View source for Robert Reich

{{Short description|American academic, lawyer and political commentator (born 1946)}}
{{distinguish|Robert Raich|Rob Reich}}
{{Use American English|date=March 2022}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}}
{{Infobox officeholder
| name                = Robert Reich
| image               = Robert Reich.jpg
| alt                 = Official portrait of Reich in 1993
| caption             = Official portrait, 1993
| office              = 22nd [[United States Secretary of Labor]]
| term_start          = January 20, 1993
| term_end            = January 20, 1997
| president           = [[Bill Clinton]]
| predecessor         = [[Lynn M. Martin]]
| successor           = [[Alexis Herman]]
| birth_name          = Robert Bernard Reich
| birth_date          = {{birth date and age|1946|6|24}}
| birth_place         = [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], U.S.
| death_date          = 
| death_place         = 
| party               = [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]]
| spouse              = {{ubl |{{marriage|Clare Dalton|1973|2012|end=div}} |Perian Flaherty}}
| children            = [[Sam Reich]] <br> Adam Reich
| education           = {{ubl |[[Dartmouth College]] ([[Bachelor of Arts|BA]]) |[[University College, Oxford]] ([[Master of Arts|MA]]) |[[Yale University]] ([[Juris Doctor|JD]])}}
| awards              = [[The VIZE 97 Prize]] (2003)
| website             = {{Official URL}}
| module              = {{infobox social media personality
| child = yes
| youtube_handle        = RBReich
| youtube_display_name  = Robert Reich


| youtube_years_active  = 2015–present
| youtube_genre         = 
| youtube_subscribers   = 1.3 million<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| youtube_views         = 169.9 million<!-- PLEASE DO NOT CHANGE WITHOUT UPDATING stats_update BELOW -->
| stats_update        = August 2025
}}
| module2             = {{Listen voice
| filename            = "The First Step to Fixing the Electoral College" by Robert Reich.opus
| published           = May 9, 2023
| description         = Reich supporting the [[National Popular Vote Interstate Compact]].}}
}}
'''Robert Bernard Reich''' ({{IPAc-en|'|r|aɪ|ʃ|audio=en-us-Reich.ogg}} {{respell|RYSH}};<ref>{{cite web | url = https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/standards-guidelines/qrst/#r | title = NLS/BPH: Other Writings, Say How? Key to Pronunciation | publisher = Loc.gov | date = February 16, 2011 | access-date = May 26, 2012 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170724121411/https://www.loc.gov/nls/about/organization/standards-guidelines/qrst/#r |archive-date=2017-07-24}}</ref> born June{{nbsp}}24, 1946) is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator.<ref>{{cite news | url = https://www.nytimes.com/2017/11/20/business/robert-reich-saving-capitalism.html | title = Robert Reich, a Multiplatform Gadfly, Comes to Netflix | first = David | last = Gelles | newspaper = New York Times | date = November 20, 2017}}</ref> He worked in the administrations of presidents [[Gerald Ford]] and [[Jimmy Carter]],<ref>{{Cite web | title = Robert Reich teaching at UC Berkeley {{!}} UC Berkeley News | url = https://newsarchive.berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2004/01/12_Reich.shtml | access-date=2024-07-19 | website = newsarchive.berkeley.edu}}</ref> and he served as [[United States Secretary of Labor|secretary of labor]] in the [[Presidency of Bill Clinton#Administration|cabinet]] of President [[Bill Clinton]] from 1993 to 1997.<ref>{{Cite web | title = Hall of Secretaries: Robert B. Reich {{!}} U.S. Department of Labor | url = https://www.dol.gov/general/aboutdol/history/reich|access-date=2020-12-02 | website = www.dol.gov}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web | date = 6 September 2012 | title = Robert Reich on America, the Global Economy, and our Future | url = https://www.pugetsound.edu/news-and-events/campus-news/details/1059/ | access-date = 2 December 2020 | website = University of Puget Sound | archive-date = September 23, 2012 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120923233127/http://www.pugetsound.edu/news-and-events/campus-news/details/1059/ | url-status = dead }}</ref> He was also a member of President [[Barack Obama]]'s economic transition advisory board.<ref>{{cite web | last = Reich | first = Robert | date = November 7, 2008 | title = Obama's Transition Economic Advisory Board: the Full List | url = https://www.usnews.com/articles/news/campaign-2008/2008/11/07/obamas-transition-economic-advisory-board-the-full-listn.html | access-date = October 24, 2013 | publisher = [[U.S. News & World Report]]}}</ref> In 2008, [[Time (magazine)|''Time'']] magazine named him one of the Ten Best Cabinet Members of the century;<ref>{{cite magazine|url=http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1858368_1858367_1858365,00.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20081219051004/http://www.time.com/time/specials/packages/article/0,28804,1858368_1858367_1858365,00.html |archive-date=December 19, 2008 |title=Robert Reich – Top 10 Best Cabinet Members |magazine=[[TIME]] |date=November 13, 2008 |access-date=October 24, 2013}}</ref> in the same year ''The Wall Street Journal'' placed him sixth on its list of Most Influential Business Thinkers.<ref>{{cite web|last=White |first=Erin |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB120994652485566323?mod=US-Business-News |title=Quest for Innovation, Motivation Inspires the Gurus |publisher=[[Wall Street Journal]] |date=May 5, 2008 |access-date=October 24, 2013}}</ref>

