Generation Zero takes Wall Street and Capitol Hill to task
Documentary suggests root causes of America’s financial collapse
Sean Hannity is talking about it. The Tea Baggers Ball in Nashville screened it. A lot of people would get immediately turned off, and that would actually be somewhat unfortunate. “It” is actually a documentary film, titled Generation Zero, that opines that greed, ego, and irrational selfishness that created the financial woes over factors like deregulation. The filmmakers would likely assert that this crisis – which was born of the Great Depression and now runs rampant – is largely responsible for the behavior of those who would run to a personal loan company to satisfy their greed. Unfortunately, the idea of financial responsibility has become alien to many.
The Baby Boom has left a crater
Newscorpse and others don’t buy it, but let’s think about the “Generation Zero” argument. The “Greatest Generation” fought through the economic disasters and war of the 1930s and 1940s, and they vowed that their children should never have to face the same struggles in their own lives. Thus, the filmmakers argue, there was a parent-to-child overindulgence in the 1950s and 1960s. Rather than shielding them, parents gave them too much. Is the result that generations of people became decadent, and turned to consumption as a distraction instead of dealing with the cause of problems?
The hippie conspiracy
The liberal politics of the children of Woodstock are in “Generation Zero’s” sights, but that is arguably too simplistic. A pragmatic view could be Wall Street and Capitol Hill both had hands in this recession, and greed, lazy regulation, and ignoring financial prudence were part and parcel to more risky behavior. Michael Moore covered similar ground in “Capitalism: A Love Story” concerning favoritism towards Wall Street and everyone else left out to dry.
But no, it can’t be. “Generation Zero” is a conservative film and “Capitalism: A Love Story” is a liberal film – never the twain shall meet, right? Maybe not. Newscorpse draws our attention to one part of a recent on-air exchange between Sean Hannity and the “Generation Zero” movie producer and director:
Sean Hannity: Is it the political system that is more corrupt? Because I believe Capitalism works. Capitalism is the answer.
David Bossie, Producer: Clearly Capitol Hill is corrupt. Capitol Hill is the problem, not Wall Street here.
Stephen Bannon, Director: I think it an inextricably linked network between Capitol Hill and Wall Street. […You’ve had the American taxpayer, the average, middle-class American, paying taxes to bailout these big firms, and there’s been no change in behavior, no change in structure, no change in regulation.
Perhaps Bannon has a point
Politics are never as simple as right versus left. “Generation Zero” does entertain right wing sentiments, but it is more balanced than one might think. As the recession drags on, with sustainable recovery not on the horizon, according to Ben Bernanke, more people might turn to a low rate personal loan for the future. If you don’t borrow above your ability to repay, you avoid the kind of mistakes that got us into this mess.
