn't go far enough, Reich really does explain how our economic policies have allowed the wealthiest amongst us to destroy the middle class so a small portion of the nation can amass incredible wealth. What is especially revealing is the factual information showing that vast wealth does not result in reinvestment in America -- it goes into savings and stocks since they can't possibly spend all that money. The film clearly shows, factually, how the reduction in the size and wealth of the middle class is killing our economy. It shows how salaries for the middle class have actually declined (in constant dollars) since the 1980s. It logically explains why and explains the three phenomena that have resulted. While the facts are very depressing, Reich maintains a self-deprecating sense of humor throughout. He'd make a great president, but he's just too short, insightful, analytical, and honest to have a chance.

Inequality for All attempts to do for income inequality what An Inconvenient Truth did for the global warming/climate change debate. Immediately, if you agree with Reich's talking points about economics and who is exactly at fault for the economic downturn of recent years, you'll likely love Inequality for All and perhaps quote its statistical data in future debates. If you don't agree with Reich's points, you'll likely wind up hating the picture, dismissing it as biased, lefty-fodder and never think about it again. In other words, it's another typical political documentary in the regard that those who really need to see it and take things away from it probably won't.

That doesn't mean Reich's commentary on this particular issue should be casually dismissed and regarded as biased senselessness. Reich makes several great points in this documentary, and the film is worth seeing on the merits that he is a charismatic and very likable screen presence. The fact that Reich assumes a tone that is witty and informative without being too didactic and pompous already makes the film much more accomplished than An Inconvenient Truth. For starters, Reich's background is in economics. He has studied the field for many years and has worked under the Ford, Carter, and Clinton administrations, working as the Secretary of Labor under Clinton. To dismiss Reich's claims immediately as lefty-fodder or something along those lines is criminal just because he is at least more experienced than many people reviewing this film. I can't dismiss Reich's claims, nor can I back them up. I can simply try and view eye-to-eye with him before moving on.

Reich's film instantly feels like a PowerPoint presentation, with numerous infographs, charts, video clips, montages, etc appearing with Reich narrating and stating each piece of information's significance. This style makes for a basic, but very accessible film, which is what we need in the line of documentaries concerning politics and economics. They are topics that can get alienating and complex very easily, and Reich seems to be totally aware of that. What the man winds up doing, to combat the intimidating subjects, is offer a cleanly edited film, mixing in the aforementioned ingredients with bits of his lectures at Berkeley in order to create a very interesting and thoroughly entertaining film.

Probably his strongest takeaway point, even if, I feel, many of us already know this, is that a strong middle class is the key to a strong economy. One of his wealthy subjects is Nick Hanauer, a venture capitalist who makes the bold assertion that the rich do not create jobs or benefit the economy in a way that is as significant as what the middle class does. He sums this up nicely, commenting that while some people make in excess of $10 to $30 million dollars a year, paradoxically, they spend very little of it. Most of their money goes into investments or into a vault for their savings. The middle class, on the other hand, can only donate so much of their money to savings because many of them have outstanding bills that need be paid by a certain day. Hanauer also comments that America needs to forgo the failed concept of "trickle-down economics" in favor of "middle-out economics," which is the pro-business ideology to create a strong, viable middle class akin to that of the 1940's, 50's, and 60's. The question is how do we get there? Reich's other strong takeaway point is that the American "free market" isn't completely free in a large sense. For better or for worse, depending on what you believe, the government has regulated the market with countless organizations that either limit production, tell us how to produce something, and work in efforts to regulate business in a way that makes it meet certain requirements. For some, this will be old news but for others, like me, it provides a moment to truly think about. There truly is not such thing as a free-market; the only one that would exist would be under complete anarchy with no regulations whatsoever.

Director Jacob Kornbluth constantly makes an effort to show how baffling and simultaneously captivating Reich can be. At one point during Reich's presentation, he asks for an audience member's iPhone and questions to the masses where most of the proceeds from each purchase of an iPhone goes to. Many guess China and the United States, two countries directly involved in the solicitation and the manufacturing of said phone. It turns out 23% goes to Japan, 6% goes to the United States, roughly 3% goes back to China, something like 17% goes to Germany, and the remaining percent is scattered across the globe. The idea is that while iPhones are manufactured in one particular place (China), the parts for manufacturing just one phone come from all over the world, leaving many countries to share the profits unevenly.

