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Robert Reich: The New Shape of Capitalism to Come?

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World Affairs Council: Nor Cal

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Robert Reich: Bail-Out May Be Beginning of the End

06 min 18 sec

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The 22nd Secretary of Labor and a professor at UC Berkeley, Robert Reich says the Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson Wall Street bailout plan is a bad idea. Reich states the current financial crisis is due to a lack of trust, which may prove to be the most lethal danger.

Reich says, "world-wide stocks may begin to plunge" if a decision isn't made by Friday. He goes on to state, "maybe it's the beginning of the end."

Reich advises to go along with the bail-out if bipartisan support is reached, Wall Street CEO salaries are penalized, strict regulations are outlined, home owner's are presented with a buy out plan, and taxpayers receive equity in the failed companies.
Reich on the Blunders of Ben Bernanke and Henry Paulson

02 min 51 sec

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Robert Reich points out the political blunders made by Benjamin Bernake and Henry Paulson over the past week, which include: heading to Congress with a fait accompli; heading to Congress with a fait accompli and asking for more money than anyone has ever imagined; expecting Congress to grant an unimaginable amount of money to an untrustworthy administration; and asking for the bail-out without third party advisors.
Reich Faults Bush, Greenspan, Clinton for Economic Crisis

02 min 01 sec

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Robert Reich faults Alan Greenspan, the Bush Administration, and the U.S. Treasury for the economic crisis.

However, he adds that the Clinton Administration's support of deregulation also contributed to the crisis.
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01 hr 03 min 30 sec

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There are 10 comments on this program

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Previous FORAtv comments:

MeMyself+I4life

Posted: 03.06.09, 06:58 PM

All you static thinkers out there. No one is taking your piece of the pie. If you want some pie, make your own and quit complaining that another person is making pie for themselves. Will all the self-entitled whiners please be quiet?

rspawn

Posted: 01.24.09, 08:59 AM

Is it not greed that causes the top 1% income earners to take home an ever increasing percentage of national income? Is it not the fact that the top 1% income earners to take home an ever increasing percentage of national income, that harms the middle class and the poor? Is it not greed that caused the wishful thinking regarding the high-risk mortgages that wrecked the economy? Then it is greed that harms the middle class and the poor and wrecks the economy.

rspawn

Posted: 01.24.09, 08:46 AM

Greed = wanting more for yourself. How does wanting/getting more for yourself help anyone but yourself? If the point of getting more would be to spend it, then it would not be called greed, it would be called Robinhoodism. But everyone seems to agree there is a lot of greed and little Robinhoodism. I say pavement is more useful than greed.

rwillems01

Posted: 10.25.08, 08:06 PM

So Much Anger

Oh my revokin, you seem to have so much anger within you. So this is what the socialists plan on bringing to America. No more "worthless lifestyes" composed of "meaningless trash". No more obiesity, no more Ipods, no cell phones or SUV's. No choice, no freedom to live your life as you see fit. What a utopia -- why have we waited so long to adopt such an envigorating lifestyle? I have read Marx -- forgive me but I missed the chapter on greenhouse gasses. "Workers of the World Unite -- and ride mass transit"! Funny, I noticed you missed a few names of the greedy exploiters. People like John Edwards, Al Gore, and Oprah Winfrey, to name a few. Tell me revokin, can I go with you when you go gather their riches to redistribute to the rest of us working stiffs? Or are they the good exploiters that will be allowed to keep what they "earned"? What shall we do when we come across a person that refuses to give up thier Ipod or cell phone --- of to reeducation? How about those obese people -- starvation diets? Surgery? Surely I don't have all the answers. If we could just find --- hmmm -- a messiah like individual that can show us the way. Take charge and just tell us what to do, how to do it and when to do it. That is what has made America great. That is what will make America great again.

