Feb. 18, 2018 – When Trump and his followers refer to “America,” what do they mean? Some see a country of white English-speaking Christians. Others want a land inhabited by self-seeking individuals free to accumulate as much money and power as possible, who pay taxes only to protect their assets from criminals and foreign aggressors. […]
Robert Reich
Robert Reich: Trump’s Big Buyback Bamboozle
Feb. 9, 2018 – Trump’s promise that corporations will use his giant new tax cut to make new investments and raise workers’ wages is proving to be about as truthful as his promise to release his tax returns. The results are coming in, and guess what? Almost all the extra money is going into stock […]
Robert Reich: Trump’s 20 Worst Broken Promises (VIDEO)
Feb. 5, 2018 – Trump Voters: One Year in, and he’s Broken 20 Big Promises He Made to You 1. He told you he’d cut your taxes, and that the super-rich like him would pay more. You bought it. But his new tax law does the opposite. By 2027, according to the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, […]
Robert Reich: Trump’s America: Open to Global Capital, Not People
Jan. 29, 2018 – Trump to global CEOs and financiers in Davos, Switzerland: “America is open for business.” We’re now a great place for you to make money. We’ve slashed taxes and regulations so you can make a bundle here. Trump to ambitious young immigrants around the world, including those brought here as children: America […]
Robert Reich: Straight Talk About Trump
Jan. 16, 2018 – Now that Trump has been president for almost a year, it’s time the media called his behavior for what it is rather than try to normalize it. Here are the six most misleading media euphemisms for conduct unbecoming a president: 1. Calling Trump’s tweets “presidential “statements” or “press releases.” “The President […]
Robert Reich: Corporation and Nation
Dec. 7, 2017 – Trump and congressional Republicans are engineering the largest corporate tax cut in history in order “to restore our competitive edge,” as Trump says. Our competitive edge? Who’s us? Most American corporations – especially big ones that would get most of the planned corporate tax cuts – have no particular allegiance to […]
Robert Reich: The True Path to Prosperity
Dec. 5, 2017 – It’s often thought that Democrats care about fairness and not economic growth, while Republicans care about growth even at the cost of some fairness. Rubbish. Growth and fairness aren’t opposites. In reality, Democrats are the party of economic growth and fairness. Republicans are the party of neither. The only way to […]
Robert Reich: Fools or Knaves?
November 29, 2017 – One of the most dangerous consequences of this awful period in American life is the denigration of the truth, and of institutions and people who tell it. There are two kinds of liars – fools and knaves. Fools lie because they don’t know the truth. Knaves lie because they intend to […]
Robert Reich: A Year Without a President
Nov. 8, 2017 – It seems like forever, but it was just one year ago that Donald Trump was elected president. So what have we learned about the presidency and who is running the country? 1. The first big thing we’ve learned is that Trump is not really the president of the United States – […]
Robert Reich: Trump’s Most Damning Legacy
Nov. 4, 2017 – In a radio interview on Thursday, Trump said “the saddest thing is, because I am the President of the United States, I am not supposed to be involved with the Justice Department. I’m not supposed to be involved with the FBI. I’m not supposed to be doing the kind of things […]
Robert Reich: The Huge Tax Heist
Oct. 29, 2017 – You know the plot: The bank robbers set off a bomb down the street from the bank, and while everyone’s distracted they get away with the loot. In the reality TV show we’re now suffering through, Donald Trump is the bomb. The robbers are the American oligarchs who bankroll the Republican […]
Robert Reich: How to End Crony Capitalism
Oct. 25, 2017 – The largest corporations and richest people in America – who donated billions of dollars to Republican candidates the House and Senate in the 2106 election – appear on the way to getting what they paid for: a giant tax cut. The New York Times reports that business groups are meeting frequently with key […]
Robert Reich: Why We Must All Fight for the Dream Act (video)
October 19, 2017 – By repealing DACA – Deferred Action For Childhood Arrivals – Trump has endangered both these young immigrants and the economic security of America. In 2012, the Obama administration created DACA as a temporary way to address the needs of young people who came to America as infants or toddlers, and know no other […]
Robert Reich: Memo to Tillerson about the Moron
Oct. 6, 2017 – To: Rex Tillerson From: Robert Reich Subject: The Moron I can understand why you feel Washington is a place of “petty nonsense,” as you said Wednesday when you called a news conference to rebut charges that you called Trump a moron last summer after a meeting of national security officials at […]
Robert Reich: Six Reasons Why American Corporations Shouldn’t Get a Tax Cut (VIDEO)
October 5, 2017 – Trump and Republicans are trying to sell you the idea that American corporations need a tax cut in order to be competitive. That’s rubbish. Here are 6 reasons why: First, American corporations don’t need it in order to be competitive internationally. After tax credits and deductions, their effective tax rate is just […]
Robert Reich: The Growing Danger of Dynastic Wealth
Sept. 18, 2017 – White House National Economic Council director Gary Cohn, former president of Goldman Sachs, said recently that “only morons pay the estate tax.” I’m reminded of Donald Trump’s comment that he didn’t pay federal income taxes because he was “smart.” And billionaire Leona Helmsley’s “only the little people pay taxes.” What Cohn […]
Robert Reich: It’s Now Time for Medicare for All
Sept. 13, 2017 – Senator Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, Cory Booker, and Jeff Merkley, are introducing a Medicare For All bill in the Senate. It’s a model for where this nation needs to be headed. Some background: American spending on health care per person is more than twice the average in the world’s 35 advanced […]
Robert Reich: Trump’s Policy Catastrophe
Sept. 9, 2017 – It’s easy to get caught up in the deeply flawed character of Donald Trump. We also need to recognize the policy catastrophe of his presidency. Compare the things he’s been focusing on with the real problems facing this country. This past week, for example, Trump ordered an end to the Obama-era executive […]
Robert Reich: The violence in Charlottesville is a national calamity in the making
Aug. 12, 2017 – The violence in Charlottesville, Virginia today is a national calamity. It is a product of white supremacists and home grown terrorists. Donald Trump responded by condemning hatred “on many sides.” His refusal to call it what it is, and condemn the neo-Nazis, white supremacists, and KKK members who perpetrated this violence, […]
Robert Reich: Night Thoughts on Trump and America
Aug. 7, 2017 – With Donald Trump away vacationing at one of his golf resorts, the rest of us may have a chance to relax. But in truth it’s more like a short break in a continuing nightmare. Just enough time to turn on the light, look at the clock and ponder where we are, […]