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Robert Reich
Berkeley prof, former Sec. of Lab. @InequalityMedia. Movies "Saving Capitalism" & "Inequality for All" on Netflix. Books: The Common Good, Saving Capitalism,etc
When billionaires and corporate executives recommend Americans get back to work for the sake of the “economy,” they’re really urging that other people get sick for the sake of their own stock portfolios.
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Amazon, one of the richest corporations in the world, which paid almost no taxes last year, is offering UNPAID time off for workers who are sick & just two weeks paid leave for workers who test positive for the virus. Meanwhile, it demands its employees put in mandatory overtime.
Some of the same people who argue that we should limit a woman's control of her own body in the name of saving lives...now argue that we should let some people die in the name of saving Wall St. profits. It's corporate greed above all else.
Call me a radical lefty, but in the middle of a pandemic shouldn't we be following the guidance of doctors, not bankers and corporate executives?
Corporate executives want their employees to sacrifice themselves for stock market gains while they continue working from the safety and comfort of their billion-dollar mansions. This is the most morally repugnant class warfare you could imagine.
Amazon, among America's most profitable corporations, doesn't give its workers paid sick leave. If they test positive for COVID-19 they get just 2 weeks. And overtime is mandatory. Shameful at any time. Now, during pandemic, morally indefensible.
Hahnemann Hospital could hold 500 patients. But investment banker Joel Freedman wants to charge the City of Philadelphia nearly $1M/month to reopen it during the pandemic. While the nation suffers, some investors are still trying to get rich. Shameful.
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Just so we're all clear, Trump says he won't use the Defense Protection Act to order companies to make more equipment to save lives because he "doesn’t want to interfere in the free market." Explain to me how bailing out corporations isn't interfering in the free market?
No industry -- not airlines, not hotels, not cruise ships -- should be bailed out. They can stay in business by borrowing at rock-bottom rates, using their assets as collateral. Taxpayer money should be used to bail out people, not corporations.
As a former secretary of labor, I can tell you that the airlines don't deserve a $50 billion bailout. In the last 10 years, they spent 96% of their cash flow to buy back shares of their own stock in order to boost executive bonuses. They shouldn't see a dime of taxpayer money.
McDonalds Burger King Pizza Hut Duncan Donuts Wendy's Taco Bell Subway None give their workers paid sick leave. They should be required to post this sign on their doors: "Because we don't give our workers paid sick leave, they may be sick when they serve you."
As a former secretary of labor, I can tell you that we shouldn't be talking about stimulating the economy or going back to work. We should be talking about shutting down the economy and keeping people home, with enough money so they can pay their bills. THREAD.
Trump's proposed cuts to food stamps would affect: - 400,000 people in Texas - 328,000 in Florida - 225,000 in Pennsylvania - 176,000 in Washington State - 165,000 in Michigan - 118,000 in Wisconsin - 97,000 in GeorgiaPass it on.
The biggest U.S. airlines spent 96% of free cash flow over the last decade to buy back shares of their own stock in order to boost executive bonuses and please wealthy investors. Now, they expect taxpayers to bail them out to the tune of $50 billion. It's the same old story.
The 26 richest people on Earth now own as much as the 3.8 billion who form the poorer *half* of the planet’s population. Again, 26 people own as much as 3.8 billion people. 26 v. 3,800,000,000
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