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Portrait of Robert Reich

Robert Reich

(1946–1945) Political Scientist Czechoslovakia

255 quotes in 1629 categories

Reich recalls a basic bargain where employers paid workers enough to buy what they needed, a promise that has faded. He argues that leaders should step back, build collaborative systems, and that big banks must be limited to protect democracy. He warns that abandoning politics means surrendering democracy to powerful moneyed interests.

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Robert Reich was a political scientist from the Czechoslovakia, best known for El Trabajo de Las Naciones.

Quick Facts About Robert Reich

Born: June 24, 1946
Died: February 1, 1945
Nationality: Czechoslovakia
Profession: Political Scientist
Notable works: El Trabajo de Las Naciones

About Robert Reich

He worked in the administrations of Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and later served as Secretary of Labor in President Bill Clinton’s cabinet from 1993 to 1997. He also sat on President Barack Obama’s economic transition advisory board. In 2008 Time magazine named him one of the Ten Most Effective Cabinet Members of the century, and the Wall Street Journal listed him sixth among the Most Influential Business Thinkers.

Quotes by Robert Reich

The United States is a safe harbor.

America

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Centrism is bogus.

Bogus

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The Democratic Party is DEAD.

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Standing up to bullies is the hallmark of a civilized society.

Bullies

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There is a deep desire to change the power structure.

Change

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You can't create a political movement out of pabulum.

Movement

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On the Republican playing field, Republicans always win.

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We reform the system. We save capitalism from its own excesses.

Capitalism

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If you give up on democracy, you might as well give up on everything.

Democracy

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Every organization, no matter who it is, just follow the money.

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You can't inspire people if you are going to be uninspiring.

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Averages don't always reveal the most telling realities. You know, Shaquille O'Neal and I have an average height of 6 feet.

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I'm 40 years old. What I have seen my whole life is widening income inequality.

Income

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It's true that redistributing income to the needy is politically easier in a growing economy than in a stagnant one.

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True patriotism isn't cheap. It's about taking on a fair share of the burden of keeping America going.

America

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It's not government's business what people do in their private bedrooms.

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Too many young people graduate laden with debts that take years, if not decades, to pay off.

Debts

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When the President decides to go to war, he no longer needs a declaration of war from congress.

Congress

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We don't have to sit by and watch our meritocracy be replaced by a permanent aristocracy, and our democracy be undermined by…

Aristocracy

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Medical costs are soaring because our health-care system is totally screwed up. Doctors and hospitals have every incentive to spend on unnecessary…

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Community colleges are great bargains. They avoid the fancy amenities four-year liberal arts colleges need in order to lure the children of…

Art

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Disney is no longer just Mickey Mouse; Disney is family entertainment. And we're seeing more and more brands change into something that…

Disney

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The core corporation is ... increasingly a façade, behind which teems an array of decentralized groups and subgroups continuously contracting with similarly…

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I think the Obama Administration has done a lousy job marketing and selling and explaining this entire thing. And, as a result,…

Administration

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The federal budget deficit isn't the nation's major economic problem and deficit reduction shouldn't be our major goal. Our problem is lack…

Budget deficit

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The monied interests are doing what they do best - making money. The rest of us need to do what we can…

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I was there in Washington in the '90s. It was pretty bad then. It's much worse now [in 2015]. And that vicious…

Big corporations

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I don't think that our problem, our jobs problem, is fundamentally a problem of trade. I think it has much more to…

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When top executives get huge pay hikes at the same time as middle-level and hourly workers lose their jobs and retirement savings,…

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There's a great debate going on, you know, on whether we're moving toward a system of giant oligopolies or a system of…

Business

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The dirty little secret is that both houses of Congress are irrelevant. ... America's domestic policy is now being run by Alan…

America

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Today, for good or ill, people are thinking about many social problems from the standpoint of their own kitchen tables. I think…

Fear

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I think re-engineering or restructuring or downsizing or rightsizing or whatever you want to call it, it's basically firing, has gone way…

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No company can be expected to build a nuclear reactor, an oil well, a coal mine, or anything else that's one hundred…

Accident

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Anyone believing the TPP is good for Americans take note: The foreign subsidiaries of U.S.-based corporations could just as easily challenge any…

Bailouts

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Radical conservatives want to police bedrooms.

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If you want to be a change agent, you have to ready to fail.

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Humor itself is a great disinfectant. It enables people to listen.

Comedy

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Public fear isn't something to be played with.

Fear

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In truth, government has been good to Wall Street and big business.

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Robert Reich by topic

People (50) Economy (29) America (28) Economics (27) Politics (25) Money (24) Business (21) Education (19) Jobs (17) Corporations (17) Thinking (15) Taxes (15)