Michael Moore Interviewed On TYT (w/ Transcript)

Note: Transcript below video.

(Transcript provided by Alex Wickersham)

Cenk:  Now joining us, Michael Moore, director of 'Capitalism: A Love Story', and a couple of other ones you might remember, 'Sicko', 'Fahrenheit 911',' Bowling for Columbine', 'Roger and Me'--just to name a few.  Michael, welcome to The Young Turks.

Michael:  Thank you.  Don't forget Blue Hawaii, too, with Elvis.

Cenk:  All right, so the DVD is coming out for 'Capitalism' soon.  My question is-- you know I saw the movie--obviously, we agree on a lot of things, including the huge flaws in the system as it currently exists, but do you think that capitalism is fundamentally flawed, and we need to change it entirely?  If so, to what?

Michael:  Yes, I do believe it's fundamentally flawed, because I don't think that in the 21st century the big decisions that need to be made should be based on profit.  They should be based on what we need as a society and what the world needs.  And when I say that, I don't mean that I don't think people should be able to earn money or do well or work hard or have a great idea or whatever.  That's not what I'm talking about.  

The kind of capitalism that we have now is a three-card Monte game.  And it's rigged--it's rigged against the working person, and I just think that until we decide that we have to get away from that and into a more democratic economy--in other words, economic decisions that are made by our elected representatives as opposed to Wall Street, the banks, the Fed, etc., etc.  

Cenk:  But how do we do it?  How do we do it?  How do we switch to that system?

Michael:  Well, no switch will occur until we remove money from politics.  We would have to start a movement where people will be running for Congress and for Senate and signing a pledge that states that they will not accept in their first run for election more than $25 or $50 from a person.  And after that, when they get in there, their number one priority is to remove funding of our elections from individuals who have the most money, and have it be federally funded like it is in most democracies.

Cenk:  So you think that campaign finance reform is the critical part of this.

Michael:  Cenk, there's nothing else will happen.  Look at right now.  Here we are guys, we're a year and a half away from the crash.  A year and a half since the big crash.  Not one single regulation has been put back in place.  Not one rule.  And for Wall Street, they're back to doing the crazy derivatives.  They're back to the credit default swaps.  They're back to all the crazy loony bin casino stuff that got us in the mess that we're in.  And the Congress has not done one single thing to stop it.

Cenk:  You know in the movie you talk about Chris Dodd, and of course he's the head of the Finance Committee.  And now he's retiring.  But that might be a worse thing, Michael, because now's he's got a payday coming just a couple of months from now.  That's going to give him a lot of incentive to not to be so tough on the banks, isn't it?

Michael:  Well, yeah, I guess that's one way to look at it.  But, a boy can hope.

Cenk:  Because part of the problem is the implicit bribe that these guys are getting.  The Treasury official just left yesterday, Damon Munchus, I believe is his name.  And he's got a great lobbying gig now with the Cypress Advisory Group.  So it's not just the campaign money they take, it's not just their advisors that leave, but themselves--they leave at some point and they get huge money.  So how do we ever fix a system that's broken, especially given that it appears that Obama has no intention of doing so?

Michael:  Well, you want the honest answer?

Cenk:  Yes, definitely.

Michael:  It's not going to get fixed.  There's going to be another crash.  The commercial real estate bubble hasn't burst yet.  That's going to burst.  The credit card debt is so huge right now, it will never be repaid.  That's a house of cards waiting to fall.  So the crash of '08 is going to look like coming attractions.  And we're in for a much, much worse time. That's how I honestly feel.  

But you don't want to hear that from me, do you?  I mean, I'm only the guy who said that there weren't going to be any weapons of mass destruction in Iraq and that we were being lied to.  And I'm the guy who 20 years ago made his first film saying that General Motors was a piece of crap company that was going to slide down the hill and bring us all down with it.  So don't listen to me.

Cenk:  Part of the problem, Michael, is if it does crash--and I have the same fear as you do--right--is that then what the right wing media is going to step in and say "Hey, listen, you know what, it was too much government, and it was too much regulation, and it was the progressives who were the cancer, etc., etc."

Michael:  Oooohhhh, I know I'm so afraid of the right wing saying that.  Oooohhhh.    Typical Democrats.  That's the way the Democrats think. Oooohhhh, ooohhh,  they're gonna say bad things about us.  Oooohhhh, we better not do too much.  Oooohhhh.  

You know, I tell you, these Democrats are disgusting.  Wimps and wusses and weasels.  You know, get some spine.  This is why I have to admire the Republicans.  They at least stand for something.  They at least have the courage of their convictions.  They get elected to office, they come into town, and they go "Get outta my way, there's a new sheriff in town.  This is the way we're doing things.  Get outta here."  And then they do it.  You know.  I mean what they do is crazy.  But dammit, they are good at it.  We should take a page out of their book.

Cenk:  I couldn't agree more with that.  So to finish that thought, if you were, for example, Van Jones, how would you have responded to Glenn Beck?

Michael:  Fuck off!  That's what I would have said.  But again, you mentioned Glenn Beck, and of course, he's the guy that's called for my removal from the planet Earth, so...