Reich has also had a long teaching career. From 1981 to 1992 he was a lecturer at [[Harvard University]]'s [[John F. Kennedy School of Government]]<ref>{{cite news|url=https://news.google.com/newspapers?id=_O8vAAAAIBAJ&pg=3395,3440029 | work=Chicago Tribune | publisher=Lakeland Ledger |title=Clinton's top economic adviser likes the unusual | first=R.C | last=Longworth |date=December 6, 1992 | access-date=June 20, 2011 }}</ref> and from 1997 to 2005 he was a professor of social and economic policy at the [[Heller School for Social Policy and Management]] of [[Brandeis University]]. In January 2006 he was appointed Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the [[Goldman School of Public Policy]] at [[UC Berkeley]].<ref name="BK">{{cite web|title=Robert Reich {{!}} Faculty & Affiliated Academics {{!}} Faculty & Directories {{!}} Goldman School of Public Policy {{!}} University of California, Berkeley|url=https://gspp.berkeley.edu/directories/faculty/robert-reich|website=gspp.berkeley.edu|access-date=February 27, 2017|language=en}}</ref> He taught his last class at Berkeley in the spring of 2023<ref>{{cite web |last1=Reich |first1=Robert |title=My last class |url=https://robertreich.substack.com/p/my-last-class |website=Robert Reich (substack) |access-date=22 August 2025 |date=25 April 2025}}</ref> and is currently Emeritus Carmel P. Friesen Professor of Public Policy.<ref name="BK"/>

Reich has published numerous books,<ref>{{cite web |title=Author Bio – Robert Reich |url=https://www.penguinrandomhouse.com/authors/52466/robert-b-reich |website=Penguin Random House}}</ref> including the best-sellers ''The Work of Nations'' (1991), ''[[Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America|Reason]]'' (2004), ''[[Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life|Supercapitalism]]'' (2007), ''Aftershock'' (2010), ''Beyond Outrage'' (2012), and ''Saving Capitalism'' (2015). The Robert Reich–[[Jacob Kornbluth]] film ''[[Saving Capitalism]]'' debuted on Netflix in November 2017, and their film ''[[Inequality for All]]'' won a U.S. Documentary Special Jury Award for Achievement in Filmmaking at the [[2013 Sundance Film Festival]].<ref>{{cite web|title='Inequality for All' wins Sundance award|date=January 27, 2013|url=http://econintersect.com/b2evolution/blog1.php/2013/01/27/inequality-for-all-wins-sundance-award|publisher=Ecointersect.com|access-date=October 24, 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=The Movie Exposing the lies at the heart of U.S. capitalism |publisher=[[The Observer]] / [[The Japan Times]] |last=Cadwalladr |first=Carole |author-link=Carole Cadwalladr |url=https://www.japantimes.co.jp/culture/2013/02/08/films/the-movie-exposing-the-lies-at-the-heart-of-u-s-capitalism/ |url-access=subscription |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130513022256/http://www.japantimes.co.jp/opinion/2013/02/08/general/the-movie-exposing-the-lies-at-the-heart-of-u-s-capitalism/#.UZBOiHbP32c |archive-date=2013-05-13 |access-date=October 19, 2025 |date=February 8, 2013}}{{cbignore}}</ref> He is board chair emeritus of the watchdog group [[Common Cause]] and blogs at Robertreich.org.<ref>{{cite web |author=Peter Vidani |title=Robert Reich |url=http://www.robertreich.org/ |access-date=October 24, 2013 |publisher=Robert Reich}}</ref>

== Early life and career ==
Reich was born to a Jewish family in [[Scranton, Pennsylvania]], the son of Mildred Freshman (née Dorf) (1919–2006) and Edwin Saul Reich (1914–2016), who owned a women's clothing store.<ref>{{cite book|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mHRmAAAAMAAJ&q=Robert+Reich+scranton |title=Newsmakers: the people behind today's headlines: 1995 cumulation, includes ... – Louise Mooney Collins, Gale Research Inc – Google Books |access-date=November 9, 2012|isbn=9780810357457 |year=1995 |author1=Lins |publisher=Gale Research }}</ref> As a teenager, he was diagnosed with [[multiple epiphyseal dysplasia]], also known as Fairbank's disease, a genetic disorder that results in short stature and other symptoms. This condition made Reich a target for bullies, and he sought out the protection of older boys; one of them was [[Michael Schwerner]], who was one of the three civil rights workers [[murders of Chaney, Goodman, and Schwerner|murdered in Mississippi]] by the [[Ku Klux Klan]] in 1964 for registering African-American voters. Reich cites this event as an inspiration to "fight the bullies, to protect the powerless, to make sure that the people without a voice have a voice".<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailycal.org/2011/11/18/transcript-robert-reichs-speech-at/|title=Transcript: Robert Reich's speech at Occupy Cal|first=Robert | last=Reich|publisher=[[The Daily Californian]]|date=November 18, 2011|access-date=September 11, 2013}}</ref>

