MovieChat Forums > Capitalism: A Love Story (2009) Discussion > If Michael Moore really cared about that...

If Michael Moore really cared about that poor family...


...that lost their home to the bank, why didn't he just shell out some of his millions of dollars to save their house?

Fat *beep* hypocrite.

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If he did that for one family, he'd have to do it for just about all of them.

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In his film Sicko he sends a check anonymously to a guy running an anti-Michael Moore website because the guy's wife got sick and he couldn't afford to keep the website up and pay the medical bills at the same time. Moore said that in America you shouldn't be forced to choose between having free speech (even if it's running a Moore bashing website) and medical care.



My Blog on Media http://alexanderkhan.blogspot.com

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[deleted]

You don't know that. He gave money to a guy in need - even if the guy hated him. That says a lot about him.

PS: In case you didn't know, Moore is a citizen.

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[deleted]

Real charity is annonymous.

No, real charity is when you give money to somebody and not expect them to pay you back in anyway.

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[deleted]

In the USA - real charity is giving money and then getting a tax write-off.

Letting your corporation donate money for a playground and then slapping your corporate logo on every swing and slide.

Real anonymous (check your spelling john-421) charity is the US Supreme Court allowing corporations to anonymously give unlimited money to political candidates so they can buy our elected officials and pass the bills they want and need to make them more money.

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Moore highlights their plight, and in almost all cases where he does this, goodness {or some improvement to their situation} seems to prevail.
In this case in this documentary, it says the Florida family is STILL in their home, at least until the film was released.
It said that in the trailer.
'You can't HANDLE the truth!'

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No liberals believe in having as much people as they can on the public doll so they can be re elected.

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[deleted]

I still think he could have given them say 50k for appearing in his film and sharing their thoughts and feelings so honestly. Afterward of course.

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Moore does shell out money for his hometown Flint but he doesn't shout about it.

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Let's say Michael Moore was indeed a "hypocrite", then why aren't you attacking people who REALLY actually made the family lose their home?

Idiot.

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[deleted]

Does anyone here know what "hypocrit" means?

Hypocrit - a person who professes beliefs and opinions that he or she does not hold in order to conceal his or her real feelings or motives

Did Michael Moore express feelings that indicated others should send money to bail this family out? No, he did not. What he did was give this family a very public forum to vent their displeasure.

If Michael Moore was a financier professing the unjustness of this family being forced out of their home, then the hypocrit label sticks. As a film-maker, he is not in the business of securing mortgages, but in telling stories. He tells the story of these people, that is his business.

The label that fits Mr. Moore of attention whore may be apropo. But his brand of capitalism (investing in a film and then showing the film to anyone that cares to part with the price of a theater ticket) is called money for service, and in the same realm as some guy that paints your house or changes the oil in your car.

At the end of the day, if you think this movie was about a particular family's distress, you are wrong. It was to point out the lawlessness at work in the corporate world and the inability or unwillingness by elected officials to do anything substantive to right these wrongs for everyone.

Life is not about bickering over who's skydaddy is better.

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Small "c" conservatives believe that private charity is the best option for people to willingly "Do what they can to help others".
Compared with Govt Sponsored charity that has proven itself to be largely ineffectual in curing any of the problems it deems to address. That Cycle of Poverty is the best example by far. Free Education has been around for quite some time now. But what percentage of the population embraces it and uses it to break those chains?
The Reason conservatives prefer private charities is NOT because it's "fine" or that it cures ALL. But because private charities are limited in what they spend to only what they actually raise in funds. Whereas Government loves to do nothing more than spend money it doesn't have and expect others to foot the bill. Precisely why Government has no business in the Charity Business to begin with.

I'm confused about which family the OP is pointing to here?
The white family that made a series of financial decisions that led to their eventual demise?
or the Black family....which didn't really provide many details on their destitution?

The paler of the 2 admitted that they willingly signed onto an Adjustable Rate mortgage.... during a period of time when Mortgage Rates have been at historic lows?..... only to have that rate eventually go up. Shocker. Is that a completely unpredictable outcome? It looked like they owned a rather large piece of property there.... I believe they mentioned it had been in the family for years and was passed down to them? So who is to blame for building a newer larger home on that property asset, and then clearly filling it to the brim with all sorts of "necessary" purchases and a sizeable Gun Collection, instead of paying off their mortgage? Did anyone SEE how much stuff they had and how large of a dumpster and trailer was needed to empty the home for eventual sale? When he mentioned the amount of his initial monthly payment ($1200-1600?), my 1st thought was "That seems like a large amount to spend on a monthly basis". He also admitted it was basically the most the could afford at the time? Who does that? Who builds/buys the MAXIMAM amount of home they can afford without planning for fluctuations in income or bad times?
Statistics will tell us MANY Americans do just that.....to their own detriment.
It's called poor planning for a reason.

The Florida family didn't provide nearly the financial information as the other family did BUT it's pretty easy to see a large component to their situation. There were at least 3 generations living in that home before Foreclosure. They went to great lengths to point out that thir Grandmother had lived in the home for a few decades. So financially speaking.... whatever Mortgage Debt had been originally incurred upon purchase, it must surely have been reaching the end of it's payment plan with a much smaller amount due on the Note than at it's origination. UNLESS..... poor dear Grandmother had needed to take out 2nd or even 3rd mortgages against the value of her home for daily living expenses? How much daily cost does your average grandmother have? I can certainly guess THIS Grandmother had much higher expenses than others simply because she had her children AND her children's children living under her roof. Where were THEY in the formula leading to this foreclosure? Many times families live together because it benefits all to do so. Assuming personalities don't clash too much, it's cheaper to house, feed and clothe everyone under one roof. So it's mutually beneficial. But that's assuming that all the "Grown Ups" are actually working and bringing a source of Income into the Cooperative.
Since their only option before that misguided attempt to Squat back into their ex-home, was to live in the back of a panel truck, we have to guess that nobody BESIDES Grandmother was bothering to bring anything into the equation, don't we?
So..... is it REALLY the fault of the evil Bank and those dastardly Sheriff's Dept/City Workers for trying to evict? Or can we possibly consider that Grandmother's own family was the root cause of her eviction and economic ruin?

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I see, Abbey, the families highlighted in the film were to blame for their problems. Do you mean to imply that all or most families being foreclosed are to blame? We call this blaming the victim. Don't you know that many who fall behind.in their mortgage payments were victims of downsizing or lost their health insurance because of a serous illnesses which the insurance companies didn't want to pay for. Sure some people are reckless and make bad decisions. But capitalism creates situations that are beyond the control of even the most prudent citizen. Stop blaming the victim and look at the economic system.

Terry
Your soul and your body are your own, and yours to do with as you wish.

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