Robert Reich
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rbreich.bsky.social
Robert Reich
@rbreich.bsky.social

Berkeley professor, former Secretary of Labor. Co-founder of @inequalitymedia.bsky.social and @imcivicaction.bsky.social.

Substack: http://robertreich.substack.com

Buy my new book: https://sites.prh.com/reich

Visit my website: https://rbreich.com/ .. more

Robert Bernard Reich is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He worked in the administrations of presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and he served as secretary of labor in the cabinet of President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. He was also a member of President Barack Obama's economic transition advisory board. In 2008, Time magazine named him one of the Ten Best Cabinet Members of the century; in the same year The Wall Street Journal placed him sixth on its list of Most Influential Business Thinkers. .. more

Political science 35%
Economics 32%
Pinned
How did my generation – the baby boomers – squander the potential our parents left us?

What can our children do to correct our mistakes?

These are the central questions of my new memoir: Coming Up Short.

You can preorder it now. sites.prh.com/reich

Billionaires are fearmongering about California’s proposed billionaire tax.

Baloney. Just look at what happened when Massachusetts raised taxes on the rich.

Amazon dropped $75M on the Melania doc — with a big chunk going into the Trumps' pockets.

Since then, Amazon Web Services got a $580M Pentagon contract.

And this week, Pete Hegseth visited Blue Origin facilities as the DoD overhauls how it hands out defense contracts.

Always follow the money.

Corporate profits have hit record highs.

CEOs are paid 280x as much as a typical worker.

We're subsidizing huge corporations that pay lousy wages through food stamps and Medicaid.

But instead of cracking down on corporate greed, Republicans want to punish the working poor.

Trump’s EPA has gutted lifesaving environmental protections, including limits on harmful chemicals and toxic pollution produced by:

-Gas and coal power plants
-Oil and gas refineries
-Petrochemical & chemical manufacturers
-Pesticide manufacturers

“Make America Healthy Again.”
Trump’s environmental rollbacks contradict RFK Jr’s healthy America promise, report finds
Dismantling rules will make children vulnerable to chronic diseases ‘make America healthy again’ wants to eradicate
www.theguardian.com
Reminder: Palantir sells AI tools that help law enforcement agencies like ICE analyze massive amounts of personal data. It's a big reason why it is quickly becoming the most dangerous corporation in America. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_VwyhErd88
The Most Dangerous Corporation in America?
The AI surveillance state is real — and it's being built by Palantir.
www.youtube.com

Today should be another reminder that when billionaires take control of vital platforms for communication, it’s not a win for free speech or "free markets."

It’s a win for oligarchy.
Truly hilarious headline from the Bezos-owned Washington Post yesterday.

Never, ever let the guys who control half the wealth in America and just got billions of dollars in tax breaks tell you we shouldn't tax the rich.

Trump on the Epstein files and survivors seeking justice: “I think it’s really time for the country to get on to something else." [Via CNN]

Reposted by Richard E. Lenski

Trump's big, ugly budget megabill gives ICE more agents than the FBI, more jails than the federal Bureau of Prisons, and a larger budget than most countries' militaries.

Not one more penny for ICE.
Elon Musk's net worth just hit $800 billion. How?

One of his corporations acquired another one of his corporations.

Meanwhile, Elon's companies pay next to nothing in federal income taxes and get billions of dollars in government contracts.

This is what I mean when I say the system is rigged.

Reposted by Joe R. Feagin

This is how our government has been corrupted:

1) Donors give huge sums to elect politicians to office.
2) Elected officials rewrite the rules in the donors' favor.
3) Donors make a huge profit.
4) Repeat.

For the sake of democracy, we must get Big Money out of politics.

This SNL sketch from 1998 about America’s “media-opoly” makes some eerily timely points.

Corporations or ultra-wealthy individuals with numerous business interests cannot be trusted to prioritize the public’s right to know over their own financial interests.

Watch.
Robert Reich Reacts: Banned SNL Sketch About Media Control
Someone told me to watch this SNL sketch about America’s “media-opoly.” It feels eerily prophetic given the Warner Bros/
www.youtube.com

Don’t buy into Trump’s fake populism for a second.

He’s governing for the rich and powerful — not you
Truly hilarious headline from the Bezos-owned Washington Post yesterday.

Never, ever let the guys who control half the wealth in America and just got billions of dollars in tax breaks tell you we shouldn't tax the rich.
Jeff Bezos took over the Washington Post Editorial Board and turned it into a mouthpiece for pro-corporate, pro-billionaire propaganda.

Now, WaPo is laying off hundreds of *real* journalists — including the reporter covering Amazon.

Democracy dies in billionaire hands.
INBOX: Washington Post Ukraine Correspondent Lizzie Johnson announces that she has been laid off in the middle of a below-freezing war zone without power, heat, or running water.
This is a big deal.

