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People Quotes by Robert Reich

50 People quotes by Robert Reich

All People quotes Robert Reich’s page

Robert Reich says that quitting politics is the same as giving up on democracy, letting powerful money interests win. He points out that corporations have no brains or conscience, so they shouldn't receive handouts meant for people. He also notes that understanding the basic building blocks of society is needed before tackling big economic questions.

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Average working people need more fresh starts. Big corporations, banks, and Donald Trump need fewer.

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Our young people - their capacities to think, understand, investigate, and innovate - are America's future.

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Corporations are not people, despite what the Supreme Court says, and they don't need or deserve handouts.

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

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

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I have found over the years that the most important way of getting people to relax is self-deprecating humor.

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Corporations aren't people. They have no brains, no consciences, no capacity for intent or guilt.

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

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I think that in politics, when people want to discredit a particular position, they say, "Oh, they are liberals," or "They are…

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Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the rest of the Ivy League are worthy institutions, to be sure, but they're not known for educating…

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Government subsidies to elite private universities take the form of tax deductions for people who make charitable contributions to them.

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One thing I've learned from 35 years in the classroom is that people learn best when they are laughing, when they are…

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If leadership is about anything, it's about leading. Not leading people back to where they already are, because they don't need that.…

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Bill Clinton was a very, very good speaker. But like many people who are great speakers and great thinkers and have a…

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America has become the most unequal society among advanced countries, and rich people are now free to spend as much money on…

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Cynicism is the largest obstacle to social change. Cynicism is dangerous because people throw up their hands and say, "Well it's not…

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The managers of the big brands have a very clear responsibility. It's attracting and keeping talented people in order to sustain and…

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In entertainment, the technology began giving us greater choice and easier switching before almost any other area. The studios became much more…

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If you give up on politics, you're giving up on democracy. And if you give up on democracy, you're basically saying to…

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The world of politics is divided between people who are introverts - who lose a little bit of energy out of each…

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What characteristics are most important in creative workers? One quality you need is inventiveness. You need to be able to take whatever…

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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…

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I think that it's difficult to talk about large questions of economics or social policy without understanding the building blocks of society.…

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One of the things I tell my students is that if you want to understand what's been going on and also what…

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Now we're in a very different economy. Throughout the late 1980s and 1990s American management started to do the right things. There…

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More and more, leadership, whether it's profit or nonprofit, is about recruiting and keeping talented people. That's the biggest challenge. Yes, you've…

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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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I'm quite optimistic when it comes to the capacity of our people to have an honest discussion about what's really going on.…

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I want a shot for people like me to grow up and do something with themselves.

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

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Your most precious possession is not your financial assets. Your most precious possession is the people you have working there, and what…

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Only if everyone buys insurance can insurers afford to cover people with preexisting conditions or pay the costs of catastrophic diseases.

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Economies are risky. Some industries rise, and others implode, like housing. Some places get richer, and others drop, like Atlantic City. Some…

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In America, people with lots of money can easily avoid the consequences of bad bets and big losses by cashing out at…

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Social change occurs when the gap between the ideals that people hold and the reality that they see every day gets too…

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Freedom is the one value conservatives place above all others, yet time and again, their ideal of freedom ignores the growing imbalance…

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If consumers don't have the wherewithal to spend because all the money's going to the top, and the people at the top…

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We need a national infrastructure bank to rebuild our crumbling highways and water and sewer systems, thereby putting additional people back to…

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Over the long term, the only way we're going to raise wages, grow the economy, and improve American competitiveness is by investing…

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I'm all in favor of supporting fancy museums and elite schools, but face it: These aren't really charities as most people understand…

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More by Robert Reich

The Democratic Party is DEAD.

During three decades from 1947 to 1977, the nation implemented what might be called a basic bargain with American workers. Employers paid them enough…

A leader is someone who steps back from the entire system and tries to build a more collaborative, more innovative system that will work…

The faith that anyone could move from rags to riches - with enough guts and gumption, hard work and nose to the grindstone -…

If you give up on politics, you're giving up on democracy. And if you give up on democracy, you're basically saying to the moneyed…

Given that ever-broadening array of options and alternatives, as consumers and investors, we are often bewildered. We need guidance. That's where today's brands come…

I knew Hillary Clinton from undergraduate days and was enormously impressed with her. She was a terrific energy and enthusiasm, and a great organizer.…

Public employees should have the right to bargain for better wages and working conditions, just like all employees do.

Limits should be placed on how big big banks can become.

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

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

Any bank that is too big to fail is too big. Period.

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

There's sort of a chilling effect on non-profits and the media and a lot of other places because the establishment is so powerful. That's…

We already have an annual wealth tax on homes, the major asset of the middle class. It's called the property tax. Why not a…