Capitalism: A Love Story

875 00:45:08,739 --> 00:45:10,229 And as it turned out, Wal-Mart took out 876 00:45:10,274 --> 00:45:13,334 over 350,000 life insurance policies 877 00:45:13,377 --> 00:45:15,504 on rank and file associates. 878 00:45:15,546 --> 00:45:16,740 These weren't executives. 879 00:45:16,780 --> 00:45:20,216 These were people like my wife, a cake decorator for 18 months. 880 00:45:20,250 --> 00:45:23,845 That's the type of people they were taking insurance policies out on. 881 00:45:23,887 --> 00:45:27,880 Moore: Paul's wife LaDonna left her job at the Wal-Mart bakery 882 00:45:27,925 --> 00:45:30,723 so she could be a stay-at-home mom for her two kids. 883 00:45:30,761 --> 00:45:33,924 Smith: She had asthma real real bad. 884 00:45:33,964 --> 00:45:35,898 She went into the emergency room one night 885 00:45:35,933 --> 00:45:37,901 and a nurse comes out and says, "Are you Mr. Smith?" 886 00:45:37,935 --> 00:45:39,425 And I said, "Yes." 887 00:45:39,470 --> 00:45:43,531 And she said, "We don't think your wife's gonna make it." 888 00:45:43,574 --> 00:45:45,542 Moore: LaDonna slipped into a coma 889 00:45:45,576 --> 00:45:47,908 from which she would never awaken. 890 00:45:47,945 --> 00:45:50,106 Her family rushed to the hospital, 891 00:45:50,147 --> 00:45:52,581 even though there was nothing they could do to help. 892 00:45:52,616 --> 00:45:55,176 There was a wall here and LaDonna's in the room 893 00:45:55,219 --> 00:45:56,652 on the other side of the wall. 894 00:45:56,687 --> 00:45:58,951 And Jessica kept saying, "Where is she?" 895 00:45:58,989 --> 00:46:01,617 And I said, "She's right on the other side of that wall." 896 00:46:01,658 --> 00:46:05,253 And Jessica said, "Can we cut a hole in the wall 897 00:46:05,295 --> 00:46:07,786 so that we can see her?" 898 00:46:07,831 --> 00:46:09,856 Andthat juststicks with me 899 00:46:09,900 --> 00:46:11,731 Do you remember that? 900 00:46:13,837 --> 00:46:18,206 Smith: We had to stay in there with her, and so we'd write letters to her. 901 00:46:18,242 --> 00:46:22,702 "My dear wife, I miss you more than any words can possibly say. 902 00:46:22,746 --> 00:46:24,304 You are my life. 903 00:46:24,348 --> 00:46:26,748 You always see beauty in the simplest things. 904 00:46:26,784 --> 00:46:31,221 I've always admired you for that. I wish I could have told you that more. 905 00:46:31,255 --> 00:46:33,519 I want you to come back to me soon. 906 00:46:33,557 --> 00:46:36,549 I still have a lot left to learn from you, baby doll. 907 00:46:36,593 --> 00:46:38,754 Your loving husband, Paul." 908 00:46:40,697 --> 00:46:43,131 You okay, Wesley? 909 00:46:44,535 --> 00:46:47,299 She was 26 years old. 910 00:46:47,337 --> 00:46:50,272 LaDonna: You're silly. You're silly. 911 00:46:50,307 --> 00:46:53,970 Myers: The younger a person is, the higher the benefit is 912 00:46:54,011 --> 00:46:56,809 because they're expected to live longer. 913 00:46:56,847 --> 00:46:59,042 Women are also expected to live longer than men. 914 00:46:59,082 --> 00:47:02,051 So the most valuable employee to the company 915 00:47:02,085 --> 00:47:04,986 if they're dead, is a young woman. 916 00:47:05,022 --> 00:47:06,614 Moore: LaDonna's death earned 917 00:47:06,657 --> 00:47:08,887 one of the richest corporations in the world 918 00:47:08,926 --> 00:47:11,486 an extra $81,000. 919 00:47:11,528 --> 00:47:14,861 I was faced with over $100,000 worth of medical bills 920 00:47:14,898 --> 00:47:18,231 and a $6,000 funeral 921 00:47:18,268 --> 00:47:21,726 and Wal-Mart didn't offer a penny to help with that. 922 00:47:21,772 --> 00:47:25,037 I did trust them. 923 00:47:25,075 --> 00:47:28,340 And never in a million years would I have ever thought 924 00:47:28,378 --> 00:47:31,313 that somewhere on a profit statement, 925 00:47:31,348 --> 00:47:34,340 "Dead associate, $81,000." 926 00:47:34,384 --> 00:47:38,377 Wal-Mart doesn't care about you. 927 00:47:38,422 --> 00:47:40,253 When someone passes away, 928 00:47:40,290 --> 00:47:43,088 they shouldn't get something out of it. 929 00:47:53,770 --> 00:47:56,261 Myers: The common denominator to each form of coverage 930 00:47:56,306 --> 00:47:58,331 is that when the employee dies, 931 00:47:58,375 --> 00:48:01,606 the employer gets paid the insurance benefits. 932 00:48:01,645 --> 00:48:04,808 They're often referred to as "dead peasant insurance." 933 00:48:04,848 --> 00:48:08,409 Moore: Dead peasants? Why'd they use such a creepy name? 934 00:48:08,452 --> 00:48:11,580 Myers: It's very creepy. I don't know what it means either. 935 00:48:11,622 --> 00:48:12,782 Dead is clear. 936 00:48:12,823 --> 00:48:15,553 That's the worker who's passed away, so they're dead. 937 00:48:15,592 --> 00:48:18,026 Peasant, I don't know why they chose that word. 938 00:48:18,061 --> 00:48:20,086 I don't know if it has some historical significance 939 00:48:20,130 --> 00:48:23,122 or that's just the way they view the relative value 940 00:4