While Inequality for All is a good lesson in economics, the real treat is getting to know Reich, who stands tall at just four feet, eleven inches, loves his MINI Cooper car because it feels in proportion to himself, and always brings a small wooden box to stand on wherever he goes to speak. The guy is just nine miles past adorable, and, agree or disagree with his points in the film, he has enough charisma to brighten a room and enough intelligence that everyone can take away something he says by the end of the documentary.

Starring: Robert Reich. Directed by: Jacob Kornbluth.

I consider myself well informed about what's happening in our economy here in the United States, so I didn't expect to learn much.

Wow! Was I surprised! This move is a "must see" and should be required viewing for all, especially high school and college students.

Anyone who cares about this country, and who wants to change things must see this movie to truly understand what is needed.

Robert Reich has a rich way presenting information so that even those of us who find economics difficult can follow what's happened in the United States.

With easy to read graphs and entertaining narration, Robert shows us exactly what went wrong, and exactly what is needed to fix it.

Great must see documentary. Get rid of all notions of "republican vs. democrat" before you go because it's really all about the economy stupid and those with money who really run the show.

Robert Reich is thoroughly likable and entertaining. Also a very smart, educated man. You can't help but to like him. He is a person for us all. Since when did the MSM abandon smarts and reason (not to mention Congress)?

Highly recommended movie for all walks of life.

Highly entertaining and interesting. Reich is a true leader. And the opposite of a man with "short man syndrome". You will laugh during this movie. You may cry during this movie. And you may feel anger. Go for it!!

Robert Reich's Inequality for All is an accessible primer on the motion of our nation's socioeconomic barometer over the past century. Together with a range of anecdotal human interest stories, he effectively uses statistical data to show how the country's economic health has waxed and waned over the years, who has benefited and who has not, and just how extreme the concentration of wealth has become over the past 30 years.

At the top of the economic mountain, the 400 richest people in the country have recently accrued the same measure of wealth as the poorest 150 million (i.e., nearly half the country). This extreme concentration of wealth endangers our society by making too much money available for risky speculation (e.g., the stock market crash of 1929 and the mortgage-backed derivatives crash of 2008), producing less tax revenue for government operations (because most of the rich's income is taxed at the much lower "capital gains" rate) as well as making government vulnerable to the exclusive interests of the richest people. For an example of the latter, half a century ago there were 26 income tax brackets, reaching up at least into the middle ranks of the upper class, but now there are only 7. Ronald Reagan presided over the elimination of the higher brackets, thereby generating a huge windfall for the richest that has failed to "trickle down" to the rest of us.

Through a series of graphs, Reich shows the correlation between the current, growing concentration of wealth and the rise of global capitalism, the decline of labor unions, tax law manipulation, the off-shoring of capital and jobs, political polarization, and plain old greed. The average CEO in Reagan's day made about 40X the average worker's salary; that factor has now grown to about 400X. Unlike corporate executives, most of us don't get to determine our own level of compensation.

Reich briefly mentions the favorite red herring of conservative media, which is to incessantly attack government as the root of all evil, while never talking about how the actions of members of the private sector upper class are impoverishing the country, nor how impotent government has become in the face of multinational corporatism. I wish he had said more about this, because it is a major point of misunderstanding for many people.

He also never specifically mentions the repeal of the Glass-Steagall Act during the late '90's - an event that paved the way for the crash of 2008. The repeal was driven by the Republican-controlled Congress during Bill Clinton's second term (Clinton had no choice but to sign the bill or else face a Congressional veto override).

But aside from those minor criticisms, overall, this film is a well-organized, fact-based survey of the topic, one that will make many people's jaws drop when they realize how extreme the economic continuum has become, from hyper-rich citizens like hedge fund managers making $4 Billion a year, to working-class parents with children, fighting like hell to keep their heads above water without health insurance nor any prospect for owning a home or saving for retirement.

Another manifestation of inequity is the slow erosion of our public infrastructure - utilities, roads, bridges, schools, transit systems, etc., while U.S. corporations and entrepreneurs hold trillions of dollars of revenue offshore in untaxed accounts. In prior generations, a significant portion of that sequestered capital would have been invested to sustain the "commonwealth." The present extreme inequity is breathtaking, and as Robert Reich infers in his curiously upbeat manner, if we don't change the vector we're on, the prognosis for our society is disturbing.