Heist

In this entry in the growing line of angry documentaries autopsying the financial meltdown of 2008—and the moneybags/corporate swine responsible (and still unprosecuted)—filmmakers Frances Causey and Donald Goldmacher name names, starting with late Supreme Court Justice Lewis Powell, who authored an influential 1971 memo laying out how to dismantle the FDR-era precautions and controls that had kept financial malfeasance at bay ever since the crash of 1929 (key elements: corporate-sponsored right-wing “think tanks,” and lobbyists and cronies placed in the media to alter public and legislative opinion against regulation). Even with the failure of the unregulated savings-and-loan industry, the plutocracy continued on a disastrous course of crushing labor unions, exporting U.S. jobs, and gambling away pension funds and credit debt in the markets, all while lining their own pockets. Interviewees—all supporting the film's thesis—include former airline CEO Robert Crandall, steelworkers union president Leo Gerard, and Vermont senator Bernie Sanders. Usual-suspect villains include not only Republican business ally Ronald Reagan but also Democrat Bill Clinton, NAFTA's key architect. Barack Obama is also not let off easily (the rise of big business as political power was “bipartisan,” one expert says). Solutions suggested include more labor organization, simplifying the tax code, and investing in community credit unions and co-ops, rather than 401k's and big banks. Featuring the full-length documentary and two abridged versions (one an hour-long, the other less than a half-hour), this is recommended. Aud: C, P. (C. Cassady)