Reich attended [[John Jay High School (Cross River, New York)|John Jay High School]] in [[Cross River, New York]], where he received a [[National Merit Scholarship Program|National Merit Scholarship]]. He graduated from [[Dartmouth College]] in 1968 with a [[bachelor's degree]] in history, ''[[summa cum laude]]''.<ref name=":0" /> While at Dartmouth, Reich went on a date with [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham (later Clinton)]], then an undergraduate at [[Wellesley College]].<ref name="Date with Hillary">{{cite web |author1=Phillips, Kate |author2=Bumiller, Elisabeth |name-list-style=amp |date=August 6, 2007 <!-- 9:39 pm --> |title=The Caucus: Taking the Mystery Out of a Date |url=http://thecaucus.blogs.nytimes.com/2007/08/06/hillary-date-2/?_php=true&_type=blogs |access-date=August 12, 2014 |work=The New York Times; The Caucus, The Politics and Government Blog of The Times}}</ref> He won a [[Rhodes Scholarship]] to study [[Philosophy, Politics, and Economics]] at [[University College, Oxford]].<ref name=":0">{{cite web | last=Turco | first=Al | url=http://www.stonehamindependent.com/archives/2002/03/20/2 | title=Democrat Robert Reich says he's prepared to make a difference in Mass | work=[[Stoneham Independent]] | date=March 20, 2002 | access-date=April 21, 2008 | quote=Reich started out as a graduate of John Jay High School, a regional public high school in small-town Cross River, New York. Reich then earned a [[Bachelor of Arts|B.A.]] degree from Dartmouth College in 1968 and won a Rhodes Scholarship to study at Oxford where he received degrees in philosophy, politics and economics. | archive-date=October 22, 2012 | archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121022135213/http://www.stonehamindependent.com/archives/2002/03/20/2 | url-status=dead }}</ref> While studying at Oxford, Reich first met [[Bill Clinton]], also a Rhodes Scholar. Although Reich was drafted to serve in the [[Vietnam War]], he did not pass the physical examination; due to his dysplasia condition, Reich is {{convert|4|ft|11|in|m}} tall, shorter than the required minimum height of {{height|ft=5|in=0}}.<ref>{{cite book | last=Maraniss | first=David | title=First in His Class: A Biography of Bill Clinton. |publisher=Simon & Schuster | date=1995 | isbn=9780684818900 |url=https://archive.org/details/firstinhisclass00davi }}</ref> Reich received his [[Master of Arts (Oxford, Cambridge, and Dublin)|M.A.]] from the [[University of Oxford]] in 1970.<ref>[https://gspp.berkeley.edu/assets/uploads/faculty/cv/Robert_B._Reich_CV_%282_19%29_.pdf CV Robert B. Reich] - website of the [[Goldman School of Public Policy]]</ref> He subsequently earned a [[Juris Doctor|J.D.]] from [[Yale Law School]], where he was an editor of the ''[[Yale Law Journal]]''. At Yale, he was a classmate of [[Bill Clinton]], [[Hillary Clinton|Hillary Rodham]], [[Clarence Thomas]], [[Michael Medved]], and [[Richard Blumenthal]].<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/clinton/interviews/reich.html |title=Interviews – Robert Reich &#124; The Clinton Years &#124; FRONTLINE |publisher=PBS |date=January 16, 2001 |access-date=May 26, 2012}}</ref>

From 1973 to 1974, Reich served as a law clerk to Judge [[Frank M. Coffin]], chief judge of the [[U.S. Court of Appeals for the First Circuit]]. From 1974 to 1976, he was an assistant to [[U.S. Solicitor General]] [[Robert Bork]], under whom he had studied [[antitrust law]] while at Yale.<ref>[https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KLfO-2t1qPQ&t=7m54s The Monopolization of America], published on Robert Reich's YouTube channel (May 6, 2018)</ref> In 1977, President [[Jimmy Carter]] appointed him as director of the policy planning staff at the [[Federal Trade Commission]]. From 1980 until 1992, Reich taught at the [[John F. Kennedy School of Government]] at Harvard University, where he wrote a series of books and articles, including ''The Next American Frontier'' and ''The Work of Nations''.

== Tenure as secretary of labor ==
[[File:rbreich.jpg|thumb|Reich's official Department of Labor portrait]]
Bill Clinton incorporated Reich's thinking into his 1992 campaign platform, and after Clinton won the election, he appointed Reich to head economic policy for the [[Presidential transition of Bill Clinton|presidential transition]].<ref>{{cite news |last1=Friedman |first1=Thomas L. |title=THE TRANSITION: Clinton Selects Diverse Team of Advisers|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1992/11/13/us/the-transition-the-new-team-1-clinton-selects-diverse-team-of-advisers.html |newspaper=[[The New York Times]] |access-date=19 Jul 2022 |date=13 November 1992}}</ref>

Reich joined the administration as [[Secretary of Labor|secretary of labor]]. On January 21, 1993, his nomination was [[Advice and consent|confirmed]] unanimously and without controversy, along with a slate of Clinton appointees.<ref>{{cite news|title=SENATE VOTES TO CONFIRM ALL BUT TWO OF CLINTON'S CABINET NOMINEES|last1=Dewar|first1=Helen|last2=Weisskopf|first2=Michael|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/01/22/senate-votes-to-confirm-all-but-two-of-clintons-cabinet-nominees/ac9e7754-e911-4bd9-9282-0e8cbdacd239/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=22 Jan 1993|access-date=19 Jul 2022}}</ref>

In the very early days of the administration, Reich was seen as one of the most powerful members of the Clinton cabinet, both for his friendship with the president and his ambitious agenda for the Department of Labor. Reich envisioned Labor as the nucleus of a cluster of agencies, including the departments of Commerce and Education, which could act in tandem to break down traditional bureaucratic barriers.<ref name=1993profile>{{cite news|title=An Idea Man Flexes His Muscle: Labor Secretary Robert Reich is turning his low-profile post into a power base. His close ties to the President have given him a wide-ranging portfolio and clout.|last=Risen|first=James|date=7 Jun 1993|access-date=19 Jul 2022|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1993-06-07-mn-598-story.html|newspaper=[[The Los Angeles Times]]}}</ref> Consistent with the 1992 Clinton platform and his writings before taking office, Reich called for more federal spending on jobs training and infrastructure.<ref name=1993profile/>

