The
3 Biggest Myths Blinding Us to the Economic Truth
By
Robert Reich
1. The “job creators” are CEOs,
corporations, and the rich, whose taxes must be low in order to induce them to
create more jobs. Rubbish.
The real job creators are the vast middle class and the poor, whose spending
induces businesses to create jobs. Which is why raising the minimum wage,
extending overtime protection, enlarging the Earned Income Tax Credit, and
reducing middle-class taxes are all necessary.
2. The critical choice is between the “free market” or “government.” Baloney. The free market doesn’t exist in nature. It’s created and enforced by government. And all the ongoing decisions about how it’s organized – what gets patent protection and for how long (the human genome?), who can declare bankruptcy (corporations? homeowners? student debtors?), what contracts are fraudulent (insider trading?) or coercive (predatory loans? mandatory arbitration?), and how much market power is excessive (Comcast and Time Warner?) – depend on government.
3. We should worry most about the size
of government. Wrong. We
should worry about who government is for.
When big money from giant corporations and Wall Street inundate our politics,
all decisions relating to #1 and #2 above become rigged against average working
Americans.
ROBERT
B. REICH, Chancellor’s Professor of Public Policy at the University of
California at Berkeley and Senior Fellow at the Blum Center for Developing
Economies, was Secretary of Labor in the Clinton administration. Time Magazine
named him one of the ten most effective cabinet secretaries of the twentieth
century. He has written thirteen books, including the best sellers
“Aftershock" and “The Work of Nations." His latest, "Beyond
Outrage," is now out in paperback. He is also a founding editor of the
American Prospect magazine and chairman of Common Cause. His new film,
"Inequality for All," is now available on Netflix, iTunes, DVD, and
On Demand.