Capitalism: A Love Story Page #4

- Yeah.

Frank Moore:

A good place to work. l enjoyed it.

But l'm sorry to see it go.

Moore:

Shortly before Christmas 2008,

Republic Windows & Doors

in Chicago, lllinois,

abruptly fired

its entire unionized workforce

of over 250 people.

They were given

only three days' notice.

Bank of America

would no longer provide

a line of credit to the company,

and so the workers were not paid

the money owed to them.

Man #1 :
My life revolves

around this job.

l live according to my obligation

to my job, you know?

And it's not just me,

it's all of the workers here.

We go above and beyond

the call of duty for Republic.

And at the end,

Republic cares nothing for us.

Man #2:
We found out that

they're gonna shut the plant on Tuesday.

We don't deserve what

they're doing to us, you know?

lt really hurts because,

like l said,

this is my second family.

So it was-- it really hurts.

lt really hurts.

l'm gonna miss

all of them, you know?

l'm gonna miss them

and l don't think

anybody on this planet

deserves what they've done to us.

Moore:
Scenes like this

were being repeated

all over the country,

and no one seemed to mind.

zambezi, zambezi

- zambezi, zam.

- Woman:
Whoo!

Moore:
The president was enjoying

his final year in office.

But as the economy

started to fall apart,

he decided it was time

to roll out the C word.

Capitalism is the best system

ever devised.

Moore:

Huh. Really?

Voices from the left and right

are equating the free enterprise system

with greed and exploitation

and failure.

Moore:

Hmm, greed,

exploitation, failure?

Go on, l'm listening.

Capitalism offers people

the freedom to choose

where they work

and what they do...

Reporter:
Pat Andrews

has been looking for work.

Every morning she scans

the classifieds in vain.

There isn't anything in here.

l'm not gonna be a gentleman's club

hired dancer either.

...the opportunity to buy

or sell products they want.

Reporter:
Tom Rendon

has avoided layoffs

at his sign company

in Stockton, California,

all because this one word

now makes up

for half his business.

lf you seek social justice

and human dignity,

the free market system

is the way to go.

( applause )

Moore:
And for those seeking

justice in Pennsylvania,

free enterprise

was definitely the way to go.

Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania,

has one of the highest rates

in the state

of young people locked up

in the juvenile home.

Perhaps it's because

the good people here

employ the practices

of capitalism

in dealing with

their wayward youth.

The county hired a private

profit-making corporation

with a sweet-sounding name,

PA Child Care.

lt was owned and run

by two businessmen,

one of whom was Robert Powell,

an attorney and entrepreneur.

His good friend Judge Conahan

closed down

the public juvenile home

and then got

PA Child Care to build

an $8 million

privately-owned facility

and charge it back to the county

for a mere $58 million lease.

Let's meet some of Wilkes-Barre's

juvenile delinquents.

Magee smoked pot

at a high school party.

l was very rebellious

when l was at this age.

Moore:
Matt, he got into

an argument at the dinner table.

l threw a piece of meat,

as in steak,

cooked dinner,

at my mother's boyfriend.

Moore:
Jamie got in a fight

at a shopping mall

with her best friend.

l just figured, you know, we just weren't

gonna be friends anymore.

Moore:
And Hillary made

a MySpace page

making fun

of her assistant principal

for being strict and having

no sense of humor.

And it said some pretty silly,

like, 14-year-old-girl stuff.

Moore:
Her assistant principal

called the police.

They all appeared before

kindly Judge Mark Ciavarella.

These kids were about

to get their first lesson

in American capitalism:

time is money, lots of money.

l went in front of the court,

in front of Mr. Ciavarella,

and l wasn't even in front of him

for four minutes.

l was only in front of him

for, like, two minutes.

Hillary:
The first thing that

Judge Ciavarella said to me was,

''What makes you think

you can do this kind of crap?''

l'm sure he knew in his mind

when l walked in

that he was locking this kid up

no matter what.

He didn't even look at me.

Once l entered the courtroom,

l didn't have any chance.

There was about six kids

who went in front of me.

Every single kid who went

in front of Ciavarella,

for all different reasons--

some minor, some serious--

got sent away.

Moore:
Although Wilkes-Barre is located

in the United States of America,

here capitalism

trumped democracy.

Robert Powell, one of the owners

of PA Child Care,

cut a business deal with Judge Conahan

and Judge Ciavarella.

Judge Ciavarella then stepped up

his conviction rates.

Many of these kids

were funneled

into PA Child Care's

for-profit juvenile facility.

And for their troubles,

the judges received

over $2.6 million

while the owners of PA Child Care

received tens of millions

of taxpayer dollars

from the county.

And where did Powell go

to enjoy all that money?

On his private plane

and his yacht,

the ''Reel Justice.''

were unjustly convicted.

lt was good business

while it lasted.

Reporter #1 :
Two Luzerne County

judges in big trouble with the law.

They're going to jail.

Reporter #2:

Some kids were locked up

even when probation officers

objected to detention.

ln there you lose track of time

and you lose track of the date.

l was barely keeping track.

lt was supposed to be, like--

l believe it was, like, two months.

And it went from two months

to nine months.

He said originally

three to six months,

but somehow l ended up

being there 11 1/2 months

and l never went back

in front of the judge at all

for him to give me extensions.

Moore:

Not only did PA Child Care

pay off the judges

to fill their cells,

but their employees were the ones

who got to decide

when a child had

enough rehabilitation.

But that makes sense,

because any time a governmental unit

turns over to

a profit-making corporation

the duties it should be performing,

what do you expect to happen?

Matt:
lt makes me feel like

an item that they just used

to just get money

and then tossed me aside.

l'm just trying

to work on my flying

and just trying to prepare

for my future

so l can put this all behind me,

finally be done with all this.

During the whole trial

l wasn't in control at all,

but with flying it's only me.

lt's just that l just get

to do everything by myself.

l'm the only one on the control.

Moore:

Matt loves to fly

and hopes to become

a pilot someday.

lf he does,

he'll get his second lesson

in capitalism:

that in America,

sometimes you're better off

working at Mickey D's.

- ( applause, cheering )

- Remember Sully?

Captain Sullenberger,

who safely landed an airbus

in the Hudson River

- saving the lives of 150 passengers?

- ( patriotic music playing )

- Man:
A true American hero.

- ( applause )

Moore:
He met the mayor.

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