Reich also took the initiative to expand his flexible power as an economic advisor-at-large to the president. As a member of the [[National Economic Council (United States)|National Economic Council]], Reich advised Clinton on health care reform, education policy, welfare reform, national service initiatives, and technology policy, in addition to deficit reduction and spending priorities. He also actively engaged independent government agencies, such as the [[Federal Communications Commission]], to take a labor-focused approach to regulation.<ref name=1993profile/> He referred to himself as "secretary of the American work force" and "the central banker of the nation's greatest resource".<ref name=1993profile/>

However, Reich clashed with deficit hawks on the administration's economic team,<ref name=1995profile>{{cite news|title=ROBERT REICH: THE RETURN OF A POLICYMAKER|last=Swoboda|first=Frank|date=7 May 1995|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1995/05/07/robert-reich-the-return-of-a-policymaker/247cbd6e-ebe1-49f1-8a27-77d989f6ba7e/|access-date=19 Jul 2022}}</ref> including budget director [[Leon Panetta]]<ref name=1993profile/> and Federal Reserve chair [[Alan Greenspan]], a holdover from the Reagan administration whom Clinton reappointed.<ref name=memoirreview/> Reducing the deficit was the administration's top economic priority, placing Reich's economic agenda on hold.<ref name=1995profile/> He later credited [[Hillary Clinton]] with keeping him apprised of activities within the White House.<ref name=memoirreview/>

During Reich's tenure, he implemented the [[Family and Medical Leave Act]] (FMLA) and successfully lobbied to increase the national [[minimum wage]].<ref name=cnn>{{cite news|url=https://money.cnn.com/1996/08/20/economy/pension_pkg/ | work=CNN Money | title=U.S. minimum wage hike | date=August 20, 1996}}</ref>

===NAFTA===
{{Main|North American Free Trade Agreement}}

Throughout his first year in office, Reich was a leading proponent of the [[North American Free Trade Agreement]] (NAFTA); this agreement was negotiated by the [[George H. W. Bush administration]], and it was supported by Clinton after two side agreements negotiated to satisfy labor and environmental groups. Reich served as the leading public and private spokesman for the Clinton administration against organized labor, who continued to oppose the Agreement as a whole.

In July 1993, Reich said that the unions were "just plain wrong" to suggest that NAFTA would cause a loss of American employment; he predicted that "given the pace of growth of the Mexican automobile market over the next 15 years, I would say that more automobile jobs would be created in the United States than would be lost to Mexico... [T]he American automobile industry will grow substantially, and the net effect will be an increase in automobile jobs." He further argued that trade liberalization after World War II had led to the "biggest increase in jobs and standard of living among the industrialized nations [in] history.
"<ref>{{cite news|title=Reich: Labor 'Plain Wrong' On Nafta|last=Newkirk|first=William|newspaper=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|date=14 July 1993|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-07-14-9307140084-story.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220719210106/https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-07-14-9307140084-story.html |archive-date=2022-07-19 |access-date=19 July 2022}}</ref>

In a September 1993 speech to the [[Center for National Policy]] think tank, Reich said, "Great change demands great flexibility -- the capacity to adapt quickly and continuously, to change jobs, change directions, gain new skills. But the sad irony is that massive change on the scale we are now facing may be inviting the opposite reaction: a politics of preservation, grounded in fear." Reich specifically said that opposition to NAFTA "has little to do with the agreement and much to do with the pervasive anxieties arising from economic changes that are already affecting Americans."<ref>{{cite news|title=LABOR CHIEF CHASTISES OPPONENTS OF NAFTA|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1993/09/02/labor-chief-chastises-opponents-of-nafta/cb71e065-932d-4a1d-8196-ceff3b999bd9/|newspaper=Washington Post|date=September 1, 1993|access-date=19 Jul 2022|last=Swoboda|first=Frank}}</ref> In October, Reich addressed the biannual [[AFL-CIO]] convention in San Francisco, where economist Thea Lea of the [[Economic Policy Institute]] mocked Reich's view as a "[[Field of Dreams|field-of-dreams]]" theory of job creation.<ref>{{cite news|title=Unions Gird for War Over Trade Pact|url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/10/04/us/unions-gird-for-war-over-trade-pact.html|newspaper=[[The New York Times]]|date=4 Oct 1993|last=Kilborn|first=Peter T.|page=A14}}</ref> His remarks were generally well-received, though only briefly mentioning NAFTA; he focused on the Clinton administration's approach to the [[National Labor Relations Board]] and day-to-day business regulation and management-labor relations.<ref>{{cite news|title=REICH NOT BASHFUL WHEN IT COMES TO WOOING BIG LABOR
|url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1993-10-06-9310060004-story.html|date=6 Oct 1993|last=Franklin|first=Stephen|newspaper=[[The Chicago Tribune]]|access-date=19 Jul 2022}}</ref>

In advance of the final vote, Reich personally lobbied members of Congress to support the Agreement.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.tampabay.com/archive/1993/10/11/the-tide-seems-to-have-shifted-in-favor-of-nafta/|title=The tide seems to have shifted in favor of NAFTA|date=11 Oct 1993|newspaper=[[The Tampa Bay Times]]|last=Rowen|first=Hobart|quote='But now, there's a big-time effort for NAFTA under way,' says a Democratic congressman who's been wooed by the White House. 'I've talked to the president _ and they get me at home, too. I've had phone calls from [Labor Secretary Robert] Reich, [Commerce Secretary Ron] Brown and others.'}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=REICH: JOBS PLAN WON'T HELP NAFTA
|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/politics/1993/10/21/reich-jobs-plan-wont-help-nafta/3f3dde38-b904-46ec-84e3-42eac9ea82f2/|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|last=Swoboda|first=Frank|date=21 Oct 1993|access-date=19 Jul 2022}}</ref> The bill passed the House by a vote of 234–200 on November 17 and the Senate by a vote of 61–38 on November 20; President Clinton signed it into law on December 8.

