Author Archives: Robert Reich

Fifty-five million Americans—about half of the entire private-sector workforce—have no employer-sponsored retirement plan at all. Many work for small businesses in the low-wage service and hospitality sectors. If they don’t save money independently, they will have nothing when they stop working. Continue reading →

I keep hearing that if Trump fires Mueller, we’ll face a “constitutional crisis.” Or if Mueller subpoenas Trump to testify and Trump defies the subpoena, it’s a “constitutional crisis.” Or if Mueller delivers substantial evidence that Trump is guilty of colluding with Russia or of obstructing justice, and the House does nothing to impeach him, we have a “constitutional crisis.” Continue reading →

Trump uses 5 tactics to create a fog of confusion and bewilderment, so we don’t pay attention to the real damage he’s doing—undermining our democracy; rewarding the rich and hurting the working class, middle class, and the poor; stoking hatefulness; and undercutting America’s standing in the world. Continue reading →

Why did so many working class voters choose a selfish, thin-skinned, petulant, lying, narcissistic, boastful, megalomaniac for president? Continue reading →

Trump promised to be America’s dealmaker in chief, touting his “extraordinary” ability to negotiate. But so far—whether he’s dealing with foreign governments or with Congress—Trump has shown that he can’t make a deal. Continue reading →

Trump’s most lasting legacy might be his impact on the federal court system. It must be stopped. Continue reading →

As Trump stokes tensions around the world, he’s adding fuel to the fire by demanding even more Pentagon spending. It’s a dangerous military buildup intended to underwrite endless wars and enrich defense contractors, while draining money from investment in the American people. Continue reading →

I keep hearing that if Trump fires Mueller we’ll face a constitutional crisis. Continue reading →

Imagine that an impeachment resolution against Trump passes the House. Trump claims it’s the work of the “deep state.” Fox News’s Sean Hannity demands every honest patriot take to the streets. Rightwing social media call for war. As insurrection spreads, Trump commands the armed forces to side with the “patriots.” Continue reading →

I spent last week at a conference in South Korea, during which time Trump went from seeking a meeting with Kim Jong-un to cancelling it, then suggesting it might be back on. Continue reading →

Why did working class voters choose a selfish, thin-skinned, petulant, lying, narcissistic, boastful, megalomaniac for president? Continue reading →

Congressional Republicans would be more willing to stand up to Trump if their major financial backers—big business and Wall Street—had more backbone. Continue reading →

“It’s nonsense that there’s a beautiful free market in the power industry,” Energy Secretary Rick Perry said last week as he pushed for a government bailout of coal-fired power plants. Continue reading →

The petulant adolescent in the White House—who has replaced most of the adults around him with raging sycophants and has demoted his chief of staff, John Kelly, to lapdog—lacks adequate supervision. Continue reading →

Last week, Laura Ingraham, Fox News’s queen of snark, tweeted that David Hogg—a 17-year-old who survived the mass shooting in Parkland, Florida, and has been among the eloquent advocates for gun control—“whines about” being rejected by four universities he applied to. She linked to an article from the Daily Wire calling him a “gun rights provocateur.” Continue reading →

What’s worrying isn’t that Trump is now getting advice about public policy from fanatics like John Bolton and Lawrence Kudlow. Trump has never cared about public policy. Continue reading →

Trump and Republicans branded their huge corporate tax cut as a way to make American corporations more profitable so they’d invest in more and better jobs. Continue reading →

Trump is moving into a new and more dangerous phase. Continue reading →

Baby Boomers—my generation, born between 1946 and 1964—dominated politics and the economy for years. There were just more Boomers than people of any other generation. But that’s no longer the case. Now, the biggest generation is the Millennials, born between 1983 and 2000. Continue reading →

On Friday, Martin Shkreli was sentenced to seven years in prison. What if anything does Shkreli’s fall tell us about America? Continue reading →

Donald Trump once said he identified with Ayn Rand’s character Howard Roark in “The Fountainhead,” an architect so upset that a housing project he designed didn’t meet specifications he had it dynamited. Continue reading →

Before I turn to Jared Kushner, let me ask: Do you believe the U.S. government does the right thing all or most of the time? Continue reading →

Join the Ku Klux Klan and get 10 percent off on your next Fed Ex shipment! Continue reading →

In 1963 over 70 percent of Americans trusted government to do the right thing all or most of the time; nowadays only 16 percent do. Continue reading →

First, you can complain. Yell. Bang on the dinner table. Tell your family and friends the man is a dangerous fool. Explode every time you read something about him. Swear every time you see him on TV. Go ballistic when you listen to him or about him on the radio. Continue reading →

Trump’s promise that corporations will use his giant new tax cut to make new investments and raise workers’ wages is proving to be about as truthful as his promise to release his tax returns. Continue reading →