"These are the invisible workers of America, tens of millions of them, working harder than they have ever worked before and barely making it. They keep America going — we should keep them going."
Watch my 1995 speech busting right-wing minimum wage myths.
Inflation rose in January. Working people are struggling to make ends meet. Trump’s newly planned tariffs will make the problem worse. Let me explain.
The NFL announced that private equity will be allowed to invest in the league’s franchises for the first time ever. Be warned: Private equity ruins everything it touches.
DOGE is a trojan horse for Elon Musk to gut labor, consumer, and environmental protections. If he actually wanted to cut waste, he'd look at the massive tax loopholes, government contracts, and subsidies that benefit the wealthy and large corporations.
Trump’s about to preside over the strongest job market in history. But just like his father's fortune, he didn’t build it — he inherited it.
Trump’s second term will expose a reality that has been hidden from many Americans: the raw, stinking power of the American oligarchy. I’m hopeful that America will see this reality for what it is and respond to it.
Trump's billionaire Cabinet picks have huge sums of money tangled up in the industries they're tasked with overseeing. Can we really trust that they will act in the public interest?
Dark money, rigged maps, and outdated voting systems are derailing our elections. The Freedom to Vote Act is the cure our democracy desperately needs.
The ultra-wealthy can’t cheat death, but they can use death to cheat taxes. Let me explain.
Americans are still struggling to get by while corporations are raking it in. Here’s how corporate price gouging is continuing to drive inflation.
Boeing’s descent reveals everything wrong with American capitalism today.
No matter what you hear on Fox News, immigrants are good for the economy and our society. Watch.
As the shortest kid in school, I was an easy target for bullies. When I was about eight, I befriended a kind teenager who looked out for me. 60 years ago, he was murdered by the Klan for registering Black voters in Mississippi. Let me tell you about my friend, Mickey.
Nothing tells you how important unions are like corporations controlled by the richest men on earth suing to dismantle the government agency that protects the right to organize. Here’s what you need to know.
Should billionaires go the way of the dodo?
March 25, 1994: -Ace of Base had the #1 song -D2: The Mighty Ducks hit movie theaters -The Labor Department proposed a national workplace smoking ban I can only claim credit for one of those things.
Smaller seats. Less legroom. Out of control fees for in-flight meals, checked bags, or even carry-ons. Charging us $25 to print a boarding pass! Why does flying suck so much these days? It has a lot to do with power — and how greed has overtaken our entire economy.
Starbucks has: -Fired scores of pro-union workers -Closed unionized stores -Threatened to withhold improved wages and benefits from stores considering unionizing -Packed stores with corporate managers to scare organizers Does that sound like a “progressive” company to you?
Put on your shades and grab your picket signs because it's a Hot Labor Summer. Here's why thousands of workers are on strike.
Your Prime Day reminder that Amazon allegedly tricked customers into paying for its subscription service and then made it harder for them to cancel. Now the FTC is suing Amazon for scamming millions of consumers. But Amazon's shady shenanigans don't end there.
Social Security taxes are rigged for the rich — and the program is in danger because of it. A CEO earning $20M/yr pays Social Security taxes on ~1% of their income. Meanwhile, a normal worker pays Social Security taxes on 100% of their income. How does that make any sense?
Let’s set the record straight: Workers are not “paid what they’re worth." This is a myth peddled by the rich to exploit workers and hoard unconscionable wealth. It’s designed to make us think that nothing can be done to change what people are paid. Don’t fall for it.
Missing from history books is a key moment in America’s culture wars. It took place in 1970 and later came to be known as the "Hard Hat Riot." The tactics used by Nixon to stoke division then are strikingly similar to those used by modern culture warriors like Ron DeSantis.
Silicon Valley Bank. Signature Bank. First Republic Bank. Together, these three failed banks held more assets than the 25 banks that collapsed during the 2008 financial crash. How can we prevent this financial meltdown from getting worse? Make banking boring again.
It used to be normal for the House of Representatives to expand. It wasn’t until 1929 that Congress arbitrarily capped the size of the House at 435 members. Back then, each House member represented roughly 200,000 people. Today, that number is 760,000. Expand the House.
Airline ticketing fees. Concert fees. Bank overdraft fees. Fees for everything. Corporations call them “convenience fees” or “service fees.” Probably because they “conveniently” “serve” to pad their bottom lines, costing Americans at least $29 billion per year. It’s all a huge scam.
96% of the highest-paid workers in the US have paid sick days. Just 38% of the lowest-paid workers get them. Only in America do we call working people ‘essential’ but deny them paid sick leave.
What corporate America says: “No one wants to work anymore.” The truth: No one wants to be exploited anymore.
Just a thought: what if we stopped measuring the economy by the state of the stock market and started measuring it based on how many people are housed and clothed and fed?
Billionaires have found one more way to fleece the public: sports stadiums. And if we don’t play ball, they’ll take our favorite teams away. This kind of billionaire hardball is why State Farm Stadium, home of this year's Super Bowl, was built in the first place.
Why not let people vote for the candidates they actually like, instead of forcing them to vote against candidates they hate? Ranked choice voting is the answer.
Who else is sick of our government subsidizing the health care industry when millions can’t afford insurance, subsidizing Big Oil while they destroy the planet, and bailing out Wall Street when they crater our economy?
Every month we get reporting on prices. We get reporting on jobs. We get reporting on wages. You know what we don’t get? Reporting on corporate profits. Corporate America wants to keep it this way. Workers get blamed for inflation. Corporations get cover for their greed.
