Robert B. Reich's Blog, page 53

Will Trump Survive?

Many of the “insiders” I talk with are convinced
that Cohen’s virtual naming of Trump...

MEMO TO THE PRESS (OR HOW TO COVER TRUMP WITHOUT TRUMP COVERING...

MEMO TO THE PRESS (OR HOW TO COVER TRUMP WITHOUT TRUMP COVERING YOU)

Here are 9 suggestions:

1. Stop treating
Trump’s tweets as news. They’re not news; they’re his gut feelings at the moment.

2. Don’t believe a
single word that comes out of his mouth. You have a responsibility to tell the public when he’s lying.

3. Don’t fall for the
reality-TV spectacles he creates. (For example, his meeting with Kim Jong-un was pure theater.) They’re not news, either.

4. Don’t let his
churlish, thin-skinned, vindictive, narcissistic rants divert attention from
what he’s really doing. Your viewers and readers may love how sensational and bizarre they are, but they’re distractions.

5. Focus on what he’s
really doing, and put the day’s stories into this larger context. He’s

– Undermining democratic institutions,

– Using his office for personal gain,

– Sowing
division and hate,

– Cozying up to dictators while antagonizing our democratic
allies around the world,

– Violating the rule of law, and

– Enriching America’s
wealthy while harming the middle class and the poor.

He may also be colluding
with Putin.

6. Stop reporting
about the Republican Party and start reporting on Fox News, which is both
Trump’s propaganda tool and his focus group for how to build power by dividing
America with lies and hate. There’s no Republican Party any more. Only Trump
and Fox News.

7. Keep track of what
his Cabinet is doing – Sessions’s attacks on civil rights, civil liberties,
voting rights, and immigrants; DeVos’s efforts to undermine public education, The EPA’s and Zinke’s efforts to gut the environment; all their conflicts of
interest, and the industry lobbyists they’ve put in high positions.

8. Don’t let Trump use
your journalistic goal of “balanced” reporting against you.  Giving equal
time to the truth and to lies from Trump’s enablers and followers isn’t
“balance”.  This isn’t a contest between right and left, Republicans and
Democrats. This is between democracy and demagogic
authoritarianism. 

9. Finally, don’t let him
rattle you. Maintain your dignity, confidence, and courage. Our democracy
depends on you. 

Musk, Trump, and the Second Gilded Age

I’ve long admired Elon Musk as a technological
visionary. But I worry about his sense of...

TRUMP’S TRADE WARSTrump has gotten America into atrade war with...

TRUMP’S TRADE WARS

Trump has gotten America into a
trade war with all our major trading partners. He’s put tariffs, which are
essentially taxes, on what they sell to us. And they’ve retaliated by putting
tariffs on what we sell to them.

Trump’s trade war is dumb and
dangerous for 3 reasons:

First: American companies make and
sell things all around the world, employ people all over the world, and are
owned by investors all over the world. At the same time, foreign companies are
here, employing Americans, and exporting from the United States. BMW, a German company, is the biggest automobile exporter
from the United States.

Second: Tariffs hurt American
workers. 

They drive up prices of inputs used by American workers to make all sorts
of things – thereby making our workers less competitive internationally. Tariffs on steel hurt American workers who use
steel in making cars, appliances, and motorcycles. Tariffs on chips, wires, and
circuits hurt American workers who use them for making high-tech products.

Tariffs also drive up the prices of goods bought by American consumers
from all over the world, reducing the purchasing power of American
wages. They’re the equivalent of a wage cut.

And tariffs push foreign
governments to raise tariffs on American exports, thereby making American workers even less competitive.
Europe puts a retaliatory tariff on Harley-Davidson’s motorcycle exports, and
what happens? Harley moved production to Europe.  

The trade war that began in 1930
with the Smoot-Hawley tariff ended up worsening the Great
Depression.

Third: The best way to increase the
competitiveness of American workers has nothing to do with tariffs. It’s to
invest in America.

– Invest in the skills and know-how of our workers, starting
with early-childhood education, through better schools, access to world-class
technical education, and access to college;

– Also invest in future knowledge, through government
support for basic research and development.

– Invest in the infrastructure that links American
workers to their jobs, to other American workers, and to the global economy.
This means world-class roads, bridges, rapid transit, container ports, access
to high-speed Internet, and more. 

– Invest in the health of American
workers through universal health care

But Trump and Republicans have been
cutting all these investments.

Trade wars may make Trump feel
tough, because he loves tests of his dominance. But they hurt average working
people.

HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR UNDERMINING THE AFFORDABLE CARE...

HOLD THEM ACCOUNTABLE FOR UNDERMINING THE AFFORDABLE CARE ACT

Trump and Republicans in Congress haven’t been able to
officially kill the Affordable Care Act. But they’re quietly using 5 strategies
to destroy it. Know what they’re doing so you can hold them accountable on
Election Day. 

