Robert B. Reich's Blog, page 94

The Rise of the Working Poor and the Non-Working Rich

Many believe that poor people deserve to be poor because they’re lazy. As Speaker John Boehner has...

Why College Isn’t (and Shouldn’t Have to be) for Everyone

I know a high school senior who’s so worried about whether she’ll be accepted at the college of her...

The “iEverything” and the Redistributional Imperative

It’s now possible to sell a new product to hundreds of millions of people without needing many, if...

The 3 Biggest Myths Blinding Us to the Economic Truth1. The “job...

The 3 Biggest Myths Blinding Us to the Economic Truth

1. The “job creators” are CEOs, corporations, and the rich, whose taxes must be low in order to induce them to create more jobs. Rubbish. The real job creators are the vast middle class and the poor, whose spending induces businesses to create jobs. Which is why raising the minimum wage, extending overtime protection, enlarging the Earned Income Tax Credit, and reducing middle-class taxes are all necessary.

2. The critical choice is between the “free market” or “government.” Baloney. The free market doesn’t exist in nature. It’s created and enforced by government. And all the ongoing decisions about how it’s organized – what gets patent protection and for how long (the human genome?), who can declare bankruptcy (corporations? homeowners? student debtors?), what contracts are fraudulent (insider trading?) or coercive (predatory loans? mandatory arbitration?), and how much market power is excessive (Comcast and Time Warner?) – depend on government.

3. We should worry most about the size of government. Wrong. We should worry about who government is for. When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics, all decisions relating to #1 and #2 above become rigged against average working Americans.

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The Conundrum of Corporation and Nation

The U.S. economy is picking up steam but
most Americans aren’t feeling it. By contrast, most...

Will the Democratic Nominee for 2016 Take on the Moneyed Interests?

It’s seed time for the 2016 presidential elections, when candidates try to figure out what...

Why We're All Becoming Independent Contractors

GM is worth around $60 billion, and has over 200,000 employees. Its front-line workers earn from $19...

The President Should Not Only Veto the Keystone XL Pipeline but...

The President Should Not Only Veto the Keystone XL Pipeline but Stop it Permanently

The President says he’ll veto the Keystone XL
pipeline. He should do more, and put an end to the project altogether. He has
the authority. Oil from Alberta’s tar sands is the dirtiest in the world –
causing not just serious environmental damage when it’s extracted but also when
and if it leaks out along its route from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. Please tell the
White House to veto it permanently.

How Trade Deals Boost the Top 1% and Bust the Rest

Suppose that by enacting a particular law we’d increase the U.S.Gross Domestic Product. But almost...

Back to the Nineteenth Century

My recent column about the growth of on-demand jobs like Uber making life less predictable and...