I’m trying to remain optimistic that the president and congressional Democrats will hold their ground over the next month as we approach the so-called “fiscal cliff.” But leading those negotiations for the White House is outgoing Secretary of Treasury Tim Geithner, whom Monday’s Wall Street Journal described as a “pragmatic deal maker” because of “his […]
Robert Reich
Robert B. Reich, a co-founder of The American Prospect, is a professor of public policy at the Goldman School of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley. He is the author of Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few, one of the books featured in the Prospect’s High School Essay Contest.
Posted inWorking in America
Why You Shouldn’t Shop at Wal-Mart on Friday
While the company’s shareholders rake in $16 billion per year, the average worker at America’s largest employer makes just $8.81 an hour.
Posted inEconomic Policy
Why We Should Stop Obsessing about the Federal Budget Deficit
I wish President Obama and the Democrats would explain to the nation that the federal budget deficit isn’t the nation’s major economic problem and deficit reduction shouldn’t be our major goal. Our problem is lack of good jobs and sufficient growth, and our goal must be to revive both. Deficit reduction leads us in the […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Note to Obama: Shoot First, Compromise Later
If the past four years have taught us anything, it’s that the president should start negotiations with a tough line.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Why Obama Needs to Restart the Conversation on the Economy Now
Time to reframe the debate on the fiscal cliff
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Higher Taxes Hurt Job Creators? That’s Malarkey.
Changing how our tax policies treat the 1 percent is necessary if we want to survive the fiscal cliff.
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Mitt Romney’s Question Mark Economy
As we close in on Election Day, the questions about what Mitt Romney would do if elected grow even larger. Rarely before in American history has a candidate for president campaigned on such a blank slate. Yet, paradoxically, not a day goes by that we don’t hear Romney, or some other exponent of the GOP, […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
How January’s Fiscal Cliff Turns into a Gentle Hill by February
Regardless of what happens on Election Day, at the beginning of next year more than $600 billion in tax increases and spending cuts automatically go into effect. That’s equivalent to about 5 percent of the entire U.S. economy-more than the projected growth of the whole gross domestic product next year. The problem is, if we […]
Posted inMoney, Politics, and Power
Memo to Joe, Re: Debate
TO: VPOTUS FROM: Robert Reich RE: Debate Beware: Paul Ryan will appear affable. He’s less polished and aggressive than Romney, even soft-spoken. And he acts as if he’s saying reasonable things. But under the surface he’s a right-wing zealot. And nothing he says or believes is reasonable-neither logical nor reflecting the values of the great […]
Posted inEconomic Policy
The Politics of the Jobs Report
The White House is breathing easier this morning. The Bureau of Labor Statistics reports the unemployment rate dropped to 7.8 percent-the first time it’s been under 8 percent in 43 months. In political terms, headlines are everything-and most major media are leading with the drop in the unemployment rate. Look more closely, though, and the […]