Over twenty years later, in opposing the [[Trans-Pacific Partnership]] as "NAFTA on steroids", Reich repudiated his position. He further admitted that he regretted "not doing more to strengthen [NAFTA]'s labor and environmental side-agreements", though he denied supporting an expedited "fast-track" legislative process without opportunity for amendment.<ref>{{cite news|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/in-the-loop/wp/2014/01/29/robert-reich-for-fast-track-before-he-was-against-it/|title=Robert Reich: For 'fast track' before he was against it?|last=Kamen|first=Al|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|date=29 Jan 2014}}</ref>

===Return to influence (1995–1997)===
{{Main|104th Congress}}

{{See also|1994 United States elections}}
By August 1994, Reich had largely been sidelined on policy by the deficit hawks in the administration. With the approval of the White House, he delivered the first of four major speeches on the emergence of a new "[[economic anxiety|anxious class]]" of Americans who were concerned with increased [[globalization|global competition]] and technological change.<ref name=1995profile/>

After a disastrous performance by the Democratic Party in the [[1994 United States elections|midterm elections in November 1994]], Reich returned to the forefront of the Clinton economic team.<ref name=1995profile/> Clinton reframed his agenda around a set of Reich proposals: middle-class tax cuts, a boost in the minimum wage, tax deductions for college tuition, federal grants to help workers upgrade their skills, and a ban on [[strikebreaker|strike replacements]].<ref name=1995profile/>

In a speech to the [[Democratic Leadership Council]] shortly after the election, Reich called for cutting corporate subsidies, which he labeled "[[corporate welfare]]", as the only viable way to afford jobs training programs. In a concession to the new Republican congress, Reich said that many federal job training programs did not work; he also said that it was necessary to consolidate programs that work and eliminate those that did not.<ref>{{cite news|title=REICH: CUT 'CORPORATE WELFARE' TOO|date=22 Nov 1994|last=Swoboda|first=Frank|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1994/11/22/reich-cut-corporate-welfare-too/c96867e7-e9c8-448b-85f4-30a5fbf99cad/|access-date=19 Jul 2022}}</ref><ref name=1995profile/> After the speech, Treasury Secretary [[Lloyd Bentsen]] and Commerce Secretary [[Ron Brown]] attempted to distance the administration from Reich's corporate welfare comments. However, Bentsen soon resigned; Reich continued to attack corporate welfare.<ref name=1995profile/>

In February 1995, Reich met opposition within the administration over his proposal to ban government contractors from permanently replacing striking workers. Clinton sided with Reich, thereby re-establishing his central role in the administration's economic policy.<ref name=1995profile/>

Reich gave weekly speeches attacking the new Republican majority, with his central message being the need to adapt to an [[information economy|"information-based" economy]] and the continued need for job re-training. He said, "We can't get the mass production economy back. The challenge now is of a different kind, and many have found it difficult to adapt. This is a major social transformation." During a Chicago call-in radio show, he said, "You are on a downward escalator. You have a lot of job insecurity because of the tidal wave of corporate downsizing and restructuring."<ref name=1995profile/>

In December 1995, Reich delivered a commencement speech at the [[University of Maryland, College Park]]; in this speech, he decried the increasing tendency of wealthy, educated Americans to divide themselves from the general population as "the secession of the successful America".<ref>{{cite news|title=REICH VOICES CONCERN OVER GROWING ECONOMIC ELITISM|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/archive/business/1995/12/26/reich-voices-concern-over-growing-economic-elitism/e7df1526-2a76-4702-860f-9ba1130f69f6/|last=Swoboda|first=Frank|date=26 Dec 1995|access-date=19 Jul 2022|newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>

===Resignation and memoir===
In 1996, between Clinton's re-election and second inauguration, Reich decided to leave the Department of Labor to spend more time with his sons, then in their teen years.

By April 1997, Reich published his experiences working for the Clinton administration in his book ''Locked in the Cabinet''. Among those whom he criticized in the memoir were Clinton advisor [[Dick Morris]], former AFL-CIO head [[Lane Kirkland]], and Federal Reserve Board chairman [[Alan Greenspan]], a leading deficit hawk whom he considered "the most powerful man in the world."<ref name=memoirreview>{{cite news|title=Inside the Beltway but Out of the Loop: Locked in the Cabinet by Robert B. Reich|last=Thomas|first=Evan|url=https://archive.nytimes.com/www.nytimes.com/books/98/09/13/specials/reich-cabinet.html|date=27 Apr 1997}}</ref> In the book, Reich criticizes the Democratic Party as being "owned by" business. He also criticizes Washington as having two real political parties during his tenure: the "Save the Jobs" party, which wanted to maintain the status quo, and the "Let 'Em Drown" party.<ref name=memoirreview/>

After publication of the book, Reich received criticism for embellishing events with invented dialogue that did not match [[C-SPAN]] tapes or official transcripts of meetings.<ref name=memoir>{{cite news|url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9D0DE2DA173EF937A15751C0A96E958260 | work=The New York Times | title=Now! Read the True (More or Less) Story!; Publishers and Authors Debate the Boundaries Of Nonfiction | first=Doreen | last=Carvajal | date=February 24, 1998 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref> The paperback release of the memoir revised or omitted the inventions. In one story, members of the [[National Association of Manufacturers]] (NAM) confronted Reich with curses and shouts of "Go back to Harvard!" In the revised version of the NAM story, Reich is instead hissed at. The foreword to the paperback edition contained an explanation, in which Reich says that "memory is fallible".<ref name=memoir/>

