The following are in response to Vitaliy Katsenelson’s article last week, Michael Moore – Take This!:
Dear Editor,
What Vitaliy fails to realize is that without checks and balances, capitalism can go wrong. That is what Michael Moore is pointing out - you can't let capitalism go unchecked. This country has thrived on capitalism growing through a framework of rules and regulation.
If we look at the last 10 years, has deregulation worked or did it take us to the verge of collapse? Did the repeal of Glass Steagall help or hurt this country? If we had tougher standards for our industry could we have avoided much of the fraud?
Moore isn't against capitalism; he is a filmmaker (a capitalist occupation) who is arguing that you cannot just stand behind the guise of capitalism to justify everything that we do. In order for capitalism to work it has to have some rules, restraints, and regulations, otherwise human greed and excess takes over, and society pays the cost. Stabbing everyone in the back to just get ahead is not what will help improve society and neither is robbing Peter to pay Paul in a socialist society. There has to be balance in the system and what we saw develop over the last few years was a huge imbalance. Now the corrective forces are taking over. The irony is that people are criticizing Michael Moore because he is a capitalist, but those critics are doing exactly what a capitalist does - which is to take advantage of the opportunities presented.
Best regards,
Eric N. Wulff
Managing Director, Principal
Aurum Wealth Management Group
Mayfield Village, OH
Dear Editor,
This article just saved me $8.00 or $16.00, depending on whether I took my wife to the theatre.
Did Michael Moore hide ALL the facts…yes, he did!
Frank B. Allen, CFP
Dear Editor,
Mr. Katsenelson scores a direct hit on why Michael Moore's movies are often labeled "mockumentaries": they are all full of half-truths, opinions stated as facts and (intentional?) omissions that attempt to elicit an emotional response.
Mr. Moore should be inducted into the Cynics' Hall of Shame, as he is profiting handsomely from the very system he finds so distasteful.
Rex L. Wardlaw, CFA
Seattle, WA
Dear Editor,
I’m wondering why this sort of commentary (right or wrong) is included in Advisor Perspectives. Movie propaganda is just as bad - but no worse - than the chronic hyperbolic talking heads who foist opinion on us all day on cable TV. A vibrant democracy depends on a free press, to be sure, but why do we have to be solely reliant on opinion versus facts, whether in movies, TV or talk radio? Too many people are looking for confirmation of their beliefs versus information. I find this trend disheartening and disappointing. I studiously avoid these venues and read voraciously, utilizing sources which try to be fair and honest.
I hope more of us choose this path.
April KvalvikMerrill Lynch
Phoenix, AZ
