Film+Annotation+8

Allison Mrugal 11/02/15 Film Annotation 8: **Story of Broke** Sust. Ed., 4280-01 Prof. Fortun

Prompt: Explain how [|Annie Leonard argues that we "aren't broke,"] and should have plenty of money for public education in the United States.

Response: “The Story of Broke” describes how Americans believe that the national budget is too small to fund opportunities that the country really needs. Too often, tax money—public money—is distributed to places that do not benefit the public directly at all. The public sees education and green development, for example, sacrificed everyday: schools cut back on programs, teachers receive unfit salaries, and the global climate continues to warm by neglecting to use green technology or pass environmental law. The list of consequences is endless. However, what the United States really needs is the common knowledge of what really happens in government and, ultimately, the reallocation of funds and resources. In order to create a government that properly funds and represents its people, it must subsidize renewable resources rather than corporate strongholds.

Despite collecting taxes from citizens to fund future public programs that bolster schools, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), social security, medicare, etc., public money is rarely dedicated to these causes. Instead, it funds an enormous military, for example. Military technologies are exceedingly extravagant, unnecessary and promote violent solutions to global conflict. Public money is also organized to benefit the enormous “dinosaur” economy that as Annie Leonard reminds us, “does not even make us happy”. Each year the government offers various types of subsidies to giant, wealthy, and powerful corporations that manipulate government elections, misinform the public and plainly “drag us down.” Whether it be spending, tax, risk transfer, or freebie subsidies, the government finds a way to defeat local efforts and empower greedy corporations that manipulate and pollute. Consequently, the government takes ownership of disasters that should be the responsibility of corporations to resolve. Furthermore, the government, while attending to the pleas of influential corporations, cannot and do not account for unrelated externalized costs (or “unintended consequences”). The power in government seems to be out of the public’s hands.

Leonard, however, offers the solution to governmental and corporate corruption: citizens must demand better treatment and take democracy back for itself. She urges people to vote the right people into office and take out those willing to subsidize large corporations. Specifically, those in support of renewable energy, bio-based materials, and sustainable jobs should be elected into office. It is important that they also have minimal and transparent financial relations to corrupt industry. While climate change endures, government officials should recognize solutions such as zero-waste initiatives, subsidizing them and creating environmental jobs in the process. More conscious, ecological awareness and decisions in office therefore leaves more money for education. The funds could be allocated to teachers’ salaries, more schools, and/or more scholarships for children. Ensuring that American children have the opportunity and resources to learn means they have a greater understanding of how to become effective and contributing members of American and International society in the future. As public funding increases, American society could begin to resemble one that actually levels the playing field in economic opportunity, public healthcare, education, happiness and more. Therefore, is not so much “The Story of Broke” but the story of the corrupt distribution of wealth and how to resolve it.