- By Robert Reich
Marissa Mayer tells us a lot about why Americans are so angry, and why anti-establishment fury has become the biggest single force in American politics today.
- By Robert Reich
Wealth inequality is even more of a problem than income inequality. That’s because you have to have enough savings from income to begin to accumulate wealth – buying a house or investing in stocks and bonds, or saving up to send a child to college.
In an election year, we hear endless promises of what our politicians will do to help the people. But are the ideas we’re hearing from Bernie Sanders and others—like Medicare for all, free college tuition, paid family leave—just slogans to pander to voters suffering under stagnating wages and burdensome debt? Could those ideas ever actually take hold?
The tax dealings of a number of politicians have come under scrutiny this week, following news of their offshore holdings in the Panama Papers. The leaks have led to the resignation of the Icelandic prime minister – and the UK prime minister, David Cameron, has been criticised for shares he used to have in an offshore fund set up
China has a problem. Social trust is at miserable levels, leading to a shaky business environment in which half of all written contracts are blatantly breached.
Low-wage workers nationwide have been campaigning for a $15 hourly "living wage" and the right to organize without employer labor law-breaking. But a new think tank report says that in most states, $15 is not enough - even for one person.
I’ve had so many calls about an article appearing earlier this week in the Wall Street Journal – charging that Bernie Sanders’s proposals would carry a “price tag” of $18 trillion over a 10-year period – that it’s necessary to respond.
Income inequality in America has been growing rapidly, and is expected to increase. While the widening wealth gap is a hot topic in the media and on the campaign trail, there’s quite a disconnect between the perceptions of economists and those of the general public.
EU’s economic demands seek to derail small business and local communities, paving the way for multinational corporate giants. One demand is that Greece abolish any laws restricting the days or hours a business can operate despite the fact that several European countries including have enacted such policies to protect workers and small business, including Germany.
Like green-shaded teflon dons – mobster John Gotti’s nickname for managing to stay out of jail – the largest banks have been repeatedly prosecuted over the past decade and yet have so far avoided any harsher consequences. Instead they’ve received “deferred prosecutions” or non-prosecutions that trade criminal charges for promised reforms and criminal fines.
- By Robert Reich
We’ve made progress this year — raising the minimum wage in dozens of states and cities, providing equal marriage rights in a majority of states, limiting carbon emissions. But there’s far more to do.