Robert B. Reich's Blog, page 82
June 8, 2016
A Public Note to my Friend, Bernie Sanders
I don’t know what you’re going to do from here on, and I’m not going to
advise you....
June 4, 2016
It’s Not Over Until It’s OverThis morning I heard from an
old...
It’s Not Over Until It’s Over
This morning I heard from an
old friend here in California who said “I’m for Bernie, but he doesn’t really
have a chance anymore. So isn’t my vote for him in the California primary just
prolonging the agony, and indirectly helping Trump?”
I told him:
1. True, the
electoral numbers are daunting, and Bernie faces an uphill task, but a win
Tuesday will help enormously. One out of 8 Americans lives in California.
2. Regardless of the
electoral math, Bernie’s candidacy has never been mainly about Bernie. It’s
been about a movement to reclaim our democracy and economy from the moneyed
interests. And a win for Bernie in the California primary (and in other Tuesday
primaries in Montana, New Jersey, North Dakota South Dakota, and New Mexico)
will send an even clearer signal to Washington, the Democratic Party, and the
establishment as a whole, that a large and growing share of Americans is
determined to wrest back control.
3. The goals Bernie has
enunciated in his campaign are essential to our future: getting big money out
of politics and reversing widening inequality; moving toward a single-payer
healthcare system and free tuition at public universities (both financed by
higher taxes on the richest Americans and on Wall Street); a $15 minimum wage;
decriminalization of marijuana and an end to mass incarceration; a new voting
rights act; immigration reform; and a carbon tax. All will require continued
mobilization at all levels of government. A win Tuesday will help continue and
build on that mobilization.
4. Bernie’s successes don’t help Trump. To the contrary,
they are bringing into politics millions of young voters whose values are
opposite to those of Trump’s. Bernie has received majorities from voters under
age 45 (as well as from independents). He’s won even larger majorities of young
people under 30 – including young women and Latinos. Many have been inspired
and motivated by Bernie to become political activists – the last thing Trump
and the Republicans want.
May 26, 2016
Advice for Divided Democrats
May 24, 2016
INTO THE WORLD OF WORKWhat do you need to know – about the...
INTO THE WORLD OF WORK
What do you need to know – about the new world of work, but also about yourself – as you graduate and launch yourself into the world of work? We made a short film of my last class of the semester, where I speak to graduating seniors about these questions and more. If you’re a graduating senior (or know one) we hope this is helpful.
May 22, 2016
Why Trump Might Win
May 2, 2016
The Third Way: Share-the-Gains Capitalism
April 27, 2016
WHY IS THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP WIDENING? AND WHAT SHOULD BE DONE...
WHY IS THE RACIAL WEALTH GAP WIDENING? AND WHAT SHOULD BE DONE TO REVERSE IT?
Wealth inequality is even more of a problem than income inequality. That’s because you have to have enough savings from income to begin to accumulate wealth – buying a house or investing in stocks and bonds, or saving up to send a child to college.
But many Americans have almost no savings, so they have barely any wealth. Two-thirds live paycheck to paycheck.
Once you have wealth, it generates its own income as the value of that wealth increases over time, generating dividends and interest, and then even more when those assets are sold.
This is why wealth inequality is compounding faster than income inequality. The richest top 1% own 40% of the nation’s wealth. The bottom 80% own just 7%.
Wealth is also transferred from generation to generation, not only in direct transfers, but also in access to the best schools and universities. Young people who get college degrees are overwhelmingly from wealthier families.
Which is why kids from low-income families, without such wealth, start out at a huge disadvantage. This is especially true for children of color from low-income families. Such families typically rent rather than own a house, and don’t earn enough to have any savings.
Throughout much of America’s history, the federal government has given families tax breaks in order to help them save and build assets – such as paying no tax on income that’s put away for retirement, and being able to deduct interest on home mortgages.
But these tax breaks mainly help those with high income and lots of wealth in the first place, who can afford to put away lots for retirement or get a large mortgage on a huge home. They don’t much help those with low incomes and minimal savings.
Families of color are especially disadvantaged because they’re less likely to have savings or inherit wealth, and face significant barriers to building wealth, such as discriminatory policies and practices that thwart home ownership.
These structural disadvantages have built up to the point where the median net worth of white families is now more than 10 times greater than that of African-American or Latino families.
So what can we do to help all Americans accumulate wealth?
First, reform the tax system so capital gains – increases in the value of assets – are taxed at the same rate as ordinary income.
Second, limit how much mortgage interest the wealthy can deduct from their incomes.
Then use the tax savings from these changes to help lower-income people gain a foothold in building their own wealth.
For example:
1. Provide every newborn child with a savings account consisting of at least $1,250 — and more if a child is from a low-income family. This sum will compound over the years into a solid nest egg.
Research shows it could reduce the racial wealth gap by nearly 20% — more if deposits are larger. At age 18, that young person could use the money for tuition or training, a business or a home. Studies show such accounts can change children’s behavior and increase the likelihood they’ll attend college.
1. Allow families receiving public benefits to save. Today a family receiving public assistance can be cut off for having saved just $1,000. Raise the limits on what a family can save to at least $12,000—roughly three months’ income for a low-income family of four—and thereby put that family on the road to self-sufficiency.
All these steps would allow families to invest in their own futures – which is the surest way out of poverty. All of us benefit when everyone has the opportunity to accumulate wealth.
April 24, 2016
The Endgame of 2016′s Anti-Establishment Politics
Clinton if she gets the nomination? Likewise,...
April 20, 2016
THE NEW COMMON GROUND BETWEEN POPULIST LEFT AND RIGHTThe old...
THE NEW COMMON GROUND BETWEEN POPULIST LEFT AND RIGHT
The old debate goes something like this:
‘You don’t believe women have reproductive rights.”
“You don’t value human life.”
Or this:
“You think everyone should own a gun.”
“You think we’re safer if only criminals have them.”
Or this:
“You don’t care about poor people.”
”You think they’re better off with handouts.”
Or this:
“You want to cut taxes on the rich.”
"You want to tax everyone to death.”
But we’re seeing the emergence of a new debate where the populist left and right are on the same side:
Both are against the rich to spend as much as they want corrupting our democracy.
Both are against crony capitalism.
Both are against corporate welfare.
Both are against another Wall Street bailout.Both want to stop subsidizing Big Agriculture, Big Oil, and the pharmaceutical industry.
Both want to ban inside trading on Wall Street.
Both want to stop CEOs from pumping up share prices with stock buy-backs … and then cashing in their stock options.
Both want to stop tax deductions of CEO pay over $1 million.
Both want to get big money out of politics, reverse Citizens United, and restore our democracy,
If we join together, we can make these things happen.
April 18, 2016
Why Isn’t Everyone In Favor of Taxing Financial Speculation?
most important proposals – to tax...
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