The documentary "Inequality For All," sets out to explain the huge gap between the rich and the middle-class in America. For a movie about jobs and taxes it's suprisingly funny
Following former US Labor Secretary Robert Reich as he teaches a class on wealth inequality at U-Cal Berkeley, the film explains why the United States has become so unequal over the last 40 years. And it asks the million dollar question? What's wrong with inequality?
Reich's personal story and style make for a far more human experience than you might expect from a film that aims to educate. You could end up feeling a lot more hopeful and inspired than you thought possible.
Still, whether you know a lot about the economy or hardly anything, you can't help but learn a few things. Some of those takeaways might even change the way you think. Perhaps you've heard that taxes on the rich stifle job creation. Or that unions prevent U.S. companies from being competitive? If so you really need to see this movie.
History and facts have a way of overturning knee-jerk political thinking.
One-percenter Nick Hanauer is endearing as he tells us that, no, he doesn't pay enough tax. And why that worries him. And he also happens to be from the Northwest --another great reason to see this film.
The movie focuses mostly on the plight of the middle classes, whose average wage has flatlined since 1970. But it does say one significant thing about poverty. A staggering 43 percent of Americans born in poverty will never rise out of it – a far higher number than in any other industrialized Western economy.
Showing this week at the Fox Tower downtown and in Camas, Washington, this film is a must see for anyone who cares about jobs and justice.
I'm giving it four twinkling stars.
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