By Robert Reich – A few days ago, Neel Kashkari – now president of the Federal Reserve Bank in Minneapolis, who was the senior Treasury Department official in the George W. Bush and Obama administrations helping to save the big Wall Street banks – said “I believe the biggest banks are still too big to…
By Robert Reich – The Democratic contest has repeatedly been characterized as a choice between Hillary Clinton’s “pragmatism†and Bernie Sanders’s “idealism†– with the not-so-subtle message that realists choose pragmatism over idealism. But this way of framing the choice ignores the biggest reality of all: the unprecedented, and increasing, concentration of income, wealth and…
Will they build them in Mobile? How will state and local officials and the local media respond? – By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. — When Alabama officials celebrated the news that Airbus would open a plant to build planes and provide jobs here, little did they know one of the biggest customers would turn…
Jim Rhodes – Income inequality, raising the minimum wage, an unfair tax structure, gender based wages, corporate outsourcing to avoid taxes and adequately compensating workers has provided Bernie Sanders with issues that resonate with the working poor, students, veterans, and a cross section of Americans excluded by the corporate elite that now control Washington. Mainstream…
By Robert Reich – If you haven’t yet seen “The Big Short” – directed and co-written by Adam McKay, based on the non-fiction prize-winning book by Michael Lewis about the housing and credit bubble that triggered the Great Recession — I recommend you do so. Not only is the movie an enjoyable (if that’s the…
By Robert Reich – Economic forecasters exist to make astrologers look good, but I’ll hazard a guess. I expect the U.S. economy to sputter in 2016. That’s because the economy faces a deep structural problem: not enough demand for all the goods and services it’s capable of producing. American consumers account for almost 70 percent…
By Robert Reich – What’s at stake this election year? Let me put as directly as I can. America has succumbed to a vicious cycle in which great wealth translates into political power, which generates even more wealth, and even more power. This spiral is most apparent is declining tax rates on corporations and on…
By Jeff Brady – The U.S. wind power industry is celebrating after reaching a new milestone in November: 70 gigawatts (GW) of generating capacity. “That’s enough to power about 19 million homes,” says Michael Goggin, senior director of research at the American Wind Energy Association (AWEA). There are more than 50,000 wind turbines operating across…
By Robert Reich – The great American middle class has become an anxious class – and it’s in revolt. Before I explain how that revolt is playing out, you need to understand the sources of the anxiety. Start with the fact that the middle class is shrinking, according to a new Pew survey. The odds…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBILE, Ala. – A fog rolled through the historic Oakleigh Garden District this morning as I opened my eyes, got out of bed, started the coffee and cranked up the Internet on the Mac. We have a team together and will be meeting with lawyers and accountants today to begin finalizing…
By Robert Reich – In this holiday season it’s especially appropriate to acknowledge how many Americans don’t have steady work. The so-called “share economy” includes independent contractors, temporary workers, the self-employed, part-timers, freelancers, and free agents. Most file 1099s rather than W2s, for tax purposes. It’s estimated that in five years over 40 percent of…
By Glynn Wilson – MOBIlE, Ala. – While the national news is rife with stories about the death of the Keystone XL Pipeline out west, the ongoing climate talks in Paris and the low price of oil internationally, a local petroleum industry front group and the politicians and media they are trying to buy seem…
By Glynn Wilson – Some of the world’s largest companies are setting long-term targets to power operations with renewable energy, especially solar, in what analysts are calling a wave of commitments by corporations to get serious about fighting climate change due to human induced global warming. Backers of a campaign to divest from fossil fuels…
By Robert Reich – Giant Wall Street banks continue to threaten the wellbeing of millions of Americans, but what to do? Bernie Sanders says break them up and resurrect the Glass-Steagall Act that once separated investment from commercial banking. Hillary Clinton says charge them a bit more and oversee them more carefully. Most Republicans say…
By Glynn Wilson – WASHINGTON, D.C. – In spite of the naysayers on the political right, solar power continues to grow as a significant source of energy in the economy of the United States, setting records every year, according to a new report out from the Solar Energy Industries Association. Out of all new electricity…
By Robert Reich – In 1928, famed British economist John Maynard Keynes predicted that technology would advance so far in a hundred years – by 2028 – that it will replace all work, and no one will need to worry about making money. “For the first time since his creation man will be faced with…
By Robert Reich – “He can’t possibly win the nomination,” is the phrase heard most often when Washington insiders mention either Donald Trump or Bernie Sanders. Yet as enthusiasm for the bombastic billionaire and the socialist senior continues to build within each party, the political establishment is mystified. Political insiders don’t see that the biggest…
By Robert Reich – President Obama is said to be considering an executive order requiring federal contractors to disclose their political spending. He should sign it immediately. But he should go further and ban all political spending by federal contractors that receive more than half their revenues from government. Ever since the Supreme Court’s shameful…
By Robert Reich – Almost lost by the wave of responses to the Supreme Court’s decisions last week upholding the Affordable Care Act and allowing gays and lesbians to marry was the significance of the Court’s third decision – on housing discrimination. In a 5-4 ruling, the Court found that the Fair Housing Act of…
So Why Do They Keep Geting Reelected? – By Jeffrey M. Jones – PRINCETON, N.J. — Americans’ confidence in most major U.S. institutions remains well below the historical average, especially the Republican Congress, according to the latest Gallup poll on the subject. “Congress is the institution in which Americans express the least confidence this year,”…
