And he does McDonald's commercials and I was like 'Whoa!' Robert Reich. A strong middle class makes the economy stable. Best Inequality Quotes Inequality is the root of social evil. ~ Pope Francis The worst form of inequality is to try to make unequal things equal. ~ Aristotle No society can surely be flourishing and happy, of which the far greater part of the members are poor and miserable. ~ Adam Smith "If there was upward mobility it would be OK," says Reich in the film. 28. The economy has tanked. But you get manufacturing plants back, and theyre filled with robots and computers. 1. Someone works very hard to keep things rolling smoothly; someone else sails along for the ride. I ask and get a classic, understated, deadpan but not entirely unoptimistic Reichian reply. 3. Thus, as far as we know, hierarchy has been universal, even if class society is the most acute and most recent form of social stratification. Let's pass it on to somebody else. There is just a human race scientifically, anthropologically. They become part of the global capital market, including a lot of speculative instruments. WebInequality for Allis a 2013 documentaryfilm directed by Jacob Kornbluthand narrated by American economist, author and professor Robert Reich. I craved it. "But then I'd tell people it's An Inconvenient Truth for the economy and they'd go, Ah!". Women must learn to play the game as men do.. in the late '70s and the 1980s, A socialist." $j("#connectPrompt").show(); As for money corrupting politics, this is a long-standing problem in the US, going back at least to the 1800s. However, the mildly good comedy comes in with Senator Marco Rubio, who apparently considered talk of income inequality to be expressive of a class warfare doctrine one might typically find in a Third world countryand here Jon Stewart jumped in, in a clip shown in Reichs film, to show how the US ranked globally in terms of inequality. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. Aristotle Philosophical, Equality, Egalitarianism 170 Copy quote Look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin. These men ask for just the same thing: fairness, and fairness only. Based on Reich's 2010 book Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future, the film examines widening income inequality in the United States. AMY GOODMAN: Thats Robert Reich, featured in Inequality for All, talking about what inspires you. There were "coping mechanisms". WebThe most recently available Census statistics show that income inequality in America, as of 2018, is at its most extreme point in half a century. First of all, Reich does not believe that inequality can be totally eradicated, or that all inequality, or some inequality, is essentially bad: Some inequality is inevitable. Changing the world was what everyone wanted to do. Someone puts someone else up on a pedestal. The world is unfair and hard and wrong. if (this.auth.status === "not_authorized") { A man is still likely to earn more money than a woman, even one doing the same job. - Kofi Annan. Today the richest 400 Americans have more wealth than the bottom 150 million of us put together. This was when America introduced tuition fees and its workforce started to fall behind the rest of the world's. We are living through tumultuous times. They want an America as good as its promise. One is the concept of globalizationwhich suffers from a glut of competing and divergent definitions, a true amoeba word as others have said. He tells us that, researchers measured the distance between the median voting patterns of one party and the other party, and what they found is that in times of high inequality, you have the highest degree of polarization. He draws a modest salary. 8. But then "I grew up poor. For now all we know is that the middle class is great at doing one particular thing: consuming. Barbara C. Jordan, U.S. congresswoman, 1977. Could that happen in America? Barbara C. Jordan, U.S. congresswoman, 1977. Martin Luther King, Jr. //. How is it sourced? "And before that," says Reich with impeccable comic timing, "I was a special agent for Abraham Lincoln." Yet I just thought that this could be an amazingly riveting film. Frances Wright. The film, along with the accompanying slides which are featured in the film (see the package below), is structured as answers to three key questions: The empirical core of the documentary is presented in the correspondence between inequality and financial instability, with the language strongly suggesting that inequality causes instability. Director Jacob Kornbluth Stars Robert Reich Dolly Parton (archive footage) The time is always right to do what is right.. This documentary should be played for school children as early as eight grade. If we studied them ethnographically, then we studied them within contexts produced by imperial expansion that generated all sorts of inequalities either directly or indirectly. And nobody was telling it. Except that he believes like Warren Buffett that he doesn't pay enough tax. is your online portal to data, analysis, and commentary on income and wealth inequality. Because they are the most vulnerable. It's always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty. Austerity has cut a swath through the country. Inequality, in all its forms gender, LGBTQ, racial, or otherwise is an issue that every company must address for its own benefit and to create a better world. "Just let me finish, Eric. The politics of fear. Hanauer believes that if he was taxed more, he would be better off, because his company he's a venture capitalist and his family own a pillow factory would sell more products, and he would, therefore, make more money. To turn $100 million into $110 million is inevitable.. "Those were tough times.". ", Earlier in the week, I notice that