March 13, 2023 – On Friday, bank regulators closed Silicon Valley Bank, based in Santa Clara, California. Its failure was the second largest in U.S. history and the largest since the financial crisis of 2008. On Sunday, regulators closed New York-based Signature Bank. As they rushed to contain fallout, officials at the Federal Reserve, Treasury, […]
Robert Reich
Robert Reich: Liz Cheney and the future of the Republican Party
Cheney lost yesterday’s primary to Trump-endorsed Harriet Hageman, who received 65.8 percent of the vote to Cheney’s 29.5 percent. The Trump Republican Party continues its purge of honest Republican lawmakers who refuse to go along with Trump’s Big Lie — the most dangerous lie in American history in terms of its consequences for Americans’ confidence […]
Robert Reich: They Aren’t Stopping With Roe v. Wade (VIDEO)
What rights will be stripped away next? Contraception. Same-sex marriage. Consensual same-sex sexual activity. Clarence Thomas said it himself: the Supreme Court is coming for your right to privacy. www.robertreich.org
Robert Reich: These Anti-Abortion Senators are on the Ballot (VIDEO)
May 11 2022 – These Senators just voted against abortion rights. And they’re all up for re-election in 2022. Robert Reich’s writes at robertreich.substack.com. His latest book is “THE SYSTEM: Who Rigged It, How To Fix It.” He is Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at […]
Robert Reich: How the Supreme Court Could Make Your Life More Dangerous
Your life could get a lot more dangerous. Republican appointees on the Supreme Court seem poised to strip away basic safety standards for our workplaces, our food, our air and water. Congress gives federal agencies the authority to enact regulations that protect us in our daily lives. Congress defines the goals, but leaves it up […]
Robert Reich: Can Congress Really Use Insider Information to Trade Stocks? (VIDEO)
Members of Congress use privileged information to make money on the stock market, while they’re supposed to be working for you. Make no mistake, it’s legalized corruption. There’s no good reason for elected officials to trade individual stocks at all. Unless you have special insider knowledge, buying and selling individual stocks is a terrible way to get […]
Robert Reich: Why the hell are Democrats keeping your drug prices high?
October 19, 2021 – Excuse me but I have to vent. Three House Democrats and one Democratic senator are now blocking a proposal to allow Medicare to negotiate drug prices. Medicare is such a big purchaser of drugs that it has the bargaining leverage to cut drug prices for everyone — if allowed to do so. […]
Robert Reich: Today’s jobs report reveals a striking thing: A large portion of the American Workforce is now effectively on strike.
October 8, 2021 – The U.S. added just 194,000 jobs in September, down from the 366,000 added in August and far below the million-plus in July (before the Delta variant took hold). This is being described in the media as a disappointment or a problem, but a closer look reveals something quite different. We’re still […]
Robert Reich: Is Billionaire Philanthropy a Sham? (VIDEO)
Remember when Jeff Bezos was showered with praise for donating $100 million to food banks last year? That may seem like a lot, and it is. But once you consider all that Bezos has raked in during the pandemic – including making $13 billion in a single day in 2020 – it’s a few hours […]
Robert Reich: The Delta Variant and the Trumper Blame Game
As the highly contagious Delta variant surges, public health officials are trying to keep the focus on the urgent need for more vaccinations. But with increasing vehemence, Trump Republicans are falling back on their old game of deflecting attention by blaming immigrants crossing the southern border. Last week, Trump issued a characteristic charge: “ICYMI: “Thousands of COVID-positive migrants […]
Robert Reich: The Danger of Collective Amnesia (VIDEO)
At the risk of being the skunk at the picnic, I feel compelled to warn you that if we forget and move on from the tragedies of this past year, we’re setting ourselves on a dangerous path. Of course I understand the desire to forget all the unpleasantness and start a new chapter. But if we […]
Robert Reich: How Corporations Crush the Working Class (VIDEO)
April 6, 2021 – The most dramatic change in the system over the last half-century has been the emergence of corporate giants like Amazon and the shrinkage of labor unions. The resulting power imbalance has spawned near-record inequalities of income and wealth, corruption of democracy by big money, and the abandonment of the working class. […]
Robert Reich: How Bidenomics Unites America
March 15, 2021 – A quarter century ago, I and other members of Bill Clinton’s cabinet urged him to reject the Republican’s proposal to end welfare. It was too punitive, we said, subjecting poor Americans to deep and abiding poverty. But Clinton’s political advisers warned that unless he went along, he jeopardized his reelection. That […]
Robert Reich: Cancel Perks for the Worst President in History (VIDEO)
February 10, 2021 – How should the nation respond to an ex-president who has incited an insurrection, brought our democracy to the brink of destruction, and left so much pain and suffering in his wake? In addition to being convicted in the Senate, which could bar him from running for office again, he shouldn’t be […]
Robert Reich: Biden Must Not Surrender on COVID Relief Bill
February 3, 2021 – Ten Senate Republican have proposed a COVID relief bill of about $600 billion. That’s less than a third of Biden’s plan. They promise “bipartisan support” if he agrees. Their proposal isn’t a compromise. It would be a total surrender. It trims direct payments and unemployment aid that Americans desperately need. Biden […]
Robert Reich: Why Biden Can’t Govern from the Center
I keep hearing that Joe Biden will govern from the “center.” He has no choice, they say, because he’ll have razor-thin majorities in Congress and the Republican party has moved to the right. Rubbish. I’ve served several Democratic presidents who have needed Republican votes. But the Republicans now in Congress are nothing like those I’ve […]
Robert Reich: Accountability for the Attempted Coup (VIDEO)
Call me old-fashioned, but when the president of the United States encourages armed insurgents to breach the Capitol and threaten the physical safety of Congress, in order to remain in power, I call it an attempted coup. Last week’ rampage left five dead, including a Capitol Hill police officer who was injured when he tangled […]
Robert Reich: Trump’s Final Days: Who Stood Up to Him? (VIDEO)
December 2, 2020 – We always knew Trump would contest the election results. He’s spreading wilder and wilder conspiracy theories about non-existent voter fraud. Of course, these claims haven’t held up in court because there’s zero evidence. But the integrity of thousands of people responsible for maintaining American democracy is being tested as never before. […]
Robert Reich: The Dangerous Seduction of “Going Back to Normal”
November 30, 2020 – “Life is going to return to normal,” Joe Biden promised Thursday in a Thanksgiving address to the nation. He was talking about life after Covid-19, but you could be forgiven if you thought he was also making a promise about life after Trump. It is almost impossible to separate the two. To the […]
Robert Reich: Trump’s Last Attempt to Steal the Election Won’t Work (VIDEO)
November 10, 2020 – Joe Biden has won. He will be our next president. Normally, the loser of the race would give a gracious concession speech, and accept the results. That won’t happen this time around, because Donald Trump is a pathological narcissist who will never admit defeat. But there’s no legal requirement for the […]