Robert Reich

Fast Company The Web changes everything — including change. And it’s not just the Web. Digital technologies, wireless technologies, the Human Genome Project, complexity theory, and the emergence of new science have all changed how we think about change: why change has to happen in companies, how change happens, and, most important, who makes change […]

Los Angeles Times Despite the populist rhetoric of this campaign season, many traditional Democrats are pushing companies to generate higher returns regardless of social responsibility. These Democrats may not mean to do it, but this is the practical consequence of how they’re saving for retirement. American teachers, civil servants, unionized workers, college professors and similar […]

Broadcast February 2, 2001 Recently I was putting gas in my car, minding my own business, enjoying my solitude there by the gas pump, when the gas pump suddenly comes alive with a commercial — right there, on a little liquid-crystal screen mounted on the pump. There’s nothing I can do about it. I’m in […]

Broadcast January 18, 2001 A lot of Americans are concerned these days about sweatshops in Asia and Latin America where poor people cut and sew garments at cut-rate wages, often in unsanitary conditions. But you don’t need to go to a third-world nation to find a sweatshop. You can find all the sweatshops you want […]

LA Times Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan on Wednesday did exactly what he needed to do by dropping short-term interest rates another half-point, but it’s not enough. The Great Economic Slowdown of 2001 (let’s not call it a recession quite yet) came on partly because Greenspan raised short-term interest rates too high, starting in June […]

Broadcast August 24, 2001 The butcher metaphors of modern management are back: cutting out the fat, slicing to the bone, getting leaner and meaner. Well, all this butchering may slow the slide of stock prices, but it’s not a way to build long-term competitive strengths. The fact is, the key competitive assets of most companies […]

Los Angeles Times Microsoft will not be broken up. There’s no chance the Bush administration will ask the Supreme Court to reverse Thursday’s federal appeals court rescue of the company. Instead, the case will go back to a new judge to decide how to respond to Microsoft’s monopoly without splitting it up. The best outcome: […]

Broadcast October 11, 2001 Typically in times of war, the public is asked to hold back and forebear from purchasing so there’s enough productive capacity left to meet the military’s needs. If they don’t do it voluntarily, government imposes rationing. Not this time. Even as we wage war on terrorism, our political and business leaders […]

Broadcast Sept 18, 2001 Ask somebody who’s not from the United States to describe Americans, and almost invariably you’ll get a description of someone who’s outgoing and upbeat. No challenge is too great for us, no obstacle too high. In fact, to the outsider, our overwhelmingly sunny view of life sometimes seems a bit naive, […]

The New York Times CAMBRIDGE, Mass. — With last week’s reversal of his campaign pledge to limit power plants’ emissions of carbon dioxide, a key contributor to global warming, President Bush surrendered to coal companies and utilities dependent on coal. He had little choice. It’s payback time, and every industry and trade association is busily […]