Tag: Communism

The Simpsons – A Trillion Dollar Bill

Earlier in the episode, Homer is arrested for tax evasion, but trikes a deal with the FBI to work undercover in exchange for immunity. His goal? Gain access to a trillion-dollar bill held by Mr. Burns. Instead of turning him in, Homer helps Mr. Burns escape to Cuba, where they attempt to purchase the island from Fidel Castro using the bill. However, Castro tricks them and refuses to return the bill, leaving Homer, Burns, and Smithers stranded on a raft.

The trillion-dollar bill exemplifies a massive fiscal stimulus potential, but its misuse by Mr. Burns and Castro highlights corruption, inefficiency, and redistribution issues. Castro was close to calling off Communism because it was underfunded, but the trillion-dollar bill brought Cuba back from the brink of defeat.

Thanks to Brian O’Roark for the clip recommendation!

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Young Sheldon — Communism & Bread

 

Sheldon finds that his sandwich tastes a bit different than normal. After a quick trip to the grocery store, he realizes that his local bread company has been bought out by a larger corporation that is looking to make break quickly and cheaply. He doesn’t like this switch and petitions super market customers about getting the local bread company to listen to their customers.

Without realizing it, Sheldon suggests that communism may be a better system because then one central authority can decide the recipe for bread. He assumes bread lines in Russia are a result of great tasting bread, and not the country’s inability to allocate resources. The show is set in the 1980s, which is the midst of a Cold War. Sheldon’s dad gets a spot on the news and Sheldon almost shares how the social security system is similar, but his dad doesn’t give him the chance.

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Wendy’s — Choice is Good

This Wendy’s commercial picks fun at Soviet economics that were notorious for limiting options available to consumers in the name of efficiency, but monopolistic competition in a capital market thrives on product differentiation and the ability to cater to people’s preferences.

Thanks to Rob Szarka for the find!

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Moscow on the Hudson — Coffee Aisle

 

Robin Williams stars as a defected Soviet living in the United States in Moscow on the Hudson. His shift from communist markets to American-style markets is a bit overwhelming as he visits a grocery store to find the coffee aisle. After realizing that there’s no line to buy coffee and that there are a dozen varieties of coffee, he passes out in the middle of the store.

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John Stossel — Spontaneous Order

In this Stossel in the Classroom segment, John Stossel analyzes political promises and looks at how government intervention actually can harm business. A good portion of the video focuses on how the invisible hand dictates much of what we see occurring in our lives and how centrally planned economies like the Soviet Union break down.

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