Robert Reich on the shrinking middle class

The board chairman of the Common Cause speaks about how money in politics is rapidly widening the income gap and eliminating the middle class at Common Cause's Reclaiming Democracy event on May 12, 2011.

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News & Politics

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• Reich
• Common
• Cause
• middle
• class
• income
• gap

[npplmike22]

@energyxprt

Clinton was not the primary reason that globalization came about. In fact, Professor Reich has written extensively about the process of globalization that has been occurring since the late 1970s. Reagan did WAY more than Clinton did to increase its pace. Sure, NAFTA played a role, but it was not the sole reason -- nor the most critical piece of the puzzle. I had the privilege of being taught by Professor Reich; he is well aware of the issues surrounding globalization.

[ericfeinberg28]

lovin it bob

[hipocampelofantocame]

So important that I'm almost in shock. Great speaker!

[hanelse]

I would so like to believe that this can be resolved, but I don't think it can. It's gone too far, and we are now headed to a 2-tier economy; the poor and the rich. It started with Reagan and has been festering ever since. The only thing to do is stay out of the system as much as possible. Hold your own savings (take out of stock market), work for yourself, and cut off personal credit. Those are what keep the wheels turning. If many people did this, it would take some steam out of the reversal.

[hanelse]

@energyxprt

Globalization... Thanks to Clinton, huh? Don't you know your recent presidential history? It was Bush 1 who conceived NAFTA, not Clinton. Clinton did get it, through. However, Bush 2 had 8 years to repeal or fix it, but he chose not to. Instead, he gutted the safety measures written in to NAFTA that would have protected the US from unfair trade practices. But that wasn't enough for W. He then had drawn up DR-CAFTA and put it through using his Trade Act of 2002. Facts.

[energyxprt]

There are people all over the world who are willing to work for a whole lot less, who live much more humble lifestyles while using a lot less energy and consuming a lot less than people in the USA and have access to cheaper and better food and cheaper basic resources. These are the people who will be working and becoming middle class in the next 30 years, not Americans. And most of these countries could care less about unions, labor laws and regulations.

[energyxprt]

The thing that he does not address is there is a very big game changer now called globalization. Its something that the younger generation has to face and no one knows how to deal with this problem. Thanks to Clinton it is now the primary reason for the rapid demise of the middle class in the last 15 years.

[LongTomH]

Brilliant talk. I wish Bob Reich had been one of my professors in college!

[TheGiantRobot]

When I hear people like this present it so plainly, I get a little hope. It just seems to me that no matter how much power we've given away, no matter how programmed the common people have become, when they hear simple numbers like this, they have to begin to question their allegiances and ideologies and look for change. No, I mean real change, not just more smooth talk.