America’s Burning: David Smick on the American Dream

Rob talks with David Smick about his new film "America’s Burning" and the inspiration for the project.

Find a screening and learn more at:
From Executive Producers Michael Douglas and Barry Levinson, America’s Burning draws on an amazing collection of thinkers and strategists, from James Carville and Amy Chua to Ian Bremmer and Leon Panetta, as New York Times best-selling author David Smick guides the viewer on a journey to discover the reasons for today’s hate and division — and rising risk of civil war.

For 40 years, the US economy has been a paradox. It’s been an extraordinary wealth-creating machine, but only for the half of the country that owns stocks. Capitalism has, as James Carville put it, become “a racket” — the ultimate corporate insider’s club, a system centrally controlled by the well-connected few. As a result, the middle class is shrinking and the American Dream’s promise of social mobility for all who work hard is dying. A new Velvet Rope Society of brains and money has cut itself off from the rest of America. Working families feel forgotten and angry, but it doesn’t have to be this way. America has an impressive history of resilience. Narrated by Michael Douglas, the film shows why our best days could still lie ahead.

[arttursh]

Re: "the miracle of saving & investing"- Not everyone has the stomach to sit through stock market losses. Brilliant film ...Oscar bound.

[kerryrowan]

Where can we see the film? Netflix? Amazon?

[aleaiactaest]

Interesting conversation. He does touch on some of the issues plaguing the US and the West in general. I really hope he is right about "sitting down and figuring it out" approach but unfortunately political systems (also in Europe) are in such dispare and confusion...yes and power struggle, that the common good ideal is far and away. Hence "stick it to the man" approach often seems the rational choice.

[_derpderp]

Shouldn’t we have a stake whether we own stock options or not? You’re basically saying the economic machine is so far superior in power to the state that we may as well sell the state to the highest bidder which is how we got here :/

Ps. (As a rube speaking) Shouldn’t stocks only be able to surpass wage+bond returns to that 3000+% IF they are creating that much relative productivity growth NOT riding high on bailouts, stock buybacks, guaranteed contracts, monopolization and inflation?!

I tend to appreciate the conversations in this channel but this one seems like it’s missing the forest for the trees.

[mns]

@ 50:00 No, we are not lazy we are working two jobs to get by. There are no more 40 hour jobs outside of government jobs and those people won"t rock their boat,