Robert Reich with Bill Moyers: Inequality for All

[elleng]

http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-inequality-for-all/

September 20, 2013

This week marks both the fifth anniversary of the fiscal meltdown that almost tanked the world economy and the second anniversary of Occupy Wall Street, the movement that sparked heightened public awareness of income inequality. Yet the crisis is worse than ever – in the first three years of the recovery, 95 percent of the economic gains have gone only to the top one percent of Americans. And the share of working people in the U.S. who define themselves as lower class is at its highest level in four decades.

More and more are fighting back. According to Robert Reich, Bill Clinton’s secretary of labor: “The core principle is that we want an economy that works for everyone, not just for a small elite. We want equal opportunity, not equality of outcome. We want to make sure that there’s upward mobility again, in our society and in our economy.”

This week, Reich joins Moyers & Company to discuss a new documentary film, Inequality for All, opening next week in theaters across the country. Directed by Jacob Kornbluth, the film aims to be a game-changer in our national discussion of income inequality. Reich, who Time magazine called one of the best cabinet secretaries of the 20th century, stars in this dynamic, witty and entertaining documentary.

[pipoman]

1. Yeah, Bob was a dandy he was....

My favorite part of his stint as Labor Secretary was his sell out to big business and complete disregard for labor. ..the mark of a true modern day patriot!

[elleng]

2. To what exactly are you referring?

[pipoman]

3. Bob is an undying supporter

Of NAFTA, to this day. He advocated for NAFTA as 80+% of labor strongly opposed it. He continues to pretend it is good for labor, while the truth is it is horrible for all labor, it is great for those who purchased it's passage from people like Bob. He is a traitor to labor. ..As with all lies, the truth would set him free. .becoming an advocate for us labor could buy his redemption, but alas, he is still a tool for the 1%.

[elleng]

4. You've got it wrong. Listen to around 40 minutes into the video.

Clearly suggests he was not a full supporter of NAFTA, and had reservations with that part (and probably others) of the Clinton programs. He had differences with the administration to which he alludes in the video, and felt as if he was 'Locked in the Cabinet.' He left, a I recall, with dissatisfaction on both sides.

About his book Locked in the Cabinet: 'He uses statistics and research to highlight his major points: that the income gap between rich and poor is increasing, and, to reduce this gap, we need to invest more in people--not the stock market--through more and better education and training. But his most poignant and persuasive arguments come not from his scholarly work, but from what he has seen and done as Secretary of Labor. Through his eyes we get to see programs that are working and that do make a difference in the lives of individual people. For example, he describes a meeting of young women who are participating in an experimental work program that retrains women to perform jobs traditionally done by men. These women tell their stories of how this program helped them make a living wage so they could feed their children and find decent housing. In stark contrast to this story,'

http://hepg.org/her/booknote/182

[MrMickeysMom]

5. I think this is a bit of a stretch...

True, that was the administration he was in. NAFTA was horrible. What you don't know is what RR referred to (not in any detail) but basically told me that everything he fought for on the labor side got fucked. I don't think he would have left that administration knowingly with a grudge about NAFTA, but I know he wasn't the same. Perhaps he, like others, saw the Clintons as being the same people they were when Bill began running for important offices.

He has taken the high road, and I think what's he's doing for a few years now, especially with the new film, is especially great.

He does not act like a tool for the 1%, IMO.

[elleng]

6. Thanks, MrMMom,

I think you've got it.