Matt Damon credited as playing...
Self - Narrator
- Narrator: For the first time in history, average Americans have less education and are less prosperous than their parents.
- [last lines]
- Narrator: For decades the American financial system was stable and safe. But then something changed. The financial industry turned its back on society, corrupted our political system and plunged the world economy into crisis. At enormous cost, we've avoided disaster and are recovering. But the men and institutions that caused the crisis are still in power and that needs to change. They will tell us that we need them and that what they do is too complicated for us to understand. They will tell us it won't happen again. They will spend billions fighting reform. It won't be easy. But some things are worth fighting for.
- Narrator: The financial industry also exerts its influence in a more subtle way, one that most Americans don't know about: It has corrupted the study of economics itself.
- George W. Bush: We had a comprehensive plan that, when enacted, has left nearly $1.1 trillion in the hands of American workers, families, investors and small-business owners.
- Narrator: Most of the benefits of these tax cuts went to the wealthiest 1% of Americans.
- Narrator: Inequality of wealth in the United States is now higher than in any other developed country.
- Narrator: After the crisis, the financial industry, including the Financial Services Roundtable, worked harder than ever to fight reform. The financial sector employs 3,000 lobbyists, more than five for each member of Congress.
- Narrator: Between 1998 and 2008 the financial industry spent over $5 billion on lobbying and campaign contributions. And since the crisis, they're spending even more.
- Narrator: The Bush administration sharply reduced taxes on investment gains, stock dividends and eliminated the estate tax.