The Choice Is Ours Page #5

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Families and working people just don't have

that kind of representation,

power or influence to look after their needs.

- They have designed the system

to reinforce and, in a sense,

finance themselves based off of special interests.

(Erin) Everything that was around in 2007-2008

that we got so scared about,

the mortgage-backed securities,

the credit default swaps, the other derivatives:

They still exist. They absolutely do.

Yes, there are higher

capital requirements for the banks

so they can't be as leveraged,

but those are not that high.

(Abby) If we don't have a media that's providing

who's really writing these bills

and passing this legislation

and what it's all for and who it serves,

then we're living in an illusion.

[Paul Wright, Author] Generally, the laws

in this country are written by the wealthy

and the powerful because

I think, by definition, that's

who controls the legislatures and

the commanding heights of

the power system in this country.

(Erin) That's a scary reality because

you can pay your way into having laws implemented

that serve you and your corporation

as you'd like them to serve.

(Abby) The complete impunity

that corporations have

to operate unabated and

pollute the entire planet...

- A major spill of toxic coal ash

is raising questions again

about the safety of water

and the government regulators overseeing industry.

(Abby) There's zero accountability,

other than the slap on the wrist

of a couple fines here and then,

I mean slave labor

to the exploitation of resources on the planet.

(Narrator) The slap on the wrist of

industries that pollute, cut corners

and violate policies will continue,

as long as it's profitable to do so.

(Erin) JP Morgan paid $13 billion (US) in fines last year!

If you have that much money

in order to just pay fines...

and they put away $19 billion (US),

for paying fines!

(Reporter) JP Morgan is paying

$410 million (US) to settle charges

with the government,

but JP Morgan is not admitting any wrongdoing.

(Reporter) Goldman Sachs settled

early on in this case for $550 million

without admitting wrongdoing.

(Reporter) UBS has agreed

to pay about $50 million.

Under the terms of the settlement,

UBS did not admit any wrongdoing.

(Paul) I think that people commit

the crimes that they're

in a social position to commit.

I think it's Bertold Brecht that asked

"Which is a greater crime:

to rob a bank or to own one?"

I think as we've seen from everything

from the savings and loan scandals

to the Wall Street meltdown,

that all too often the owners of the banks

are frequently looting

the institutions that employ them.

They commit all manner of illegal acts

and yet they're very rarely prosecuted for them.

Throughout history,

there's been very little pretense

that the government has also

acted as an agent for the wealthy class.

(Erin) Yes, there might be idealistic

politicians that got into the game to

change the world,

but if they're good -any good at their job-

they're no longer changing the world.

They're serving the interests

of their donors if they want

to rise in the world of politics.

(Jacque) They say, "Write to your Congressman."

Who the hell is this jackass

that you have to write?

He should be at the forefront

of technology and knowledge.

You don't have to write to him.

I'm sure most of you have flown in airliners.

You don't have to write to the pilot saying

"You're flying at an angle!

Straighten out, god dammit!"

He knows his business;

that's how he got the job!

The people in Washington now

are lawyers and businessmen

and can solve no problems.

(Erin) If the bottom line is a profit-driven world,

then those interests

are going to be served first,

and everything is going to be secondary.

That's the sad reality of it.

(Abby) There is no value system that is put out there

that is actually beneficial to humanity

because it's based on

consumerism and profit making.

(Jacque) We use artificial pumping

in animals to make them grow faster.

If you can multiply the cells in a chicken faster,

you can sell it sooner.

Does that have an effect on the human body?

They don't worry about that.

They worry about the sale of chickens.

(Narrator) Wealth is going to the rich

faster than at any other time in history.

(Abby) The success of the industrialized world

has been dependent on the failure

and the lack of development

of the developing world.

The reason that they are stifled

is because they are

indebted to the first world;

we wouldn't be prospering

if it weren't for the labor that's going on

and the indentured servitude

that's going on in the entire developing country.

So the power dynamic

can never change in that respect

because it's literally dependent

on it being that way.

(Reporter) The dirty and

dangerous work done by children.

The jobs down in the pits

are typically reserved for teenagers

with only tree limbs to brace the mine walls.

The risk to them is real.

- Rich governments like to say that

they're helping poor countries develop,

but who is developing who here?

Each year poor countries are

paying about 600 billion (US)

in debt service to rich countries

on loans that have already

been paid off many times over.

Then there's the money that

poor countries lose from trade rules

imposed by rich countries.

Altogether, that's more than $2 trillion (US) every year.

(Narrator) Money systems

have existed for centuries,

and whether we realize it or not,

have always been used to control behavior

by limiting the purchasing power

of the majority of people.

One example of this

is the criminal justice system.

Many proclaim that prisons don't work.

But ultimately, prisons are a resounding success

as a tool for social control to safeguard

the political and economic established system.

(Paul) If you hire people

whose only expertise is caging

people to try to fix social problems,

youre not going to get a very good solution.

But I think theyre very good at caging people

and I think thats why mass incarceration has been

a huge success for the ruling class in this country.

The United States is really

number one in a lot of things

and I think the biggest thing where

we can say were number one in

is how many people we lock up.

The United States has roughly

5% of the worlds population

but weve got 25% of the worlds prisoners.

China has 4 times as many people

as the United States does

and half as many prisoners.

The United States has more prisoners

than the Soviet Union did

at the height of the purges

and the collectivization

in the 1930s and the infamous Soviet gulag.

CONSEQUENCES OF POVERTY

(Narrator) Poverty is a vicious cycle

rarely escaped by the poor.

Studies found that scarcity

can reduce mental capacity

and cognitive performance.

In children, it affects their

brain development and memory.

Additionally, the poor are often forced

to live in areas of low air quality.

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