When Reagan became President in 1980, one of his largest goals was to decrease the “high taxes and government regulation” which, “stifled enterprising businesses and economic expansion.”[1] He developed a supply-side economic program, often called Reaganomics, with these ideals to strengthen our economy. Though there was some success after 1982, striking differences in the way the money was proportioned appeared in American society. The movie “Wall Street” gives insight into the economic differences in the 1980’s though the “Greed is Good” speech.
The scene in the movie “Wall Street” that stood out was the “Greed is Good” scene. Gordon Gekko gives a speech to other stockholders of a paper company called Teldar. Gekko is a powerful speaker that persuades the audience by shedding some light on the truth that the stockholders are the ones that own the company. But, instead of following Darwin’s law it seems that the ones that are unfit are the ones that gain the most benefit. The vice presidents and managers of the firm owned less than 5% of the stocks yet made the most money out of it. Greed is good, because it can fuel a company.
Racial differences were seen among the 1980’s, “By the end of Reagan’s second term, more than 14.5 million jobs had been created for Americans. Yet these jobs were spread unevenly by region, class, and gender.”[1] During this time, different ethnic races migrated to various places across the nation. Separations among racial groups were present as most people stuck with their own race. By doing so, this resulted an up rise of segregation throughout racial groups. The movie “Wall Street” showed the segregation of pay in the lack of African Americans working the stock market, “more than 70 percent went to white males, only 2 percent to African Americans.
The film, “The Wall Street,” also depicts the economic boom in the 1980’s during Ronald Reagan’s presidency. Though the tax cuts and increased federal spending helped the industry, the poor never saw the money trickle down to them.[1] Instead, the poor saw programs like, “food stamps, Aid to Families with Dependent Children, Medicaid, school lunches, housing assistance,.... Social Security, and Medicare”[1] get the axe to pay for the tax cuts and federal spending. Though there was a large increase in jobs through Reaganomics, the gap widened between the high-paying jobs of the rich and the, “minimum-wage, part-time, dead-end, jobs”[1] of the poor. The “Greed is Good” speech points this out in a reference to the information that, “The top 1 percent commanded a greater share of the nations wealth than any time since 1929.”[1]
“Wall Street” says that greed is good, but is it really? It is if your a rich white man like Gekko, but there it is a different story for other races and genders. In the 1980’s African Americans and women didn’t have the jobs nor the income that the white males had. That isn’t good for the American economy, and it showed by the time President Bush Sr. got into office. Yet, the greediness of the 1980s is still in our society. All people care about is the almighty dollar, and will do anything to get it. Greed even affects our government policy. The reason for the war in Iraq was not to get rid of Hussain, but to get the oil from over there and to make the oil business owners even richer. Yes, “Wall Street” tells us that greed is good, but in reality greed makes people money hungry and kills soldiers who believe they are fighting for their country.
[1] Nation of Nations, pg 950
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