The memoir has since been called "a classic of the pissed-off-secretary genre" by [[Glenn Thrush]].<ref>{{cite news|title=LOCKED IN THE CABINET: The worst job in Barack Obama's Washington|url=https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2013/11/locked-in-the-cabinet-099374/|date=Nov 2013|website=Politico|access-date=19 Jul 2022|last=Thrush|first=Glenn}}</ref>

== After the Clinton administration ==
Reich became a professor at [[Brandeis University]] in 1997, teaching courses for undergraduates as well as in the [[Heller School for Social Policy and Management]]. In 2003, he was elected Professor of the Year by the undergraduate student body.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://healthcarereform.procon.org/view.source.php?sourceID=010214 |title=Biography, Robert Reich, JD, Chancellor's Professor of Public Policy at the University of California at Berkeley |date=September 1, 2010 |website=Pro to the question "Is the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) Good for America?" |publisher=ProCon.org |location=Santa Monica, CA |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-date=June 27, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170627033049/http://healthcarereform.procon.org/view.source.php?sourceID=010214 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

On January 1, 2006, Reich joined the faculty of UC Berkeley's [[Goldman School of Public Policy]]. Until his retirement in 2023, he taught a popular undergraduate course called Wealth and Poverty, in addition to his graduate courses.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/7345 |title=University of California – UC Newsroom &#124; Robert Reich to join School of Public Policy |publisher=Universityofcalifornia.edu |date=July 22, 2005 |access-date=May 26, 2012 |archive-date=June 29, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120629055329/http://www.universityofcalifornia.edu/news/article/7345 |url-status=dead }}</ref> Reich is also a member of the board of trustees for the Blum Center for Developing Economies at the [[University of California, Berkeley]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Maclay |first=Kathleen |url=http://berkeley.edu/news/media/releases/2006/04/19_blum.shtml |title=4.19.2006 – Blum Center to develop sustainable solutions to issues facing world's poor |publisher=Berkeley.edu |date=April 19, 2006 |access-date=May 26, 2012}}</ref> The center is focused on finding solutions to address the crisis of extreme poverty and disease in the developing world.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://blumcenter.berkeley.edu |title=Blum Center for Developing Economies &#124; Real-World Solutions to Combat Poverty |publisher=Blumcenter.berkeley.edu |access-date=May 26, 2012}}</ref> In February 2017, Reich criticized UC Berkeley's decision to host [[Milo Yiannopoulos]], a supporter of Donald Trump. Following [[2017 Berkeley protests#February 1|protests on the Berkeley Campus]], Reich stated that although he didn't "want to add to the conspiratorial musings"<ref>{{cite news |last1=reich |first1=Robert |title=A Yiannopoulos, Bannon, Trump Plot to Control American Universities? |url=https://robertreich.org/post/156777888615 |newspaper=Tumblr}}</ref> he wouldn't rule out the possibility the "agitators" represented a right-wing "[[false flag]]" for Trump to strip universities of federal funding.<ref>{{cite web |title=Robert Reich: Who Sent the Thugs to Berkeley? |url=https://www.newsweek.com/robert-reich-who-sent-thugs-berkeley-552577 |website=Newsweek|date=February 4, 2017 }}</ref>

===2002 campaign for Governor of Massachusetts===
{{See also|2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election#Democratic primary}}
[[2002 Massachusetts gubernatorial election|In 2002]], Reich ran for the office of [[Governor of Massachusetts]], losing in the [[Democratic Party (United States)|Democratic]] primary to [[Shannon O'Brien (Massachusetts politician)|Shannon O'Brien]]. He also published an associated campaign book, ''I'll Be Short''. Reich was the first US gubernatorial candidate to support [[same-sex marriage]].<ref>{{cite magazine|url=https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-89871706/committed-to-equality-why-is-massachusetts-gubernatorial|title=Committed to Equality: Why Is Massachusetts Gubernatorial Candidate Robert Reich the Only Pro-Gay Politician to Officially Support Gay Marriage?|last=Dahir|first=Mubarak|magazine=[[The Advocate (LGBT magazine)|The Advocate]]|date=July 2002|page=15 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201031113855/https://www.questia.com/read/1G1-89871706/committed-to-equality-why-is-massachusetts-gubernatorial |archive-date=31 October 2020}}</ref> He also pledged support for [[abortion rights]] and strongly [[Capital punishment debate in the United States|condemned capital punishment]]. His campaign staff was largely composed of his Brandeis students. Although his campaign had little funding, he narrowly finished in second place out of six candidates in the Democratic primary, gaining 25% of the vote;<ref>{{cite news |last=Belluck |first=Pam |date=September 18, 2002 |title=Massachusetts Democrats Pick Nominee For Governor |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2002/09/18/us/massachusetts-democrats-pick-nominee-for-governor.html |newspaper=New York Times |location=New York, NY}}</ref> O'Brien later lost the general election to future Republican presidential nominee [[Mitt Romney]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Viser |first=Matt |date=October 13, 2012 |title=Romney overcame similar deficit in '02 race: former Mass. governor capitalized on debates |url=http://archive.boston.com/news/politics/2012/10/01/romney-overcame-similar-deficit-race/eJh9cl9c8tUlYj8FfpR0YP/story.html |newspaper=Boston Globe |location=Boston, MA |access-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-date=February 14, 2017 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170214181903/http://archive.boston.com/news/politics/2012/10/01/romney-overcame-similar-deficit-race/eJh9cl9c8tUlYj8FfpR0YP/story.html |url-status=dead }}</ref>

In early 2005, there was speculation that Reich would again seek the Democratic nomination for Governor of Massachusetts. Instead, he endorsed the then-little-known candidacy of [[Deval Patrick]], who had previously served as [[United States Assistant Attorney General|Assistant Attorney General]] for the [[United States Department of Justice Civil Rights Division|Civil Rights Division]] in the Clinton administration. Patrick won the party's endorsement, followed by a three-way primary in which he secured nearly 50% of the vote, and ultimately won the general election in November 2006.

