Michael Moore's Economic Illiteracy

Economics Economics Questions
1

After reading Michael Moores book, Dude, Where’s my Country, I feel it does an awesome job of critizing the Iraq War. However, I also found some comments that show how economically illiterate Michael Moore is:

“Paying workers more money makes you more money.”

Really! That’s awesome! If I pay workers more money, I get more money, so it is time to start handing out a $1,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000,000 per hour paycheck to my maid and watch the money come in.

Michael Moore, business owners pay workers more compensation only if they gain a bigger benefit (to them) from doing so. Also, if it saved business owners money (due to productivity increases) to increase worker wages, wouldn’t every business owner do it?

But wait, there’s more. I will leave the rest for you to comment on.

“Health Insurance for everyone will make you money!”

“Providing day care for your employees will make you money!”

“Joining a union will make you money!”

“Giving lots of money to the public schools makes you money!”

My favorite…

“By never voting for a republican again, you will make a ton of money!”

Michael Moore demonizes corporate executives like there is no tomorrow, yet praises the government, as long as it is staffed by Democrats. Wait… doesn’t the government have a corporate executive, with the power to extort, inflate, and coerce? Why are corporate executives worse then people like FDR?

2

Making vacuous movies and books to be read by idiots makes him money!

3

Yeah, I’ve read that book before when I was a progressive. Moore is a fruit.

“Health Insurance for everyone will make you money!”

Because money grows on trees.

“Providing day care for your employees will make you money!”

I’m… speechless…

“Joining a union will make you money!”

At the expense of the welfare of everyone else.

“Giving lots of money to the public schools makes you money!”

That’s like saying “throwing lots of money into the trash makes you money!”

“By never voting for a republican again, you will make a ton of money!”

Right, because the Democratic Presidents with the best economic policies like JFK and Clinton opened up trade and (in JFK’s case) lowered taxes. Republicans stand for nothing like that.

4

The reason he makes so many movies and books is because he needs all that money to eat. Eventually, he’ll get so big he’ll eat the world.

5

You shouldn’t be too harsh with Moore when he gives doubtful advice to employers. After all, it might be beneficial to provide special benefits if you attract especially qualified workers that way.

Moore’s ideas get nasty when he tries to incite the masses to demand “Congress to do something” in order to achieve some progressive utopia (e.g. universal health care, gun bans and the like). If he’d just stick to providing progressive employers’ consulting, barely would one mind his propositions.

6

Just wait till the democrats advocate a fat tax… because that sure won’t make Moore (and most Americans) money…

-Jon

7

Ya know, I think I would find Moore and people of his ilk at least 30% less annoying if they would just stop believing in democracy so much.

8

Love that! [Y]

Mr Moore’s economic illiteracy is typical of those who have never started a small business and wished to employ some helpers. That’s why he’s so popular among the so-called elegant leftists (who ironically tend to recieve middle to high salaries from the big companies they work for) and so deeply unpopular among those who have to fork the bill each time a new government-imposed “benefit” becomes mandatory.

In the afterlife his penalty will be starting a small manufacturing company in a highly socialized and regulated welfare State and keeping it profitable without government handouts. What worse punishment?

9

So he wants government (Democrats or Greens) to make create greater profits and productivity for business? Isn’t this fascism?

10

Oh snap. So true. Liberal Fascism, anyone?

11

“Health Insurance for everyone will make you money!”

“Providing day care for your employees will make you money!”

“Joining a union will make you money!”

“Giving lots of money to the public schools makes you money!”

The funny thing is, some of these are at least plausibly defensible in a free society. But since Michael Moore supports the government forcing these things, and spending this money through government agencies, his argument goes from ‘plausible, certainly true in some circumstances’ to ‘utterly ridiculous’.