Robert Reich

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 […]

Computer World The biggest threat to America’s booming IT sector is a severe shortage of skilled people. Some estimates put the current shortfall at 400,000. What’s to be done? In most industries facing such shortages, salary levels rise until enough people are attracted to fill the need. Supply responds to demand. But, as you’ll see […]

(Broadcast 5/24/01) When President Bush recently addressed Yale s graduating seniors, he gave a hearty “well done” to those who got straight A s, but consoled the C students by telling them that they, too, could be president of the United States. Apparently, he was referring to his own less than stellar academic performance as […]

USA Today Among the hottest regulatory issues today are these: How to prevent kids from smoking cigarettes? What to do about the flood of handguns? How to end sweatshop labor in the apparel industry? How to cope with new kinds of market power in high-technology industries? In the old days, state legislatures or Congress would […]

The Washington Post Last year I woke up to discover that I’m now working part-time for a German company named Bartelsmann AG. You see, when I wasn’t looking, Bartelsmann scooped up Random House, which has published several of my books and still occasionally sends me exceedingly small royalty checks. Bartelsmann is now the largest publisher […]

Broadcast June 8, 2001 Have you ever got to an airport to discover your flight’s been delayed an hour or two, or more? Or its been cancelled altogether? Or after your plane leaves the gate, you spend the next hour on the runway waiting for it to take off? And as a result, you miss […]

The Wall Street Journal If I had my way there would be laws restricting cigarettes and handguns. But Congress won’t even pass halfway measures. Cigarette companies have admitted they produce death sticks, yet Congress won’t lift a finger to stub them out. Teenage boys continue to shoot up high schools, yet Congress won’t pass stricter […]

The New York Times Soon, possibly tonight, a federal judge will rule on the Justice Department’s antitrust case against Microsoft. But whatever the decision, it’s only the first round in this and related litigation. That’s why I’ve been spending my money lobbying Congress to cut the budget of the Justice Department’s antitrust division. I’ve also […]