There's Going to Be a Second Economic Crash: Moore

Michael Moore: There's Going to Be a Second Economic Crash
By Cenk Uygur, The Young Turks
March 5, 2010

We interviewed Michael Moore on The Young Turks today and he was not shy about sharing his opinions. Anyone surprised? He had very strong words for the Democratic Party, the state of our political system and Glenn Beck.

What he thinks of Democrats and Republicans:

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.

Can we fix the broken political and economic system in America?

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.

What he would have said to Glenn Beck if he was in Van Jones' place:

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...

Watch the whole interview here:



There's one thing you know about Michael Moore, he's going to come strong. Unfortunately, I share his pessimism about the system. But I believe there is hope at the end of that tunnel. And as corny as it sounds, that hope is with the American people. We have to stop letting corporate interests buy our politicians and government officials. Make a change.

 The following is the transcript of the interview with Michael Moore:

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.