The America that Got Left Behind

While not all about commercial real estate, I wanted to share an eye-opening video can be seen on the April 17th podcast of Bill Moyer’s interview with David Simon. Simon went from crime beat reporter for the BALTIMORE SUN to award-winning screenwriter of HBO's critically-acclaimed “The Wire”.

He talks with Bill Moyers about inner-city crime and politics, storytelling and the future of journalism today. He compares drug war participants with Enron and other financial scandals of our current times. David Simon and his creative team investigated urban corruption and betrayal, in ”Homicide – Terror on the Street”, showing how everything is interconnected – school systems, parenting, how institutions work, etc.

While we pretend to teach the “corner kids”, which are to be found in just about every community across America, they end up back at the corners. They realize their only viable way to make money is through drug trade. Simon emphasizes that to “just say no” is just plain ridiculous. Corruption is not just on the streets. It’s in the classrooms and in the boardrooms.

For example, teachers are playing the cheating game, as well. They are judged by how many students pass, so they basically teach the answers to the tests so the students will pass. This makes it look – on paper – that progress is being made. Meanwhile, many high school grads can’t spell or know even basic grammar.

The same way stocks were being traded so the stats look good. “Everything that is a stat can be manipulated. No one is in the business of being what they say they are,” says Simon. He goes on to explain that even the police force promotes the officer to sergeant who has made the most arrests (even though those arrests are inconsequential), instead of the cop who works diligently doing good and thorough police work investigating crime on one case and catching the murderer.

An especially interesting analysis is that portion of the video describing a capitalist pyramid with playing a game of chess. To see the video, go to http://www.pbs.org/moyers/journal/04032009/watch.html

Please contact me at Pete@ConsultPete.com or 925-719-3569 if I can be of assistance. To learn more about my background, visit Consult Pete. To learn more about my company strategy, visit Commercial MasterMinds.