Topic: Robert Reich

Liberals to Obama: not so fast on Social Security cuts

The worst fears of progressive groups were confirmed Friday: President Obama's budget will include cuts to Social Security. But the call has gone out, and liberals are fighting back. 

Why does Washington keep putting off entitlement reform?

Both the White House and Republicans agree that entitlement reform is necessary to rein in federal deficits, but nothing ever gets started. That could change in the weeks ahead.

Poll: With court’s health care decision, Obama's lead over Romney slips

A new Monitor/TIPP poll has President Obama's lead over Mitt Romney slipping to a single percentage point. The Supreme Court's health care ruling is one of the reasons as Americans become more polarized.

Chapter & Verse 'Unintended Consequences' by Edward Conrad: already 'the most hated book of the year'?

'Unintended Consequences' by former Bain Capital managing director Edward Conard argues that economic inequality is a good thing rather than a problem.

The Daily Reckoning Why US job creation heats up in the winter

The Labor Department routinely adjust jobs upward in winter, to make up for bad weather. So when there isn’t any bad weather in January, the job numbers go up automatically.

Can economy help Obama reelection? One statistic gives him hope.

Since 1948 only one incumbent president has won reelection with joblessness over 7 percent. There is another unemployment statistic, however, that could play in President Obama's favor.

Barney Frank schools Paul Ryan on the economy

In a televised debate, retiring Congressman Barney Frank offered concrete solutions to the nation's economic woes–while Ryan could only respond with rhetorical flourishes.

Military or not, spending is spending

Democrats who argue against military spending but in favor of non-military spending contradict themselves

Tax the rich: Should millionaires really pay more?

The fight over raising levies on the wealthy, a theme of the 'Occupy Wall Street' protests, is about more than money. It's a clash over fundamental American values.

When dogma overtakes discussion

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. Yet over and over again — on the radio, on TV, in print, in the blogosphere, and all over Washington — political ideology is substituting for thought.

S&P has no business downgrading US bond rating

When and how America brings down its debt shouldn't matter to Standard & Poor’s. The ratings agency wasn't doing its job in 2008, when it gave Wall Street's riskiest securities a AAA rating, and it's not doing its job now by hurting the US economy with an unnecessary downgrade.

The growing desperation of the don't-raise-taxes-on-the-rich crowd

With the Senate vote to end tax breaks for ethanol, the Republican promise not to raise taxes is falling apart

Opinion: Our real employment problem? Too many people e-mailing spreadsheets

Our labor force is increasingly dominated by so-called metaworkers who analyze the work of others and get paid more – often enormously more – than the people who actually work.

Wisconsin has a new law, but future of unions still a hot issue

Gov. Scott Walker has prevailed so far in his effort to strip public employees of most collective bargaining rights. The epic political battle in Wisconsin has accelerated the national debate on the role of labor unions.

Remember the deficit-shrinking plans?

Three budget proposals all found ways to shrink the deficit. Where did they find common ground?

G20 failure moves global economy to brink of protectionism

The G20 summit produced plenty of photo opportunities and some general goals. But with no real agreement agreement between the US and China on currency issues, the substance of international cooperation is absent, and the global economy teeters closer to the brink of outright protectionism.

Bestselling books the week of 10/28/10, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

Bestselling books the week of 10/21/10, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

Bestselling books the week of Oct. 14, 2010, according to IndieBound*

What's selling best in independent bookstores across America.

Corrections and amplifications: On Andrew Mellon, Sebastian Mallaby, and General Motors

Robert Reich responds to critiques of his columns and his latest book, Aftershock.

Bestselling books the week of Sept. 30, 2010, according to IndieBound*

The president's backyard conversation on the economy (as it could be)

An imagined conversation about politics and the economy between President Obama and residents of Des Moines, Iowa.

Robert Reich is wrong. The rich don't hurt US output.

There's no evidence that spending or investment decisions by the rich hurt US output.

Politics has let the rich grow richer

CEOs now make 350 times the wage of the average worker.

Why US entrepreneurs are repressed

The economy naturally wants to create jobs, but in too many cases the government says those jobs are illegal. The reigning philosophy says that workers need protected, whether or not they want to be.