Title: The One Percent
Country: United States of America
Language: English
Year: 2006
Cast:
- Jamie Johnson
- Milton Friedman
- Nicole Buffet
- Steve Forbes
- Cody Franchetti
- Bill Gates Sr.
- Adhnan Kashoggi
- Ralph Nader
SYNOPSIS
The 80-minute documentary focuses on the growing 'wealth gap' in America, as seen through the eyes of filmmaker Jamie Johnson, a 27-year-old heir to the Johnson & Johnson pharmaceutical fortune.
Johnson sets his sights on exploring the political, moral and emotional rationale that enables a tiny percentage of Americans - the one percent - to control nearly half the wealth of the entire United States.
The film includes interviews with Nicole Buffett, Bill Gates Sr., Adnan Khashoggi, Milton Friedman, Robert Reich, Ralph Nader and other luminaries.
REVIEW
Although there's not a lot of statistical information, there are some interesting facts presented in The One Percent. It's fascinating how the average income of the top 1% in the US is around $1 million while the average income of the average American is just around $35,000. I don't know, the difference is just astounding.
Aside from presenting the dichotomy between the very rich and the very poor, the documentary presents how people see things differently and have different opinions about social problems, social solutions, taxes, and how to handle money. I think it's good that although Jamie Johnson has very particular opinions, he took some time to also present the other sides of the equation.
Different kinds of rich people are also presented in the documentary: one lives on his wealth and is proud of the fact that he does not do anything, one was disowned by her family because of different opinions about wealth and publicity, and another gave his inheritance away because he thinks he does not need it.
It would be great if everyone is wealthy and have the resources they need to live a good life but we all know that that is not the case. It's quite sad really, how other people can afford to have their luxuries whereas other people barely have enough to cover their necessities (good living conditions, etc.).
Personally, I think the rich are justified in wanting to keep their wealth within their respective families and in wanting to grow richer. I think the problem is when you do things to get what you want at the expense of other people. For instance, if you're going to put up a business, I think it is your responsibility to provide good working conditions and decent wages for your employees so that they could also lead decent lives. I mean, that's not rocket science, is it?
I'm not really delusional as to think that politics and business do not mix. I know that money influences all things, even political leaders and economic policies. But perhaps I am enough of an idealist to hope that political leaders will choose policies and programs for the greater good of the greater majority, if not all of society. Since the poor to average people in the world accounts for about 99% of the population, it's not quite far-fetched to deduce that they make up the greater majority.
Related:
Born Rich
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The One Percent