No matter how many awful things come out of this White House, you can organize your community to fight back against tyranny.

We must also continue to boycott ICE's corporate collaborators like Amazon, AT&T, and any other company trying to profit off this misery.
VICTORY: After thousands of locals protested, called, and gave public comments, a company halted the sale of a Virginia warehouse to DHS to be used for immigrant detention.

DHS wants to buy 23 warehouses nationwide. Resist all of them.
Hanover warehouse owner pulls out of potential Virginia ICE facility deal
The company, Jim Pattison Developments, put out a statement Friday afternoon saying the deal would not proceed.
www.dailypress.com

Like any bully, Trump is fundamentally a coward.

When he feels humiliated, he lashes out.

Every authoritarian action he is taking must be understood against the backdrop of his declining popularity.

He feigns strength, but he's operating from a place of weakness.

Reposted by Robert B. Reich

1. A reminder: Walmart's $1 trillion valuation is the product of decades of unchecked anticompetitive behavior. It's no coincidence that Walmart began its insane growth spurt after the 1980s decision to stop enforcing key antitrust laws. More than others, Walmart recognized what this meant.
Walmart’s Monopolization of Local Grocery Markets | Independent Business
In 203 markets, Walmart controls 50% or more of the grocery market. No other corporation has ever amassed this much control over the food system.
ilsr.org

Reposted by W Grant

Retiring Walmart CEO Doug McMillon made $27M last year, over 930 times the median Walmart worker's salary of just $29,469.

Walmart's wages are so low that its workers are among the most likely to rely on SNAP and Medicaid to get by.

Hello?

Reposted by W Grant

The Trump regime is plotting to convert commercial warehouses to massive ICE detention centers.

Private prison corporations, who just so happened to donate to Trump, are already raking in billions.

How many more private companies are going to cash in on this cruelty?

Friends, when the history of this sordid period of America is written — assuming it’s not written by historians trying to curry favor with a future fascist regime — I hope the leaders of American business are condemned to the hellfire they deserve for helping destroy American democracy.
MS NOW @ms.now · 1d
"These practices must end now."

Aliya Rahman, a U.S. citizen who was dragged from a car by ICE agents in Minnesota, speaks out at a congressional hearing on DHS immigration enforcement tactics.

Reposted by Robert B. Reich

VICTORY: After thousands of locals protested, called, and gave public comments, a company halted the sale of a Virginia warehouse to DHS to be used for immigrant detention.

DHS wants to buy 23 warehouses nationwide. Resist all of them.
Hanover warehouse owner pulls out of potential Virginia ICE facility deal
The company, Jim Pattison Developments, put out a statement Friday afternoon saying the deal would not proceed.
www.dailypress.com

Reposted by Robert B. Reich

Marimar Martinez: “The government told the people they were targeting the worst of the worst…They are not targeting the worst of the worst. They are targeting individuals who fit a certain profile, who simply have a certain accent, a non-white skin color, just like me.”

Reposted by Mary Corcoran

It's important to understand what Trump is trying to plot. https://robertreich.substack.com/p/could-trump-really-take-over-the

Reposted by McKenzie Wark

$1.5T military budget
$170B for ICE and Border Patrol (over 4 years)
$100B on tax cuts for the 1% (per year)
$1B to refurbish Trump's Qatar jet
$496M to send National Guard into cities
$200M for Kennedy Center renovations
$200M for Kristi Noem's jets
$100M for Trump's golf outings

Priorities.

"Imagine if we actually followed the Constitution."
Mike Johnson speaks out against the use of judicial warrants in immigration cases:

"Imagine if we had to go through the process of getting a judicial warrant"

Not one more penny for this brutality.

Congress needs to grow a spine and stand up to this regime.

If you are represented by Democrats — call them.

If you are represented by Republicans — call them. They need to hear from you too.

(202) 224-3121
Federal agents launch tear gas at nonviolent anti-ICE protesters in Portland—including children
The city's mayor Keith Wilson said that it was a “peaceful daytime protest” that “posed no danger to federal forces.” 
www.motherjones.com
A UAE firm backed by a member of the royal family secretly bought a 49% stake in the Trump family’s crypto company — to the tune of $500 million.

Then the U.S. gave the UAE access to tightly guarded AI chips.

Trump’s crypto corruption is off the charts.
Trump's Crypto Corruption, Explained
Trump's crypto corruption is off the charts.Here's how the president's latest grift could endanger our democracy and cra
youtu.be
According to the New Yorker, Donald Trump and his family profited off the presidency by an estimated $4 billion in 2025 — mostly through shady crypto deals.

That amounts to $456,621 per hour.

But how are you doing?