Why Occupy Wall Street

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)
ANDERSON COOPER: Peter, one thing we haven't seen a lot at Occupy Wall Street protests is Wall Street businessmen like yourself going down there. What are you trying to accomplish in doing that? 


PETER SCHIFF: Well, you know, I sympathize with the situation that they have, but I'm trying to help encourage them to direct their anger towards Washington. 


You know, it's big government that has wrecked the U.S. economy, not capitalism. They need to understand that. And if they really want a bright future to this -- for the country, it's capitalism that's going to provide it, not government.


(END VIDEO CLIP)


COOPER: What do you think he does not get? 


MICHAEL MOORE: Oh, my God. 


(LAUGHTER) 


MOORE: Wow. Wow. That's -- that's such a huge disconnect. I'm afraid anything I would say would be just too mean. And I...


(CROSSTALK) 


(LAUGHTER) 


MOORE: I will tell you, Professor Cornel West said that he needed both to sit down with him over coffee and Cognac, because it would require that to kind of come to some sort of understanding. 


MOORE: Yes. 


(LAUGHTER) 


MOORE: Yes. Yes. Yes. I think so. 

I think what he doesn't, Mr. Schiff doesn't understand is that the reason we're not occupying Congress or D.C. right now is because the congressmen and the senators are the employees of Wall Street. They work for Wall Street. They're funded by Wall Street. And they do the bidding of Wall Street and K Street, which is the lobbying arm of Wall Street. So we're kind of tired of going and dealing with the middleman or the servant. We'd rather go to the big house and take it there, because that's really where the problem is. It is with capitalism. It is with corporate America. Capitalism right now -- and it's important to define a word in its present form. 

Just like you wouldn't define the word marriage as a woman has to get permission from her father in order to marry, but that was the definition 100 or 200 years ago. So let's not use the old definition. When we say capitalism, we're talking about 2011 -- 2011 capitalism is an evil system set up to benefit the few at the expense of the many. 

That's what's happened. And that's what people are so tired of, which is too bad for the capitalists, because I think a lot of people, perhaps in this crowd, probably used to support the old style of capitalism. 

COOPER: So what system do you want? 

MOORE: They have completely lost them. 

Well, no. Well, there's no system right now that exists. We're going to create that system. This movement -- this movement in the next year or two or few years is going to create a democratic economic system. That's the most important thing. Whatever we come up with, it has to have at its core the American people are going to be the ones controlling this economy. 

We're going to have a say, a big say, the say, in how this economy is run. That say cannot happen by the people in the penthouse offices on Wall Street. That is over. That is over. We have declared it over. Now it's just a matter of time until we actually make this happen, when we bring democracy, true democracy to this country. 

We're no longer settling for, you know, oh, we live in a democracy because I can vote for a politician. Uh-uh. No. No. True democracy means I also have a say in my future and I have a say in how this economy is run. And you're not going to use me and abuse me like this. 

I mean, how many people -- we talk about the people who've lost their jobs. How about the people who still have jobs? You know what their job is now? If you're working on an assembly line in Flint or Detroit, you're now doing the job of one or two or three -- I'm sorry -- one person is doing the job of two or three people. 

They have killed the other ones off. And now everyone's got to work harder, harder, longer hours, for less pay, less benefits. The damage that this has done to people, to their physical lives, to their mental lives, to their families, I just think there's so much carnage as a result of capitalism, 2011 capitalism, that they overplayed their hand and now the people are going to come up with a better system that's going to be run by the people. 


COOPER: Michael Moore, appreciate your time. Michael, thank you. 


MOORE: Thank you, Anderson, for being here and giving voice. And, remember, I'm only one voice here. Everybody here has a story. Everybody in this movement is a spokesperson and a leader. 


COOPER: Michael, thank you. 


MOORE: Thank you.

http://transcripts.cnn.com/TRANSCRIPTS/1110/28/acd.02.html