Robert B. Reich
Robert Reich, one of the world’s foremost economists, is the Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy and senior fellow at the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the University of California, Berkeley. Reich was the secretary of Labor in the Bill Clinton administration and was named one of Time Magazine’s 10 most effective cabinet secretaries of the 20th century.
Reich has written 13 books, including “Aftershock” and “The Work of Nations.” His latest, “Beyond Outrage,” is now out in paperback. He is also a founding editor of the American Prospect magazine and is chairman of Common Cause, a lobbyist organization that aims for more public disclosure in government policy decisions.
In 2013, Reich released “Inequality for All,” a documentary about the widening income gap in the United States. The film, which won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking, is available on Netflix, iTunes, DVD and On Demand.
Reich has been a consistent and eloquent advocate of those on the lower economic rungs of American society. He has championed the cause of income equality and policies that encourage a fairer playing field for working people.
Recent Work
Despair is worse after hope is briefly ignited. I don’t know about you, but I was elated earlier this spring... Read More
Despair is worse after hope is briefly ignited. I don’t know about you, but I was elated earlier this spring when it seemed as if Donald Trump and COVID-19 were gone, and Joe Biden appeared to be getting the nation rapidly back on track. Now, much... Read More
Last week, 39 million American parents began receiving a monthly child allowance ($300 per child under 6 years old, $250... Read More
Last week, 39 million American parents began receiving a monthly child allowance ($300 per child under 6 years old, $250 per child ages 6-17). It’s the biggest helping hand to American families in more than 85 years. They need it. Even before the pandemic, child poverty... Read More
China’s increasingly aggressive geopolitical and economic stance in the world is unleashing a fierce bipartisan backlash in America. That’s fine... Read More
China’s increasingly aggressive geopolitical and economic stance in the world is unleashing a fierce bipartisan backlash in America. That’s fine if it leads to more public investment in basic research, education and infrastructure — as did the Sputnik shock of the late 1950s. But it poses... Read More
America prefers to look forward rather than back. We’re a land of second acts. We move on. This can be... Read More
America prefers to look forward rather than back. We’re a land of second acts. We move on. This can be a strength. We don’t get bogged down in outmoded traditions, old grudges, obsolete ways of thinking. We constantly reinvent. We love innovation and disruption. The downside... Read More
By almost any measure, Joe Biden’s first 100 days as president have been hugely successful. Getting millions of Americans inoculated... Read More
By almost any measure, Joe Biden’s first 100 days as president have been hugely successful. Getting millions of Americans inoculated against COVID-19 and beginning to revive the economy are central to that success. Some two-thirds of Americans support Biden’s $1.9 stimulus plan, already enacted. His infrastructure... Read More
Joe Biden is embarking on the biggest government initiative in more than a half-century, “unlike anything we have seen or... Read More
Joe Biden is embarking on the biggest government initiative in more than a half-century, “unlike anything we have seen or done since we built the interstate highway system and the space race decades go,” he says. But when it comes to details, it sounds as boring... Read More
A quarter-century ago, I and other members of Bill Clinton’s Cabinet urged him to reject the Republican proposal to end... Read More
A quarter-century ago, I and other members of Bill Clinton’s Cabinet urged him to reject the Republican 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... Read More
In 1963, when the newly sworn-in Lyndon Baines Johnson was advised against using his limited political capital on the controversial... Read More
In 1963, when the newly sworn-in Lyndon Baines Johnson was advised against using his limited political capital on the controversial issue of civil and voting rights for Black Americans, he responded: “Well, what the hell’s the presidency for?” America is again approaching a crucial decision point... Read More
While most of official Washington has been consumed with the Senate impeachment trial, another part of Washington is preparing the... Read More
While most of official Washington has been consumed with the Senate impeachment trial, another part of Washington is preparing the most far-ranging changes in American social policy in a generation. Congress is moving ahead with President Joe Biden’s American Rescue Plan, which expands health care and... Read More
In The News
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WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a constitutional challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ruling the mechanism... Read More
WASHINGTON — The Supreme Court on Thursday rejected a constitutional challenge to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, ruling the mechanism used to fund the agency does not violate the appropriations clause. The decision, by a 7-2 vote, ended what many... Read More
NEW YORK — Defense attorneys for former President Donald Trump hammered away at the prosecution’s star witness Thursday in a... Read More
NEW YORK — Defense attorneys for former President Donald Trump hammered away at the prosecution’s star witness Thursday in a New York court by portraying him as a persistent liar. Michael Cohen admitted lying on previous occasions while working as... Read More
Electric bike and scooter adoption is taking off — literally. According to market research firm Circana, U.S. e-bike sales in 2022... Read More
Electric bike and scooter adoption is taking off — literally. According to market research firm Circana, U.S. e-bike sales in 2022 approached nearly $1 billion. And despite being more expensive than traditional bicycles, e-bikes saw 14% sales growth whereas total bike... Read More
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg remembers Monday, March 25, as being like any other night. The last thing he... Read More
WASHINGTON — Transportation Secretary Pete Buttigieg remembers Monday, March 25, as being like any other night. The last thing he did before going to sleep that night was put his cellphones on a dresser across from his bed, “so I’m... Read More
DANVILLE, Illinois (AP) — On the south side of Chicago, students learn to work on Rivian electric pickup trucks and... Read More
DANVILLE, Illinois (AP) — On the south side of Chicago, students learn to work on Rivian electric pickup trucks and SUVs through a new technician program at Olive-Harvey College. About 150 miles (240 kilometers) south, students at Danville Area Community... Read More
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) — A towering stadium boasting 34,000 seats and a precisely trimmed field of soft Kentucky bluegrass... Read More
EAST MEADOW, N.Y. (AP) — A towering stadium boasting 34,000 seats and a precisely trimmed field of soft Kentucky bluegrass is rising in a suburban New York park that will host one of the world's top cricket tournaments next month.... Read More