revokin

Posted: 10.25.08, 09:12 AM

what is coming nobody wants o admit to-the end of capitalism in America as we know it. Not regulation but ownership and control of finance is the future.Only America has the old cutthroat capitalism and you can see the results.Billionaires abound,the end of the middle class and labor unions,a concentration of wealth that is crushing the democratic system of govt.,millions with no health care,bankruptcy for those with health insurance due to unfettered health care cost increases, and now,the collapse of real estate values, the only asset left to the middle class.What good is FDIC when hardly anyone has any money in the bank. The spread of poverty,the end of the 401K to retire with,the end of fixed pensions and the dwindling of social security all point to the demise of American Capitalism. Now we will enter an era of Socialism, where society will take responsibility for all its people and wealth will not be allowed to be hoarded and amassed by greedy,amoral,felons with no conscience,no regard for anyone.The Martha Stewart,Leona Helmsly,Richard Fuld types will no longer get the opportunity to flush us down the toilet and then coyly say how they didn't do any such thing. Socialism will bring us social justice, a living wage,universal health care, a clean environment and significant reduction of greenhouse gases, new industries and real jobs,not flipping burgers or clerking in WalMart,and real democracy instead of the lobbyist version portrayed by Jack Abramoff.We don't need anymore Tom DElays,Grover norquists,Karl Roves and Sarah Palins.Our nation has been trashed long enough by the systematic,institutional lieing of its leaders,the secrecy and betrayal of Dick Cheny,Ken Lay, and all those types of unscrupulous vultures.The American people work harder and harder and are getting nowhere fast.We are losing our ability to learn in school,to advance at work,and to hold our heads up high before the rest of the civilized world. We have become liars,torturers,exploiters,invaders and occupyers,polluters,and borrowers of all the wealth in the world for our own worthless lifestyles.We have become insane consumers of meaningless trash while our society stands before the world with its SUVs,cell phones,ip[ods,obesity,drug addiction,failing schools,contempt for science,for the earth,for justice.And we have done all this on credit,which is now disappearing into the toilet,too.Credit and unsustainable debt will go down in history as the end of capitalism,greed,ownersip of 99% of all the wealth by 1% of the peole.Our industries will be owned by us all and will be for the benefit of all. Our resources will benefit us all and those like Cheney and Norquist can go the Dubai and stay there.We don't need anything from them ever again.

jensenjoe

Posted: 10.07.08, 12:18 PM

I was surprised to hear Dr. Reich say that the Clinton administration take regulation away from the Banks and give them deregulation in the late 1990's. I remember President Reagan do that, and completely destroy unions starting with Patco in the Airline industry. Very sad to hear that this country has lead US down a crooked path. jensenjoe

jyh

Posted: 10.01.08, 11:15 PM

Missed point

I understand you anger folks, but isn't the point missed? The question is: do the market goals align with the public goals? Sometimes the market seems great, like, "You too can own a house!" Yet, remember, the market favors shorter term goals, shorter term profits. In the market, small investors are protected by bankruptcy, larger investors are protected by government bailouts -- by design. The "free market" folks say that market goals always align with the people. Realists can say that market goals sometimes , even often , align with the people. Yet, when real lending rates become negative and deflationary, then all bets are off. Deflationary periods are incredibly damaging. That's why regulation is there: -- look, when it seems too good to be true, it is too good to be true. We need regulation to encourage fiscally sound planning. We don't need a lot of regulation, but the "free market" fundamentalists have led us astray. Let's avoid $700B bailouts in the future. Let's choose leaders who favor real investment by real people, instead of firms who depend on protection by bailout. These banks are smart. It is clear that they know what they are doing. Your bailout is part of the planning. Look, it only costs you, personally, $2000 per person. For your family, it costs about $6000 to bailout these folks. You need to do it because they messed up, and you will lose your job, in the major recession to come, unless you pay to save them. That's called "Free Market Capitalism." Our administration has us involved in two costly wars, and an unregulated free market. Look, people, I could have used that $6K this year. But hey, I guess you people like that tax, because you get a lot of benefits from the Bush administration.

farber2

Posted: 10.01.08, 06:12 PM

the federal government is, who ever has the current majority. Bush is trying to replace government with a so called free market. an individual company can fall to the market fluxuations, but our nation's infrastructure can't fall for any reason. our nation's infrastructure needs priority over market whims.

Jay E

Posted: 09.30.08, 04:15 PM

arnston not to complicate matters, but cf. the Federal Reserve is neither , so I ask you by literal def, " who is the Federal Government"?

arntson

Posted: 09.29.08, 10:16 PM

Yes, the problem IS trust. Why don't investment banks trust the numbers written down? Because the Federal Government continues to devalue our money by artificially keeping interest rates low and by simply printing more money. We don't trust our money because it is no longer backed by gold. It isn't backed by anything. Only "trust."