Robert Reich: Saving Capitalism

Wed, Nov 11 2015 - 7:00pm

Robert Reich, Former U.S. Secretary of Labor; Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy, UC Berkeley; Author, Saving Capitalism: For the Many, not the Few; Twitter @RBReich

Judge LaDoris Cordell (ret) — Moderator

Reich argues that power and influence have created a new American oligarchy, a shrinking middle class, and the greatest income inequality and wealth disparity in 80 years. He says the veneration of the “free market” has masked the power of moneyed interests to tilt the market to their benefit. Reich exposes what he calls the false myths that have been bolstered by huge corporations and the revolving door between Washington and Wall Street: that all workers are paid what they’re “worth,” that a higher minimum wage equals fewer jobs, and that corporations must serve shareholders before employees. To him, the critical choices ahead are about who government is for: that we must choose between a market organized for broad-based prosperity and one designed to deliver the most gains to the top. Reich presents a broad indictment of the economic status quo and a call to civic action.