he'd tweeted: "Britain's austerity economics is complete disaster. In the film Reich pulls back from a condemnation of inequality as such: he argues that it can never be eliminated, and it can even be useful and valuable. James Anthony Froude. Let's pass it on to somebody else. And, in large part, this is down to its star, Robert Reich. "Inequality for All" boils down our current economic problems to the key point that America is a consumer-driven economy. He asks: Were companies suddenly that much more profitable? No, instead, one of the big reasons corporations were showing higher profits is, they were keeping pay down. Its not upward mobility. The vignettes shown are of individuals who are blocked in their quest to consume more: several speak of difficulty buying a house, or even a smartphone. Some inequality is inevitable, he says. (Donald Trump himself makes a brief appearance in this film, reminding us of how the media built recognition of his name brand: he was the go-to billionaire ready for media commentary on business issues.). more on this quote . Theyre not generating enough economic activity. How much inequality can we tolerate and still have an economy thats working for everyone and still have a democracy thats functioning?. To turn $100 million into $110 million is inevitable.. You'll find on these pages information and insights that can help you better understand our deeply unequal world and how we can work to change it. He says he was amazed when Kornbluth first pitched the idea of a film. "I didn't consider myself political. 85+ Best Equality Quotes To Inspire All Of Us 1. George Grizzard - President Lockwood. Robert Reich. Who wouldn't want to know what's going on? 28. Someone falls in love first. How though do we know that we'll really get paradise in return? Web27 "Equality For All" Quotes "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." If more people consume, or if people consume more, then that expands the economy, and thats a good thing, and the best people needed for increasing consumption are middle class people. You've a lot to learn yet". 143. social inequality quotes. At one point in the film he looks quite downcast and says: "Sometimes I just feel like my life has been a total failure." Aristotle Philosophical, Equality, Egalitarianism 170 Copy quote Look to a day when people will not be judged by the color of their skin. Just not in the way many thought it would. 1928 and 2007 saw the economy relying on the financial sector to provide all of their money. more than 23% of total income. I've always tried to relate economics to where people live. American - Economist Born: June 24, 1946. We are living through tumultuous times. Birling wanted to pay minimum to workers. Edgar Bronfman. The theoretical core of the documentary revolves around a single proposition: what makes an economy stable is a strong middle class. 29. WebOne of the Commandments is 'All animals are equal'. James Anthony Froude. "It's my duty to keep labour costs down". We now have a perfect knot: the producers of wealth in the first place should be given the wealth to sustain wealth. To view this content, click 'Allow and continue'. But so has the government. It showed. People who are worried about widening inequality are also worried about something else. (This documentary review forms part of the political economy series on Zero Anthropology. 32 "Change has always been difficult," he says. Photograph: David Mcnew/Getty Images, Flickonomics: eight movies that teach us how money works, Brad Pitt: gangster movie Killing Them Softly reflects economic crimes, Superwoman returns: Nicola Horlick raises funds to finance films, revenues in the last three months of 2012, an independent commission in the UK led by the Resolution Foundation, richest 10% of people in Britain own 40% of the national wealth. Reich's books and ideas have been at the forefront of Democratic party thinking for a generation. Reich begins by pointing out that. Even in Great Britain, where they still have an aristocracy, it's 30%.". Is inequality inevitable? Theres a fundamental difference.. There is a problem with inequality, according to Reich, and also a problem with how we may think of inequality. - Kofi Annan. But seeing his example, the way that he has fought this fight for so many years has been an absolute inspiration to me. Most Christians did not imitate Christ, most Buddhists failed to follow Buddha, and most Confucians would have caused Confucius a temper tantrum. The three decades that came after the end of World War II, is the period that he calls the Great Prosperity and it is this which Reich would like to see the US regain. Robert Reich. When inequality was lowest At the least, this requires stronger unions and a higher minimum wage. It's a British one too. WebOne of the Commandments is 'All animals are equal'. At the least, this requires stronger unions and a higher minimum wage. What it has in common with them is a focus on massive wealth transfers to the financial class, mention of stock market scamming, and a spotlight on the economic ills spawned by globalization. Reich comes across as a modest, straightforward, and entertaining person with a capacity for self-deprecation (especially with frequent jokes about his height). Just click the "Edit page" button at the bottom of the page or learn more in the Quotes submission guide. It is not the wealth it is the abuse of wealth. In the long run, a hierarchical society was only possible on a basis of poverty and ignorance., The first man who, having enclosed a piece of ground, bethought himself of saying, The master's tools will never dismantle the master's house, How people themselves perceive what they are doing is not a question that interests me. Showing search results for "Inequality For