Robert B. Reich's Blog, page 93

Nike, Obama, and the Fiasco of the Trans Pacific Partnership

On
Friday, President Obama chose Nike headquarters in Oregon to deliver a defense
of his proposed...

STEP #2: MAKE WORK FAMILY FRIENDLYNo one should have to choose...

STEP #2: MAKE WORK FAMILY FRIENDLY

No one should have to choose between providing for your family and being a good parent. Yet “family-friendly” work is still a pipedream.

Today most parents are also wage earners, whether in a two-parent or single-parent household. Politicians talk a lot about the importance of family, but must do a better job delivering.

Specifically:

– Require that women receive equal pay for equal work.

– Require employers provide predictable hours so workers can plan to be home when their family needs them.

– Provide universal childcare – pre-school and after-school – financed by employers and taxpayers.

– Require that employers offer paid family and medical leave.   

The richest nation in the world should enable its workers to be good parents. Family-friendly work isn’t a luxury. People who work hard deserve to make more than a decent living. They and their families deserve a decent life.

MAKING THE ECONONY WORK FOR THE MANY, NOT THEFEW. STEP #1:...

MAKING THE ECONONY WORK FOR THE MANY, NOT THE
FEW. STEP #1: RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE

A basic moral principle that most Americans
agree on is no one who works full time should be in poverty, nor should their
family.

Yet over time we’ve seen significant growth in
the “working poor” – people working full time, sometimes even 60 or more hours
each week, but at such low wages that they remain impoverished.

What to do?

One step
is to raise the minimum wage to $15 an
hour. This is winnable. A powerful movement is fighting for $15 an hour and
they’re winning new laws in cities and states, and forcing companies to raise
wages.

If the minimum wage in
1968 had simply kept up with inflation it would be more than $10 today.
 If it also kept up with the added productivity of American workers since
then, it would be more than $21 an hour.  

Some opponents say minimum wage workers are
teenagers seeking some extra pocket money.

Wrong. Half are 35 or older, and many are key
breadwinners for their families.

And don’t believe scaremongers who say a $15
minimum will cause employers to cut employment.

More money in people’s pockets means more demand
for goods and services, which means more jobs not fewer jobs.

Studies also show that when the minimum is
raised more people are brought into the pool of potential employees, giving
employers more choice of whom to hire. This reduces turnover and helps
employers save money.

Finally, employers who don’t pay enough to lift
their employees out of poverty are indirectly subsidized by the rest of us –
who are paying billions each year in food stamps, Medicaid, housing assistance,
and welfare, to make up the difference.

The minimum wage should be raised to $15 an
hour. It’s the least that a decent society should require.

Trans Pacific Trickle-Down Economics

Have we
learned nothing from thirty years of failed trickle-down economics?By now we
should know...

YOU MUST TAKE ACTION NOWThe heinous Trans Pacific Partnership is...

YOU MUST TAKE ACTION NOW

The heinous Trans Pacific Partnership is now moving in Congress. It’s not really about trade – most tariffs are now low – but about making the world safer for global corporations. It allows big global corporations to sue countries for health, safety, environmental, and labor protections that reduce corporate profits. Its so-called labor and environmental protections are unenforceable. And rather than strengthen America’s hand against China (as its proponents claim), it only strengthens the hands of giant American-based corporations – whose loyalty is to their shareholders rather than to the United States. (These corporations will do whatever China wants if it helps their bottom lines.)

It’s a bad deal for Americans. Please call your senators and your representative and tell them you don’t want the Trans Pacific Partnership, and you don’t want “fast-track” that allows it to speed through Congress without debate or amendment. 

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