Robert Reich

Start with this basic fact. The massive post-war baby boom generation is a demographic bulge moving through the American population like a pig through a python. Today’s boomers bankroll today’s Social Security retirees with their payroll taxes, as does every generation. That’s the way Social Security was designed — as a pay-as-you-go system. But boomers […]

President Bush’s agenda, as outlined in his State of the Union, is certainly ambitious. You may think that the president’s success enacting it depends on how many votes he can round up in Congress. This is the standard way of viewing the political process, but it leaves out a constituency that may play the most […]

The White House doesn’t seem too worried about the medicines we take. Chief of Staff Andrew Card said recently that the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is doing a “spectacular” job overseeing drug safety. Really? Even though the agency reportedly didn’t act on warning signs linking blockbuster arthritis painkillers to increased risk of heart trouble […]

The United States government has pledged $350 million in disaster relief for countries devastated by the underground earthquake that sent a wall of water across the Indian Ocean. $350 million is a lot of money, but, notably, it’s less than the $660 million pledged by Germany. And America’s contribution is far less, as a proportion […]

Marketplace, December 22, 2004 The White House says the Food and Drug administration is doing a “spectacular” job. Really? The FDA didn’t respond to warning signs that block-buster painkillers like Celebrex and Vioxx increased the risk of heart attacks. Worse yet, its own drug-safety officer says the agency suppressed his research showing the apparent dangers […]

One issue that’s wasn’t on the agenda at this week’s White House economic gabfest was China. But it should have been. Having just returned from Down Under, I can attest to China’s growing power. The giant sucking sound you hear in Southeast Asia these days is raw materials being pulled into China from all quarters […]

You may not have heard much about it yet, but soon you’ll be hearing a lot about CAFTA, the Central American Free Trade Agreement. Like its predecessor, NAFTA, the North American Free Trade Agreement, CAFTA would reduce tariffs on trade between America and its neighbors — in this case, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragua, and […]

Marketplace, November 24, 2004 The holiday buying season is upon us. You might as well spend yourcash now because the dollar is dropping like a stone in international currency markets. It’s dropped nearly 30 percent since 2001, and isnow at a record low. Even without the recent dour pronouncements of Alan Greenspan and Treasury Secretary […]