Cenk:  So, it's someone you're familiar with, so apparently you had that refrain ready.  All right, Michael Moore is the director of 'Capitalism: A Love Story', it's coming out on DVD.  Thank you so much for joining us on The Young Turks, we really appreciate it.  

Michael:  Hey, guys, thanks a lot.  I love listening to you, on Sirius.  Thanks.

Cenk:  Thank you.
 

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This interview was way too short. I wish Cenk had given MM a lot more time to flesh out what he thinks should be done instead of capitalism. MM's a smart guy and deep thinker, I'm sure he has plenty of great ideas. Why not give him a forum?

by toosinbeymen on 03/03/2010 10:37:54 AM EST

But Cenk needs to have on someone who can explain why the economy will not recover and the role of the exponential function in the insanity of blindly striving for economic growth.

by Landbeyond on 03/03/2010 02:37:32 PM EST

[ Parent ]
"It's not going to get fixed.  There's going to be another crash.  The commercial real estate bubble hasn't burst yet.  That's going to burst.  The credit card debt is so huge right now, it will never be repaid.  That's a house of cards waiting to fall.  So the crash of '08 is going to look like coming attractions.  And we're in for a much, much worse time. That's how I honestly feel."

The last crisis didn't start in America, it started in the UK. Before the problems in America there was the issue with Northern Rock. Subprime loans, bank lost liquidity, government bailout. This all happened about half a year before the crisis started in America. Investors saw what happened in the UK and realized that American banks had similar problems, therefore they started to invest against American banks, which made it harder for them to get cash which led to the well known consequences.

Investors who did the right moves at the right time made a fortune through the crash.

They have learned from that and are currently doing the same again, only one step bigger.
They are no longer investing against banks, they are investing against countries, especially Greece.
They have financial problems, because of the last crisis and might go bancrupt which currently inflates the prices of their cash insurances. This creates a vicious circle. Greece has to pay more for credits, people "bet" that they have to pay more for credits, therfore Greece has to pay more for credits... If you would have started about half a year ago to "bet" on Greece bancruptcy you would by now have doubled your money.
A bancruptcy of could either lead to the end of the Euro, or if Greece gets "bailed out" by the rest of the EU it can lead to attacks against the other three PIIG states (Portugal, Italy and Ireland who have similar financial problems as Greece, even though not as bad yet). It looks like the banksters will keep investing against the Euro, until it dies. This will lead to financial chaos and a situation that will make the last crisis look really idyllic.

It seems the worst is yet to start.

"The first thing Fascists usually try to do is silencing the opposition."

by opposition on 03/03/2010 11:21:51 AM EST

To whoever wrote the transcript.  I needed it with the troublesome audio.

by reba on 03/03/2010 11:22:37 AM EST

and I agree, it was too short and he needed to come back.

Cenk and MM seemed to have a good flow going on and they played well off each other. I think they should do some shows together or at least they should have him back more to discuss various issues.  Together, they're awesome!

Did you catch that he's a listener & fan of TYT??? Of coooourse!!

by ilovecenk99 on 03/03/2010 02:24:30 PM EST

<!--[if gte mso 9]><xml> <w:WordDocument> <w:View>Normal</w:View> <w:Zoom>0</w:Zoom> <w:DoNotOptimizeForBrowser> </w:WordDocument> </xml><![endif]-->New York vs Washington DC 

There are two Americas.  The capital of one America is Washington DC (Pennsylvania Ave).  The capital of the other America is New York City (Wall St.).  Washington DC is the capital of America’s great democracies.  New York City is the capital of America’s great oligarchies.

 Both American capitals have long tradition and history. Both play vital roles in America.  Wall St and Pennsylvania Ave often conflict interests.  This plays out in the form of recessions and depressions.  Naturally, this great-capital-conflict takes center stage during economic crisis.

 The New York capital exists for the money.  The Washington capital exists, at the people’s permission, and prints the money.  This division of power works when neither dominates the other.  Wall St needs no government, no taxes, no regulation, complete control of the federal reserve, and to own America.  Pennsylvania Ave doesn’t need Wall St.  It needs a middle class, shared economic prosperity, shared ownership, peace, and economic freedom for everyone, not just Wall St.

Wall St propaganda reflects Wall St. interests: no government, no taxes, no regulation, corporate banking control of the federal reserve, and corporate ownership of everything.  Washington propaganda reflects its interests: taxes and regulation to support a middle class, shared ownership, health, welfare, and economic security for everyone.

 Capital, capital, where’s the capital? (pun) Which capital is America’s capital? (pun) This conflict will not resolve itself during any current lifetime.  It plays out under our watch, however.  America’s heritage will reflect the decisions we make today.  Do we allow Wall St to own Pennsylvania Ave?  Do we allow Pennsylvania Ave to tax and regulate Wall St into oblivion?

 We get what we vote for.  We get the capital we vote for.

 America has two political parties.  Democrats and republicans may not be divided along the lines one thinks. Do we vote by party or by capital?

 Citizen is coach to team democracy.  Coach is responsible for success.  It’s your call, coach.  

 

by coach1640280 on 03/14/2010 10:31:51 AM EST

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