===Political commentary===
[[File:Robert Reich in 2004 (34015148453) (1).jpg|thumb|Reich in 2004]]

In 2004, Reich published the book ''[[Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America]]''.

In addition to his professorial role, he was a weekly contributor to the [[American Public Media]] [[public radio]] program [[Marketplace (radio program)|Marketplace]], and a regular columnist for ''[[The American Prospect]]'' magazine, which he co-founded in 1990.<ref name=tap-about>{{cite web |url=http://www.prospect.org/cs/about_tap/our_mission |title=About Us |publisher=Prospect.org |access-date=May 26, 2012 |archive-date=October 7, 2011 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20111007071928/http://prospect.org/cs/about_tap/our_mission |url-status=dead }}</ref> He has also frequently contributed to [[CNBC]]'s programs ''[[Kudlow & Company]]'' and ''[[On the Money (2013 TV series)|On the Money]]''.

In 2010, Reich's weekly column was syndicated by the [[Tribune Content Agency]].<ref name="tca">{{cite web |title=Robert Reich columns |url=https://tribunecontentagency.com/premium-content/opinion/independent/robert-reich/ |website=Tribune Content Agency |access-date=October 9, 2018}}</ref> Since the summer of 2016, he has contributed an opinion column to ''[[Newsweek]]'' magazine.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/trumps-corrupt-state-so-much-worse-his-imaginary-deep-state-opinion-1445302|title=Trump's Corrupt State is so much worse than his imaginary Deep State {{!}} Opinion|date=June 21, 2019|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.newsweek.com/robert-reich-trump-establishment-guy-478513|title=Robert Reich: Trump's the establishment guy|date=July 7, 2016|website=Newsweek|language=en|access-date=June 23, 2019}}</ref>

In 2013, he partnered with filmmaker [[Jacob Kornbluth]] to produce the documentary ''[[Inequality for All]]'', based on Reich's book ''Aftershock'', which won a Special Jury Award at the [[Sundance Film Festival]]. In 2017, he again partnered with Jacob Kornbluth to produce the documentary ''Saving Capitalism'', based on Reich's book of that name. [[Netflix]] selected the film to be a Netflix Original Documentary. In the documentary, Reich posits that in the late 1960s, large corporations began to use financial power to purchase influence among the political class and to consolidate political power; he highlights the influence of the 2010 [[Citizens United v. FEC|Citizens United]] ruling, which allowed corporations to contribute to election campaigns. In the documentary, he advocates for grassroots political mobilization among working-class Americans to counteract the political power of corporate America.<ref>{{cite AV media | people=Kornbluth, Jacob; Gilman, Sari (Directors) | date=November 21, 2017 | title=Saving Capitalism | medium=Motion picture | location=USA}}</ref>

In 2022, Reich was featured in ''[[The Simpsons]]'' season finale "[[Poorhouse Rock]]", where he briefly explains the economic decline of the [[American middle class]] during a musical sequence.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Homer Simpson vs. the economy : Planet Money |url=https://www.npr.org/2022/06/02/1102751823/homer-simpson-vs-the-economy |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=NPR.org |date=June 3, 2022 |language=en |last1=Smith |first1=Stacey Vanek }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |title='The Simpsons' rails against capitalism |url=https://www.theintermountain.com/opinion/2022/05/the-simpsons-rails-against-capitalism/ |access-date=2022-09-28 |website=theintermountain.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

Since 2021, Reich has authored a [[Substack]] newsletter, ''Robert Reich'', where he provides daily commentary on economic and political issues. The publication has attracted more than one million subscribers.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Reich |first=Robert |title=Robert Reich {{!}} Substack |url=https://robertreich.substack.com/ |access-date=2025-07-01 |website=robertreich.substack.com |language=en}}</ref>

In 2023, filmmakers Elliot Kirschner and Heather Kinlaw Lofthouse filmed Reich's "Wealth and Poverty" lecture course and interviewed Reich about his career. The resulting documentary, ''The Last Class,'' was released in 2025.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Last Class |url=https://www.thelastclassfilm.com/ |website=The Last Class Film |access-date=22 August 2025}}</ref>

== Political stances ==
{{Progressivism US|expanded=commentators}}
[[File:Robert Reich, Policy Network, April 6 2009, detail.jpg|thumb|right|Reich speaking in 2009]]

In an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 2008, Reich explained that "I don't believe in [[redistribution of wealth]] for the sake of redistributing wealth. But I am concerned about how we can afford to pay for what we as a nation need to do . . . [Taxes should pay] for what we need in order to be safe and productive. As [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]] once wrote, 'taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.{{'"}}<ref name=freakonomics>{{cite news|url=http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/robert-reich-answers-your-labor-questions/ | work=The New York Times | title=Robert Reich Answers Your Labor Questions | first=Stephen J. | last=Dubner | date=May 1, 2008 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref>

In response to a question on what to recommend to the incoming president about a fair and sustainable distribution of income and wealth, Reich advised the following: "Expand the [[Earned income tax credit|Earned Income Tax Credit]]—a wage supplement for lower-income people, and finance it with a higher marginal income tax on the top five percent. For the longer term, invest in education for lower income communities, starting with early-childhood education and extending all the way up to better access to post-secondary education."<ref name=freakonomics />

