Robert Reich's Advice to Obama: Pick Fights, Connect Dots on the Economy

The problem is that this administration has no idea what to do for the middle class. It knows what to do for the poor and that is to redistribute income even if it comes from the middle class. It know what to do for the rich and that is to bail them out. The middle class seeems to get lost in a class warfare and wants the rich taxed. No middle class person ever got a job from a poor person. The middle class got there by being educated and taking the jobs that were complicated beyond what the poor could handle. As this group erodes, democrats are afraid to help them because their base won't like the help flowing thru the rich to the middle class. This is why the system is stagnated.

Dear mbc18650: Please turn off your caps lock. It's poor internet etiquette to type your ideas in all caps. If you feel so strongly that America would benefit from having more money, please feel free to donate as much as you would like to the cause. There is absolutely nothing keeping anyone from sending any amount of money to the federal government. What I and many others object to, is the IRS, with it's power to fine and jail, taking money from people because "they can afford it". Then, Congress spending it as if belonged to them and they had a deadline to spend it all. Here's an idea to stimulate the economy. How's 'bout a Tax Holiday for 12 months. Take a Trillion dollar Tax Holiday,for example. There are about 140 million workers in the U.S. I've heard that half of them don't pay taxes, so now we have 70 million people eligible for our Tax Holiday. That would put about $14,000 into every tax paying American's paycheck over 12 months. Plus, No taxes on Capitol Gains and accelerated depreciation for business equipment and plant expansion. People could understand a plan like that and "Gentelmen, start your spending." The American consumer drives the economy, so let them drive it. You may ask, where will we get the money? Well, I say we get it from the same place Obama and Congress got the trillion dollars they spent this year on Pork Barrell Spending and the failed, repair the pot holes stimulus package.

WITH AMERICA IN CRISIS.....NEEDING FUNDS TO GET US BACK ON TRACK....HOW CAN IT MAKE SENSE TO GIVE MILLIONAIRES TAX CUTS....IT DOESN'T....WE SHOULD INCREASE TAXES ON THOSE WHO CAN AFFORD TO CONTRIBUTE TO OUR NATION'S RECOVERY....SAY A 10% INCREASE ON ALL INCOME....JUST INCOME...OVER 5 MILLION DOLLARS...ANYONE WHO IS MAKING OVER 5 MILLION SHOULD BE PAYING A HIGHER RATE THAN A FAMILY EARNING 250K.

Reich is correct....Obama must show the big picture and connect what the Republicans stand for and are doing to block help for American Families...in some cases this means showing that on scores of appointments and legislation the Republicans aren't just voting against bills, but are actually preventing WE THE PEOPLE from speaking through our elected representatives.,... if the Tea Party supports this...then they are for taxation WITHOUT representation...a complete betrayal of the original American tea party....The same with appointments...Elizabeth Warren is one, but there are scores of judges and others for key security and economic positions... Republicans are sabotaging our democratic process, and then complaining that government isn't working fast or well enough and asking voters to replace the people who are actually trying to help them.....that is disgusting....but if obama does not make the case....then there is no other voice for voters to hear speak this truth.

I remain baffled why anyone would listen to Robert Reich, much less buy a book he wrote. Let me prove my point. Here is a quote from the above article, "As Reich notes, it's the rationale behind arch-capitalist Henry Ford's decision to pay his workers what others considered an exorbitant $5 a day. He wanted them to be able to buy the cars they were making, and they did." Does R.R. really believe that Ford only wanted to sell his cars to his employees? According to Investors Business Daily, "Despite being transparently silly, this belief continues to resurface as a justification for increasing purchasing power and employment with government policies that reduce production....The desire to increase his profits by reducing the cost of producing cars was the real reason Ford raised wages. It worked.....In 1913, Ford had an employee turnover rate of 380%, which required hiring 52,000 workers annually to maintain a work force of 13,600. In addition to the cost of replacing workers, productivity suffered from a 10% absentee rate, and the workers who showed up were inexperienced and commonly shirked as much as they worked....Higher wages remedied these problems. Anxious prospects lined up in hopes of being hired by Ford....in 1915, Ford's turnover rate fell to 16% as productivity soared. He reduced the Model T's price by 10% each year from 1914 to 1916, and his annual profit increased to $60 million from $30 million. Ford was quoted as saying that more than doubling wages "was one of the finest cost-cutting moves we ever made"." President Obama has surrounded himself with a bunch of tenured professors, people who have never met a payroll or created one single job. They are people that are as clueless as Robert Reich when it comes to understanding how capitalism works. I'm thinking that the folks over at Ford are still pretty savvy business people, since they didn't have to file for bankruptcy as GM and Chrysler.

Our dear Pres. Obama needs to stand up for America, and Americans. Get a little outraged over how we are treated by the Arab countries, stop bowing down , and saying Americans are sorry for offending non- Americans. We are not Sorry! If we offend you too bad. Your people chose to come here, we did not make you. You don't get to tell us how to run our country. That might get Americans to see him as "OUR' Leader, not our mistake.

In other words, the minimum wage jobs that the Republicans would have you work and keep while the wealthy continue to get raises, isn't going to help with the recovery. Cast your votes very carefully. And when you have these folks saying our president is wonderful with a superb temperment, be thankful and grateful. Don't take misleads for political gain as fact. This president was handed a raw deal. He truly is doing his absolute best.

Reich's lost it. He wants the middle class to earn more in real terms and at WHAT COST and HOW's TO PAY IT. Based on IRS 2005 statistics 77% of all taxfilers earn less than 75,000 (AGI), a pretty good division point for middle class. That would mean what? They all get $20,000 increases? Reich's is from the school of fantasy economics.

rmassahos Whatever do you mean "no one can explain how raising taxes on the rich will increase the wages of the middle class?" Perhaps you are confused on two fronts. First, returning the taxes on the wealthy to Pre-Bush levels will yield revenue to pay down the deficit created by the unnecessary war Bush made on Iraq, as well as for other things like medicare and Social Security. Secondly, you may be thinking of the idiotic idea that CUTTING taxes for the wealthiest will trickle down and create jobs for the middle class. Again, the opposite tactic, REINSTATING taxes on the wealthiest citizens, is intended to balance the budget by helping to pay down the deficit. By the way, in my state, the GOP have openly declared they want to back down the minimum wage to help stimulate the economy. Who do you think that benefits?

The fall of the middle class can be directly attributed to the idea that “greed is good” and free markets will regulate themselves. These ideas are the foundation of “trickle down economics” that the Republicans keep renaming and dragging out each time they get a chance. The theory is if you make the rich richer their actives will make your life better. Well since 1980 the rich have gotten much richer. The gap between the middle class and the rich has never been wider. So, I guess you got to ask yourself – How’s that “trickle down” working you? If you think the country and you are, as Ronald Regan asked, better off now than 30 years ago keep voting for that Republican “trickle down”. I’m sure it will start working for the middle class soon. All that’s needed is to make the rich all little richer, like keeping the tax cuts for the top 2%, then they’ll let that wealth start trickling down.