Robert Reich

The real scandal isn’t Wall Street’s unlawful acts (i.e., Securities and Exchange Commission vs. Goldman Sachs) but legal acts that have reaped the Street a bonanza and nearly sunk the rest of us. It’s good we finally have an SEC on which three out of five commissioners are willing to enforce laws already on the […]

The best way for Senate Dems and the White House to respond to the Republican charge that the Dem plan for financial reform doesn’t go far enough to prevent another bailout is to call their bluff — and simultaneously do what’s necessary to avoid another bailout: Cap the size of big banks, as the UK […]

A fight is brewing in Washington – or, at the least, it ought to be brewing – over whether to put limits on the size of financial entities in order that none becomes “too big to fail” in a future financial crisis. Some background: The big banks that got federal bailouts, as well as their […]

Few presidents get a second honeymoon of their own making. Barack Obama’s victory on health-care reform has breathed new life into his administration, recharged the Democratic base, and given the rest of America a sense of someone who fights for average working people. The question now is: What does he do with his second honeymoon? […]

It’s not nearly as momentous as the passage of Medicare in 1965 and won’t fundamentally alter how Americans think about social safety nets. But the likely passage of Obama’s health-care reform bill is the biggest thing Congress has done in decades and has enormous political significance for the future. Medicare directly changed the life of […]

Nothing that’s legislated is perfect, and in my view the good that will come from passing health-care legislation outweighs the bad. But be warned: The pending House bill (that will go to the Senate for a “reconciliation” vote) does not repeal the antitrust exemption for health insurers, nor does it contain a public insurance option. […]

Health-care reform is necessary, and House Democrats should vote for it because it’s best for the nation. They should also remember the political lessons of history. To paraphrase Mark Twain, history doesn’t repeat itself but it does rhyme. As the White House and the House Democratic leadership try to line up 216 votes to pass […]

Are we finally in a recovery? Who’s “we,” Ke-mo sah-bee? Big global companies, Wall Street, and high-income Americans who hold their savings in financial instruments are clearly doing better. As to the rest of us – small businesses along Main Streets, and middle and lower-income Americans – forget it. Business cheerleaders naturally want to emphasize […]

Any day now, the Obama administration will announce $4.35 billion in extra federal funds for under-performing public schools. That’s fine, but relative to the financial squeeze all the nation’s public schools now face, it’s a cruel joke. The recession has ravaged state and local budgets, most of which aren’t allowed to run deficits. That’s meant […]