Heist: Who Stole the American Dream?

Heist: Who Stole the American Dream? is a 2011 documentary film, which argues that government deregulation led to the Great Recession. It was directed and produced by Donald Goldmacher and journalist and former CNN Senior National Assignment Editor Frances Causey. Narrated by Thom Hartmann. The documentary is partially based on Jeff Faux's 2006 book The Global Class War.[1] The film traces the roots of the Great Recession to Virginia lawyer Lewis F. Powell, Jr., whose 1971 memo to the United States Chamber of Commerce urged corporate America to become more aggressive in molding politics and law.[2]

Filmmakers Goldmacher and Causey started work on Heist in 2006 after they had been investigating the exploitation of undocumented workers near the Arizona border.[3] Heist explores the premise that Roosevelt's New Deal is being dismantled piecewise. It documents the aggressive push for free trade agreements such as the North American Free Trade Agreement as well as the deregulation of financial products as evidenced by the repeal of the Glass–Steagall Act and the passage of the Commodity Futures Modernization Act of 2000.[2] Heist lays the blame for the crisis on the cozy relationship between politicians and corporations, citing the Reagan administration as well as the actions of Presidents Clinton and Obama.[4] The documentary ends with suggestions for how people might organize, including tactics employed by Occupy Wall Street.[1]

Heist includes interviews and commentary from Senator Bernie Sanders, Representative Donna Edwards, former American Airlines president Robert Crandall, Media Matters for America founder David Brock, Nomi Prins, Van Jones, Robert Kuttner, Elizabeth Warren, and journalist David Cay Johnston.[4] The documentary premiered at the Mill Valley Film Festival on October 13, 2011.[5]