1. They’ve repealed the requirement that all Americans sign
up for health insurance. Republicans slipped this repeal into their tax cut for
the wealthy and corporations. 

But that requirement had meant enough healthy
people were enrolled to cover the sick. Without it, 4 million Americans will
lose coverage by 2019 and premiums will increase by 10 percent, according to
the Congressional Budget Office.

2. They’ve cut subsidies that help an estimated 6 million
low-income Americans afford coverage through private insurers. Trump wants you
to believe these cuts will save money. Baloney. Ending the subsidies is
expected to drive up premiums, thereby increasing costs for taxpayers.

3. They want to flood the insurance market with junk
plans. They’ve made it easier for small businesses and individuals to buy
alternative types of health insurance with fewer benefits and weaker
protections. This will leave sicker people and those with pre-existing conditions out
in the cold. 

4. They’ve made it harder for people to sign up for
coverage – shortening the enrollment period, scaling back outreach efforts,
increasing the amount of paperwork. It’s even been reported that the Trump
administration redirected funds from a marketing campaign designed to promote
enrollment to a campaign criticizing the law.

5. They’ve stopped defending key provisions of the law in
court. The Justice Department has stopped defending the Affordable Care Act’s
protections for Americans with preexisting conditions in a case brought by
Republican attorneys general.

Remember, the Affordable Care Act was enacted in 2010 in order to make health
insurance available to people regardless of their income or their health
condition.  It wasn’t perfect and was just one step toward a real solution
like Medicare for All, but it was a historic piece of legislation.  

Now, Trump is taking a wrecking ball to it. He promised during his campaign he’d repeal and replace it with something “far better,” but he’s not replacing it with anything. He’s just destroying it, step by step.

Don’t
let Trump and his enablers hide what they are doing. When millions – including
huge numbers of Trump supporters – lose the health coverage they had or their premiums
go up, make sure Trump and the Republicans are held accountable.

How Trump’s War on Regulation is Trickle-Down Economics

When Trump’s not blaming foreigners
for everything that ails America, he’s blaming regulations. Last...

10 STEPS TO FINDING COMMON GROUNDTrump has intentionally cleaved...

10 STEPS TO FINDING COMMON GROUND

Trump has intentionally cleaved America into two warring camps:
pro-Trump or anti-Trump. Most Americans aren’t passionate conservatives or
liberals, Republicans or Democrats. But they have become impassioned for or
against Trump.

As a result, people with different political views have stopped
talking with each other. This is a huge problem because democracy depends on
our capacity to deliberate together. 

So what can we do–all of us–to begin talking across the great
divide? Here are 10 suggestions:

1. Don’t avoid political conversations with people who are
likely to disagree with you, even in your own family. To the contrary, seek
them out and have those discussions.

2. Don’t start by talking about Trump. Start instead with
“kitchen table” issues like stagnant wages, shrinking benefits, the escalating
costs of health care, college, pharmaceuticals, housing.

3. Make it personal. Ask them about their own experiences and
stories. Share yours. Try to find common ground.

4. Ask them why they think all this has happened. Listen
carefully and let them know you’ve heard them. 

5. If they start blaming immigrants or African-Americans, or
elites, or Democrats, or even Obama – stay cool. Don’t tune out. Ask them about
why they think these people are responsible. 

6. Gradually turn the conversation into one about power – who has
it, who doesn’t. Ask about their own experiences at work, what’s happened to
their jobs, how others among their families and friends are treated.

7. Ask them about the roles of big corporations and Wall Street.
For example: 

–Why is it that when corporations and Wall Street firms violate the
law, no executive goes to jail? 

–Why did Wall Street get bailed out during the
financial crisis but homeowners caught in the downdraft didn’t get help? 

–Why do big oil, big agriculture, big Pharma, and Wall Street hedge-fund managers get
special subsidies and tax loopholes?

8. Get a discussion going about how the system is organized, for
whom, and how it’s been changing. For example: 

–Why is it that only 4 major
airlines fly today when a few years ago there were 12? Why are there only 4 Internet service providers? 

–How is this increasing concentration of economic power across
the entire economy driving up prices?

–Why are pharmaceutical companies and health insurers able to
charge more and more? 

–Why can corporations and their top executives declare
bankruptcy and have their debts forgiven, when bankruptcy isn’t available to
people laden with student debt or to homeowners who can’t meet their payments? 

–Why are the biggest benefits from the tax cut going to billionaires? 

9. Then get to the core issue: Do they think any of this has to
do with big money in politics? 

–Is the system rigged? And if so, who’s doing the
rigging, and why? 

–How can average people be heard when there’s so much big
money in politics? Should we try to get big money out of politics? 

–And if so,
how do we do it? 

Notice, you’re not using labels. You’re not talking about
Democrats or Republicans, left or right, capitalism or socialism, government or
free market. You’re not even talking about Trump. 

