Where to Invade Next
Documentary by Michael Moore
Discussion Questions for Public Finance and Public Economics (PE 4615) with Prof. Dolar
What is the longest jail sentence someone in Norway can receive for any type of crime?
Life
21 Years
51 Years
10 Years
Answer: 21 Years
How many weeks of vacation does an Italian average in a year?
2 weeks
4 weeks
7 weeks
None :(
Answer: 7 weeks
Citizens in which country are given the most amount of paid time off for raising a newborn/adopted baby?
Canada
Italy
France
United States
Answer: Italy
What is abstinence and which country teaches it is not worth practicing?
It is the act of wearing protection when engaging in sexual intercourse - France
It is the act of avoiding any sexual intercourse until marriage - France
It is the act of wearing protection when engaging in sexual intercourse - United States
It is the act of avoiding any sexual intercourse until marriage - United States
Answer: It is the act of avoiding any sexual intercourse until marriage- France
Which word best describes a typical lunch in a school in France?
Gourmet
Nasty
Unhealthy
High in sodium
Answer: Gourmet
How many hours a week do 1st graders go to school in Finland (In the US students go to school 32hrs 30 minutes a week)
20
40
60
There is no such thing as first grade in Finland
Answer: 20 hours
How much homework does the average student in Finland get? Remember, they are ranked one of the best education systems in the world!
None
10 hours a week
20 hours a week
All they do is Homework!
Answer: None
How many people were arrested in Portugal last year for using/dealing drugs?
None, drugs are not illegal in Portugal
500 arrests
1.5 million arrests
It depends what kind of drug you are asking about
Answer: None, drugs are not illegal in Portugal
Which country gets paid for 13 months of work even though there are only 12?
Italy
Germany
Canada
United States
Answer: Italy
In Germany, the government pays for a 3 week spa vacation when an employee goes on burn out.
True
False
Answer: True
Which country does not offer free University to its citizens?
Slovenia
United States
Mexico
Brazil
Answer: United States
After watching most of this video, what country would you most like to live in?
Italy
France
Finland
Germany
Slovenia – that’s the right answer
US
Canada
Answer: Slovenia ;)
True or False - Canada ranks in the top ten for one of the most successful education systems.
True
False
Answer: False
Which country gives its workers a full 2 hours for lunch every workday?
Italy
Germany
United States
Canada
Answer: Italy
Please write at least 500 words to summarize this documentary. Some questions that you might wish to address in your summary are:
What emotions did the film spark? Why?
If you could choose ONE of these ideas to implement in the U.S., which would it be? Why?
Is it possible to implement these ideas in the U.S.?
What are some other progressive ideas that we should import from other countries that were not featured in the film?
This film for me was very informative and I appreciate the effort of Moore to bring awareness to the differences in the development of different countries. In Where to Invade Next, Michael Moore puts his American passport to heavy use, meandering around Europe and North Africa to marvel at how they do things better there than here in the U.S. So many things, so much better! In Italy, workers receive generous paid vacations, extended maternity leave, and two-hour lunch breaks! In France, little kids are fed tasty, nutritious school lunches, including fancy cheeses! In Finland, young students aren’t burdened with childhood-crushing homework.
While in Portugal, no one is arrested for using drugs! In Slovenia, a university education is free! In Iceland, wicked bankers who threw the country into recent economic crisis were actually convicted of their crimes! Such progressive notions are amazing, Moore says. In fact, they are so much better than the crappy vacation and stingy maternity schedules, the bad school lunches, the heavy student debt and onerous drug sentences of the United States that it might as well be worth big footing into those same little countries to appropriate their happy social policies for our big, swaggering selves. We Americans love invading smaller countries around the world anyway, he reasons; why not march into Norway, say, and steal their enlightened ideas about humane prisons?
If I had to choose one of these ideas to implement in the United States, it would have to be the no homework for our children, up until higher education. I believe right now that more than half of all students with a high school diploma disregard the information received post high school. This I believe is a true reflection of the majority of students across the nation. I say that confidently and wholeheartedly being a current college student who has transitioned from high school to college within the past ten years. My theory is that students who neglect homework or don’t feel the incentive behind completing it involuntarily disregard the information attained from it.
The homework debate is certainly a psychological one for me. This is an easy fix practically, all the secretary of education needs to do is send out a directive nationwide addressing this issue and issuing a temporary lift of homework as a pilot program. If the data collected from such a project comes back positive, then we move forward with said model along with working out any kinks along the way. To take things to the extreme the President can sign an executive order commanding the secretary of education to implement this plan if met with any political opposition.
One country that interests me is Switzerland and their banking laws. Switzerland’s banking secrecy laws have rendered it a premier tax haven since the 1900’s. When foreign clients deposit holdings into a Swiss bank account, the bank is legally prohibited from disclosing balances or client information to tax authorities.