Robert Reich: The American public doesn’t want or need to hear “representatives” from the so-called right or left. It wants insight into what’s best for America.
The Seven Biggest Economic Lies
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Robert Reich: Here’s a short effort to rebut the seven biggest whoppers now being told by those who want to take America backwards.
The Wall Street Occupiers and the Democratic Party
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Robert Reich: Will the Wall Street Occupiers morph into a movement that has as much impact on the Democratic Party as the Tea Party has had on the GOP? Maybe. But there are reasons for doubting it.
Why This Is Exactly the Time to Rebuild America’s Infrastructure
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Robert Reich: Anyone with half a brain will see this is the ideal time to borrow money from the rest of the world to put Americans to work rebuilding the nation’s infrastructure. Problem is, too many in Washington have less than half a brain.
An Anti-Government Challenge
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Richard M. Mathews: Unless you are wearing 100% cotton made on the plantation you have had in the family for generations without the benefit of outside seed or fertilizer, the clothes have got to go.
Vicious Cycles: Why Washington Is About to Make the Jobs Crisis Worse
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Robert Reich: The only way out of the vicious economic cycle is for government to adopt an expansionary fiscal policy — spending more in the short term in order to make up for the shortfall in consumer demand.
Don’t-Raise-Taxes-on-the-Rich Crowd Getting Desperate
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Robert Reich: In truth, the most important variable explaining the rise and fall of tax revenues as percent of GDP has been the business cycle, not the effective tax rate.
Republican War on Worker Rights Undermines Economy
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Robert Reich: The only way back toward sustained growth and prosperity in the United States is to remake the basic bargain linking pay to productivity. This would give the American middle class the purchasing power they need to keep the economy going.
The Swamp of Washington and the Morass of the Economy
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Robert Reich: If the Democrats remain silent, the vacuum will be filled by the Republican snake oil of federal spending cuts and cut taxes on big corporations and the wealthy.
Back Toward Double Dip
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Robert Reich: The Republican lie that the nation’s long-term budget deficit is responsible for high unemployment would be laughable if it weren’t so tragically irrelevant to the current situation.
How to Get Washington’s Attention
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Robert Reich: The leaders of the Street and big business may now have to wake up to a reality they’ve tried to avoid — that the central economic problem of our time isn’t the long-term budget deficit but the immediate deficit in aggregate demand.
The Republican Plan with Lipstick
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Robert Reich: Republicans figure that if they can’t sell the pig, they’ll just put lipstick on it and find some suckers who will think it’s something else.
Why Obama’s Proposal Is Risky
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Robert Reich: The underlying problem isn’t the budget deficit. It’s that so much income and wealth are going to the top that most Americans don’t have the purchasing power to sustain a strong recovery.
Budget Baloney
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Robert Reich: New Jersey Governor Chris Christie says in order to “save” Social Security the retirement age should be raised. The media are congratulating him for his putative “courage.” Deficit hawks are proclaiming Social Security one of the big entitlements that has to be cut in order to reduce the budget deficit. This is all baloney.
Why We Should Trade Broccoli and Asparagus for Hot Dogs and Apple Pie
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Robert Reich: The requirement that everyone purchase health insurance, or pay a fine doesn’t appeal to many Americans. They don’t like the government telling them they have to buy something. But the healthcare system can’t work without this mandate. Only if everyone buys insurance can insurers afford to cover people with preexisting conditions, or pay the costs of catastrophic diseases.
Why the Republican Budget Plan Is a Hairball
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Robert Reich: What happened to John Boehner’s $100 billion budget-cutting commitment? What became of Paul Ryan’s big ideas? Where did all the roaring and raging on the right during the 2010 election go?
Koch Brothers Protest Rally
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Thousands of protesters gathered this weekend in Palm Springs to express opposition to the secret meeting held by David and Charles Koch. The Koch brothers, owners of the 2nd largest privately held corporation in the United States, were conducting their bi-annual retreat where they and a cadre of well heeled power brokers hold strategy sessions.
Reaganomics Redux
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Robert Reich: The only practical effect of adding $858 billion to the deficit will be to put more pressure on Democrats to reduce non-defense spending of all sorts, including Social Security and Medicare, as well as education and infrastructure.
Why Democrats Should Disregard Bill Clinton’s Endorsement of Obama’s Tax Deal
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Robert Reich: The Democratic Party can no longer ignore critical investments in the productivity of average workers. Nor can it ignore the increasing concentration of income and wealth at the very top, and the inability of America’s middle and working class to get the economy moving again.
The Showdown On Tax Cuts for the Rich
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Robert Reich: In political terms, a strong stand enables the President to clearly demonstrate who’s side he’s on (the working and middle class that’s still bearing the brunt of this lousy economy) and who’s side the Republicans are on (the powerful and privileged who brought much of this on, and who are now doing just fine).
When Is a Minority the Majority?
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Sharon Kyle: What troubled me this morning and the reason this email was delayed is because I noticed that once again every article in this newsletter was written by a white man. So I decided to write this article to say. . .
The Real Center of American Politics: A Reflection on Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert
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Robert Reich: In other words, the political center isn’t about what we decide It’s about how we decide. The center American democracy is a commitment vigorous debate, done honestly and civilly.
Meg Whitman, Job Killer
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Craig Williams: The countless ads by Whitman in the current California gubernatorial race lead most people to believe that she’s been creating lots of jobs. But when you take a close look at what her company EBAY actually does, on balance she may well be the jobs killer.
Super Rich Get Richer, Everyone Else Gets Poorer, Democrats Punt
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Robert Reich: Only twice before in American history has so much been held by so few, and the gap between them and the great majority been a chasm — the late 1920s, and the era of the robber barons in the 1880s.
The Winds of Deflation
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Robert Reich: Consumers aren’t buying. They’re acting rationally. They’re worried about keeping their jobs, and they’re justifiably worried about the future.
Why Obama Is Proposing Corporate Tax Cuts and Why He’s Wrong
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Robert Reich: The economy needs two whopping corporate tax cuts right now as much as someone with a serious heart condition needs Botox.
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