The corporate takeover of American politics was rapid and ruthless. In 1976, I watched as thousands of corporate lobbyists descended on Washington. Fast forward to today, and lobbying has become a $3.7 billion dollar industry. It all began with the Powell Memo.
Repeat after me: Wages aren’t pushing up prices. Corporate profits are pushing up prices. Instead of raising interest rates and slowing the economy toward a recession, Congress and Biden should be taking aim at corporate price gouging.
Elon Musk’s father owned shares in an emerald mine in Africa. Bill Gates’ mom helped Microsoft get a deal with IBM. Jeff Bezos’ garage-based start was funded by a quarter-million dollar investment from his parents. “Self-made billionaires” are a myth.
Robert explains why common myths about the minimum wage fall short, and why raising it will help ordinary working people without contributing to inflation.
Private equity is shutting out millions of people from buying their own homes. In 2021, private equity investors bought nearly 1 in 7 homes in top metro areas. This is essentially a direct transfer of wealth from the working class into the pockets of private equity managers.
Our oil & gas dependence is a death sentence for the climate. It also gives dangerous amounts of power to petro-states like Russia. By quitting our addiction to fossil fuels, we can stand up to Putin and avert a climate catastrophe at the same time.
The underlying problem is not inflation. It’s corporate power. The entire American economy is concentrated into the hands of a few greedy, corporate giants with the power to raise prices.
In the last 50 years, I’ve moved further to the left of center without changing my political views at all. How? The right has moved dangerously close to fascism.
When we spend $8 trillion on defense, nobody cares about the deficit. When we pass a $1.9 trillion tax cut, nobody cares about the deficit. But when we try to pass legislation that would actually help working people, the deficit suddenly becomes a problem. What do you think, is the deficit a real cause for so much concern? Share your thoughts in the comments.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich breaks down how power has shifted from labor unions to corporate giants over the last few decades, resulting in the rich getting richer at the expense of the working class.
Never forget this: The forces undermining our democracy, polluting our planet, and stoking hatred are counting on you to give up. Cynicism is how they win.
Serious question: Why in the hell do we allow members of Congress to trade stocks?
The top 1% holds 15x more wealth than the bottom 50% combined. If you’ve never watched a video of mine, please watch this one.
The wealthy now own more of the economy than at any time since the 1920s. Meanwhile, millions in this country are barely scraping by. Closing our staggering wealth gap isn’t just the right thing to do. It’s essential to save our economy from collapse.
Robert Reich makes the case for bringing back the old practice of corporations sharing profits with their workers.
Robert Reich breaks down the political choices that have systematically dismantled worker power over the past 40 years — and how we can build a world where workers have a real voice again.
The full story about immigration you aren't getting from politicians and the media.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich breaks down how police unions abuse collective bargaining to shield their members from accountability for the killings of unarmed Black people and other heinous misconduct.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich reveals how a little-known tax loophole called the stepped-up basis allows the super-rich to hoard their wealth for generations.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains why Joe Biden and the Democrats' political window of opportunity is closing fast.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich debunks the three big myths that trickle-down economics is based on.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich breaks down seven ways to tax the rich and raise trillions in revenue.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich exposes America's real deficit problem…our deficit in public investment.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich gives you a holiday guide for winning political debates with your conservative relatives.
Heather McGhee, Co-Chair of Color of Change, and Ian Haney Lopez, author of "Dog Whistle Politics", explain how racism has been used as a political tool to shaft students.
Nsé Ufot, Executive Director of the New Georgia Project, explains the devastating consequences of the Supreme Court's shameful 2013 decision to gut the Voting Rights Act. From purging eligible voters from the voter rolls and cutting back early and absentee voting to closing polling places and using strict voter ID requirements, voter suppression is wreaking havoc on our electoral process, and it's disenfranchising voters of color at every turn.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich breaks down the ways big money corrupts our political system, and what we can do to create a government of, by, and for the people.
Reverend Dr. William J. Barber II explains how we can build on the momentum of local victories for democracy reform, and unrig our system to build a truly just America.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains why we must not go back to normal after this coronavirus crisis ends, and breaks down four key steps we must take to prevent total climate catastrophe.
Ask yourself how, during a global pandemic, in the worst economy since the Great Depression, the total net worth of U.S. billionaires has climbed from $2.9 trillion to $3.5 trillion. It’s no accident. We must rebalance the power of workers and corporations to create an economy and a democracy that works for all, not just a privileged few.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich breaks down a core contradiction about corporate executives: In the business of making a profit, they rig our system, then expect to be applauded when they make grand statements about solving the problems they helped cause.
Republicans accuse Democrats of being fiscally irresponsible. But time and again, it’s the Democrats who are forced to clean up the economic messes they inherit from Republicans. Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich breaks down how the next Democratic administration will have to deal with the consequences of the GOP’s tax cut for the rich and the soaring debt and deficit that followed — in order to preserve and expand Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains how CEOS gamed the stock market and played politics to line their pockets.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich debunks the myth of the self-made individual and explains what your life chances really depend on.
Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich explains the policies that line the pockets of corporations while hurting ordinary Americans.
Robert Reich debunks 12 misconceptions about tax policy in America.
Robert Reich examines Trump's dark vision for America, and how to create a progressive message for the future.
Robert Reich explains why using the private sector for government services can have negative consequences.
I’ve been in or around politics for over a half-century now. I’ve watched as corporations ransacked our system. In 1952, the corporate share of federal tax revenue was 32%. In 2020, it was down to 7%. Here’s how we break the corporate oligarchy and return power to the people.
Robert Reich explains why a universal basic income may be the answer.