You’re starting with the
everyday experiences of most people–with their wages and living expenses and
experiences on the job– and from there moving to economic and political
power.  

10. Oh, and don’t forget to use humor. Humor is the great
disinfectant. For example, the Supreme Court says corporations are people.
Well, you’ll believe they’re people when Texas executes a corporation.

Remember, the point isn’t
to convince them you’re right and they’re wrong. It’s to get us thinking about
what’s really happening to America. It’s exposing the abuses of power all
around us. 

If we can join together around these fundamental issues, we will all
win

TRUMP AND THE ART OF THE NO DEALDonald Trump promised to be...

TRUMP AND THE ART OF THE NO DEAL

Donald Trump promised to be America’s dealmaker-in-chief,
touting his “extraordinary” ability to negotiate. But so far, Trump has shown
he can’t make a deal. Here’s the list of biggest no-deals:

1. No deal with North Korea. Following his summit with Kim Jong
Un, Trump declared on Twitter that “there is no longer a nuclear threat” from
North Korea. But in fact, there’s no deal. Kim conceded nothing on weapons and
missile programs. Recent satellite imagery shows North Korea is actually
improving its nuclear capability.

2. No deal with Russia. At the Helsinki summit, Russia agreed to nothing. But Trump gave away
the store, even casting doubt on Russia’s collusion in the 2016 election in the
face of the conclusions of America’s own intelligence agencies.

3. No deal with China on trade. Instead, we’re on the
brink of a trade war with China, which is retaliating against U.S. tariffs.

4. No deal with Europe on trade. Instead, Europe has
merely agreed to negotiate towards a resolution of the trade war Trump provoked
in the first place. 

5. No deal on Iran. Trump announced America’s exit from the Iran
nuclear deal. Since then, no negotiations.

6. No deal on climate change. Trump simply pulled out of
the Paris accords. There have been no negotiations since.

7. No deal with the Group of 7 leading economic powers.
Instead, Trump just pulled out of the joint communique. 

8. No deal on immigration or the DREAMers. Trump promised a new immigration bill, and a new deal from the young people brought to America as children. But since then, nothing. 

9. No budget deal with Congress. The government is still operating under a “continuing resolution.”

10. No deal on replacing the Affordable Care Act. Trump promised to “repeal and replace” the Affordable Care Act. But there’s been no repeal, and no replacement. He and the
Republican Congress never agreed to a new plan. 

11. No deal on gun control. After the Parkland shooting, Trump
promised to tighten background checks for gun buyers and said he’d consider
raising the age for buying certain types of guns. Instead, he bowed to the NRA.

Bottom line: Trump can’t make deals. He can only pull out of
deals already made, or pretend he’s made deals that soon evaporate, or give
away the store.

 He’s perfected the art of the no deal.

Where Trump Sees Foreign Danger

What’s the most worrisome foreign intrusion
into the United States – unauthorized immigrants,...

THE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY THAT YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OFThe...

THE BIGGEST THREAT TO OUR DEMOCRACY THAT YOU HAVEN’T HEARD OF
The biggest threat to our democracy that nobody is talking about
is the real possibility of a rogue Constitutional convention – empowering
extremists to radically reshape the Constitution, our laws, and our
country. 

If just a few more states sign on to what’s called an “Article V
convention” for a balanced budget amendment, there’s no limit to the damage
they might do. 

Let me explain. 

There are 2 ways to amend the United States Constitution: One
way – the way we’ve passed every amendment since the Bill of Rights – is for
two-thirds of the House and two-thirds of the Senate to vote for a proposed
amendment, and then have it ratified by at least three quarters of the states –
now 38 in number.

But there’s a second way to amend the Constitution. Two thirds
of the states may demand that Congress form a constitutional convention to propose
amendments.

Once such a constitutional convention is convened, there are no rules
to limit or constrain what comes next. 

Amendments proposed by an Article V
convention are supposed to be ratified by 38 states. But convention delegates
could hijack the process and change the ratification process itself, tossing
out the 38 state requirement. 

A balanced budget amendment would be crazy enough. But nothing
would be safe. A woman’s right to choose. Marriage equality. First Amendment
protections for free speech and a free press. Equal protection of the laws.
Checks and balances. 

An Article V convention would
allow delegates to write their own agenda into our Constitution. 

Already 28 states have called for a constitutional convention.
They only need 6 more to succeed.

Unlimited money in politics and partisan gerrymandering have
already given Republicans control of a majority of state legislatures. Big
money interests like the Koch Brothers and ALEC are investing heavily in the
push for a constitutional convention – which means that they’d be calling the
shots if one takes place. 

You’re probably already overwhelmed with
political actions you need to take. But, believe me, this is important. With
just a few states to go, your voice is needed. Please tell
your state lawmakers to reject calls for an Article V convention.