Inequality For All

The Robert Reich documentary, Inequality for All, is well worth a Netflix rental. The movie is not just about what I hope is going to become a serious topic of national debate, i.e. the inequality that threatens our very existence as a democracy. It is also about Reich's fight over the course of three decades to make it part of the national discussion. Reich narrates the film and is on camera a lot, but that's no problem, as he is a witty, articulate and engaging personality.

  People who talk about the magic of the market will concede, although I think always with a mild reluctance, that there is no such thing as a truly free market economy, and never has been, for all practical purposes. Reich's film provides a subtle reminder that any number of laws effect the way the market works, e.g. the abolition of slavery and public safety laws have regulatory effects on the market. No person would argue seriously that the government has no business interfering in the market in such ways. So, yes, people, through their governments, have the right to regulate the way the marketplace works. They always have and always will. And we'd better get serious about it.


Because I am so sick of hearing Republicans talk about their concern for the so-called job creators, I was thrilled to see a couple of billionaires in the film calling bullshit on that whole idea. And we should too whenever we hear it. People with capital do not create jobs; consumers create jobs. And we do not have enough people with sufficient disposable income to consume things. I assume everyone has seen the stories about how the market for mid-level durable goods is stagnant while the high-end market is booming, or how middle class restaurants like Red Lobster and Olive Garden are seriously struggling.

Because I am so sick of hearing Republicans talk about their concern for the so-called job creators, I was thrilled to see a couple of billionaires in the film calling bullshit on that whole idea. And we should too whenever we hear it. People with capital do not create jobs; consumers create jobs. And we do not have enough people with sufficient disposable income to consume things at a rate to keep the economy flowing. I assume everyone has seen the stories about how the market for mid-level durable goods is stagnant while the high-end market is booming, or how middle class restaurants like Red Lobster and Olive Garden are seriously struggling.

I did not consciously plan it, but Doris Kearns Goodwin's new book The Bully Pulpit: Theodore Roosevelt, William Howard Taft and the Golden Age of Journalism is a great companion piece to the Reich documentary. As the subtitle suggests, this isn't just another book about Teddy Roosevelt. I presume the parallels between that age of corporate excess and our own were in Goodwin's mind as she researched and wrote this book. Unfortunately I don't think the parallels are strong enough to make me optimistic for the onset of a new progressive era.

 

One of the most enjoyable aspects of Goodwin's book for me was the discovery of Taft as an engaging personality. Other than his immense weight, his eventual falling out with TR, and the fact that he went from the Presidency to the Supreme Court I didn't know much about him. I didn't even know exactly where he fit into the Taft family dynasty that still plays a role today (I believe) in Ohio Republican politics. Goodwin depicts him as a principled and admirable man, whose abilities and political destiny were widely recognized early in his career.

Another pleasurable aspect is the amount of time Goodwin devotes to the important muckraking and progressive journalists of that time, especially S.S. McClure, Ida Turnbull, Lincoln Steffans, Ray Stannard Baker, and William Allen White. These journalists had important relationships with Theodore Roosevelt and played important roles in highlighting the corporate excesses of the era and bringing about a public demand for change.

Finally, despite the fact that I probably wouldn't have bothered reading Goodwin's book if it were just another book about Teddy Roosevelt, I have enjoyed the reminder of just what a complex, puzzling and ultimately fascinating person he was. There was so much about him that was admirable mixed in with the blustery jingoism and outsized personality. We can all be glad, probably, that he lived and died before the age of television or we'd be sick of him.

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