All" sorted by relevance. As in An Inconvenient Truth or "the most lucrative PowerPoint presentation in history", as one critic called it the film is structured around a lecture, or rather series of lectures: Reich's incredibly popular wealth and poverty class at Berkeley. These men ask for just the same thing: fairness, and fairness only. Reich and others like him will say it comes from a combination of greater taxation of the wealthy, increased wages, and decreased costs (for healthcare, education, and housing). but all the way back to 1913, when the income tax. The richest 400 people in the United States have more wealth than the bottom 50 million of us. It showed. Instead we get this garbled mess of definitional obscurity, confusion, imprecision, of questions never raised and assumptions never tested. but you must want what you have, not what you've not -. "The parallels are striking," he says. "And I'm trying to work out if I should get her a phone so that she can walk home from school alone, and I know she's OK, or if I should continue paying the money." WebHigh school dropout percentage (among persons 16-24 years old) and college enrollment percentage (among high school graduates) Source: The Digest of Education Statistics 2008, National Center for Education Statistics. } else { 1928 and 2007. become the peak years. It's always seventy-thirty, or sixty-forty. I n one sense, Inequality for All is absolutely the film of the moment. 30 Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength.. This tends to bolster his credibility as a sensible and sober criticat least until the very recent turn in his writing, as already mentioned. 3. How can a society reduce problematic inequality? Yuri Kochiyama. Jesus speaks more about the gap between rich and poor than he does about heaven and hell.. 2. Why has the US middle class lost so much ground since the 1970s? It was really really hard work, he tells me, to make something look that simple. Film Review by Frederic and Mary Ann Brussat The income inequality gap between the haves and the have-nots has grown into an abyss. He has this absolute moral compass. more than 23% of total income. The good we secure for ourselves is precarious and uncertain until it is secured for all of us and incorporated into our common life., I do not think I ever opened a book in my life which had not something to say upon woman's inconstancy. 31 The second is this: Love your neighbor as yourself.There is no commandment greater than these.. Theres a fundamental difference.. Nelson Mandela. Or does Reich mean to suggest that the working class is doing better than the middle class? We believe businesses need to focus on closing the equality gap with the same energy put into creating new products and markets. The only way to grow the economy in a way that benefits the bottom 90 percent is to change the structure of the economy. Abraham Lincoln. See also Trivia | Goofs | Crazy Credits | Alternate Versions | Connections | Soundtracks Answer See more gaps He was one of the initial investors in Amazon, a business of which he's "incredibly proud", but he points out that on revenues in the last three months of 2012 of $21bn (13bn), Amazon employs just 65,600 people. The new ethic promises paradise on condition that the rich remain greedy and spend their time making more money and that the masses give free reign to their cravings and passions and buy more and more. This is the 50th anniversary, of course, of the 1963 March on Washington, as well. The average British citizen the average is three pay cheques away from destitution. We believe businesses need to focus on closing the equality gap with the same energy put into creating new products and markets. and the mother's mother arrives to gloat. Lets get into some of the key details, strengths, and shortcomings of this film. Id be stupid not to be on my own side.. Martin Luther King, Jr. Dream, Kings, Kids 51 Copy quote "It's my duty to keep labour costs down". This inevitably reminds me of a Monty Python skit that was featured in The Meaning of Life, where the line people arent wearing enough hats played a central role (read the exchange here, and see the clip there). 8. Web27 "Equality For All" Quotes "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." Web27 "Equality For All" Quotes "Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal." You don't remember the Carter administration, do you?" Reich explains: Somebody earning $10 million a year doesnt spend $10 million. The love and care and artistic flair that Kornbluth brought to it is evident in every frame. Then there is a philosophical problem: if society eliminated all forms of inequality, would it still be a society? When C. Wright Mills wrote about the power elites in the 1950s, he also noted that such elites had been at work since the 19th century. And pasted a link to the Wall Street Journal in which the head of the IMF took George Osborne to task. You can't hold it against anybody who's trying to make a living. Maya Angelou. And, in another, parallel universe, a small cohort of alien beings or as we know them, bankers are currently engaged in trying to figure out what to spend their multimillion-pound bonuses on. Globalisation and technology have played their role. And that creates a speculative bubble in both times. Be the first to contribute! Equality of opportunity is not enough. Canadian businessman (1929-2013) Theres no more central theme in the Bible than the immorality of inequality. Why is there growing inequality in wealth distribution in the US? 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Difficult, '' he says we get this garbled mess of definitional obscurity, confusion, imprecision, which! Global capital market, including a lot of speculative instruments proposition: makes.