[p2p-research] Capitalism is evil, says new Michael Moore film & Obama's health care speech

[Paul D. Fernhout]

From:
   "Capitalism is evil, says new Michael Moore film | Lifestyle | Reuters"
   http://www.reuters.com/article/lifestyleMolt/idUSTRE5850F320090906
"""
VENICE (Reuters) - Capitalism is evil. That is the conclusion U.S. 
documentary maker Michael Moore comes to in his latest movie "Capitalism: A 
Love Story," which premieres at the Venice film festival Sunday.
   Blending his trademark humor with tragic individual stories, archive 
footage and publicity stunts, the 55-year-old launches an all out attack on 
the capitalist system, arguing that it benefits the rich and condemns 
millions to poverty.
   "Capitalism is an evil, and you cannot regulate evil," the two-hour movie 
concludes.
   "You have to eliminate it and replace it with something that is good for 
all people and that something is democracy."
"""

By the way, the US president's speech (prepared version) on health care reform:
http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/10/us/politics/10obama.text.html?_r=1&pagewanted=print

My summary of plan without the spin:
* a regressive compulsory head tax on the young and less affluent;
* more profits for insurers and drug companies;
* a statement that incurring public debts for war and bailouts are OK, but 
incurring debts to invest in public health are wrong;
* health care should be "affordable" but not a "human right" (at a time when 
30 million US Americans either have no job or are underemployed, so, there 
are about 90 million increasing desperate people in the USA if, say, three 
people average per family);
* no mention of new investment in medical research to cut costs;
* giving old people acting like teenagers health care at high cost is a 
"sacred trust" passed across generations, but giving health care to real 
teenagers and young adults in the next generation is unethical (because it 
interferes with the free market); and
* everything hits the fan after Obama's first term is over, and most 
uninsured people can twist in the wind until then.

Now, maybe it is not as bad as all that. I can hope. There is a little talk 
about a cheaper public plan and tax credits, but no specifics. But, sadly, 
about what one might expect from a center-right president owned by banks and 
insurers and big corporations, and not too different from previous 
proposals. Why am I so dopey to keep having hope in this guy?

I voted for Cynthia McKinney, so I'm probably not typical, :-) but I predict 
many Democrats stay home in future elections...

So, what Republican is getting selected for an eight year term to counter 
growing unrest in 2012? :-(
"Top Five 2012 Republican Presidential Hopefuls"
http://minor-ripper.blogspot.com/2008/10/top-five-2012-republican-presidential.html
Looks like another Bush?
"#2. Jeb Bush: Yes, as astonishing and surreal as it might seem, America 
stands a decent chance of electing another Bush as its president, either in 
2012 or 2016. He's widely known as having a vastly higher IQ than his elder 
brother (but then again so does your average zoo animal), but the ex-two 
time governor of Florida will no doubt suffer major consequences of 'Bush 
fatigue' among the populace--I mean if Americans elect another Bush, the 
country truly is a glutton for punishment. Stranger things have happened, 
though, and the guy is loved by the right..."

Maybe we'll see health reform in 2020? :-(

But I predict maybe the fall of capitalism before that from solar energy, 
wind power, and 3D printing? :-)

Or maybe not. We'll see.

Or, as I linked to before, this Dilbert cartoon is all too true, and is even 
understated; after this speech, it seems clear that Google is the new 
national health service in the USA for many people:
   http://www.ginside.com/content/2007/03/dilbert-google-heatlh-plan.jpg

But, as a realist, I have to accept that is the state of things in the USA. 
So, the issue is where do we go from here in the USA? Well, maybe better 
peer-to-peer software could make that peer health plan work better? If 
that's all we have, maybe we should make the most of it?

--Paul Fernhout
http://www.pdfernhout.net/