Reich is pro-[[trade union|union]], saying that "unionization is not just good for workers in unions, unionization is very, very important for the economy overall, and would create broad benefits for the United States."<ref>{{ Cite news | first=Robert | last=Reich |url=http://robertreich.org/post/257310148 | title=Why We Need Stronger Unions and How to Get Them | work=Robert Reich's blog | date=January 27, 2009 | access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref> Writing in 2014, he stated that he favors raising the federal minimum wage to $15 per hour over three years, believing that it will not adversely impact big business and will increase the availability of higher-value workers.<ref>{{ cite web | first=Robert | last=Reich | title=Why The Minimum Wage Should Really Be Raised To $15 An Hour |url=http://robertreich.org/post/82134788482 | date=April 8, 2014 | access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref>

Reich also supports an unconditional and [[universal basic income]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/3/26/1287365/-Robert-Reich-Universal-Basic-Income-In-The-US-Almost-Inevitable|title=Robert Reich: Universal Basic Income In The US 'Almost Inevitable'|publisher=[[Daily Kos]] |access-date=May 18, 2017}}</ref> On the eve of a [[2016 Swiss referendums#Basic income referendum|referendum in Switzerland on basic income]] in June 2016, he declared that countries will eventually need to introduce this financial instrument.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/der-mittelstand-wird-verschwinden/story/25271560|title=Ohne Grundeinkommen wird es nicht gehen|first=Mit Robert Reich sprach Michael|last=Soukup|date=February 5, 2016|access-date=May 18, 2017|via=www.tagesanzeiger.ch|newspaper=Tages-Anzeiger}}</ref>

While affordable housing has been a central issue in Reich's activism, in July 2020, Reich opposed a high-density development project in his own neighborhood in Berkeley.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yelimeli|first=Supriya|date=2020-08-07|title=Landmarking fails for 130-year-old Berkeley house in passionate debate over housing, history|url=https://www.berkeleyside.com/2020/08/07/landmarking-fails-for-130-year-old-berkeley-house-in-passionate-debate-over-housing-and-history|access-date=2020-09-18|website=Berkeleyside|language=en-US}}</ref> He supported making a 120-year-old triplex a landmark to prevent the construction of a ten-apartment building, one of which would be [[Covenant (law)|deed restricted]] for rental to a low income tenant, citing "the character of the neighborhood".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_LPC/2020-08-06_LPC_ATT%204_1915%20Berryman_Correspondence%20Received.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618233012/https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_LPC/2020-08-06_LPC_ATT%204_1915%20Berryman_Correspondence%20Received.pdf |archivedate=2021-06-18 |title=Preservation of the Payson House |author=Robert B. Reich |work=Correspondence received for 1915 Berryman Landmark Designation application|publisher=City of Berkeley|page=27|date=July 22, 2020|access-date=August 5, 2020 |quote=The character of the neighborhood is anchored by the Payson House [...] If historic preservation means anything, it means maintaining enough of the character of an older neighborhood to remind people of its history and provide continuity with the present. Development for the sake of development makes no sense when it imposes social costs like this.}}</ref> During an interview with [[W. Kamau Bell]] the following month, Reich reaffirmed his support for affordable housing "in every community I've been involved in", and critiqued the development for replacing the house with "condos selling for one and a half million dollars each".<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Reshaping of the Democratic Party: W. Kamau Bell and Robert Reich |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fudqd2lfjQc | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/fudqd2lfjQc| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|publisher=Youtube |minutes=13:50 |quote=I'm a big advocate for affordable housing in every community I've been involved in. You got some developers down my street that are posing as affordable housing developers but actually what they're doing is taking down old buildings and putting up these high rises or townhouses and condos selling for one and half million dollars each and pretending they're low income[...] Those old buildings had renters who were low income, and replacing them with these townhouses selling well over a million dollars and getting subsidies? When is 1.4 million dollars affordable? [...] I am for affordable housing in Berkeley, and I've spent a huge amount of time and effort trying to push for affordable housing, and I'm pushing the Mayor for affordable housing, but I am not for developers who are pretending to be about affordable housing. |date=August 5, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://github.com/kevinburke/1915-berryman/blob/master/2020-05-26-initial-project-application.pdf
 |title=Zoning Project Application for 1915 Berryman St.
 |date=May 26, 2020
 |via=[[GitHub]]
 |page=29
 |publisher=City of Berkeley Planning Department
 |access-date=August 6, 2020
 }}</ref>

Although a supporter of Israel, Reich has criticized Israel's [[Israeli settlement|settlement building]] in the occupied [[Palestinian territories]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Former US secretary: Netanyahu speech 'poisoning' ties |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/former-us-secretary-netanyahu-speech-poisoning-ties/ |work=The Times of Israel |date=1 March 2015}}</ref> More recently, Reich has spoken out against the [[Gaza genocide|"bloodbath" in Gaza]], and declared "we must restrict U.S. arms sales to Israel."<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/videos/why-we-must-restrict-us-arms-sales-to-israel/933933118514673/ |title=25K views · 1.6K reactions {{!}} Why We Must Restrict U.S. Arms Sales to Israel {{!}} There comes a time when America must stand up even to our closest allies when those allies are in the wrong. That time is now. {{!}} By Robert Reich {{!}} Facebook |language=en |access-date=2024-10-21 |via=www.facebook.com}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}

In September 2005, Reich testified against [[John G. Roberts|John Roberts]] at his confirmation hearings for [[Chief Justice of the United States]].

On April 18, 2008, Reich endorsed [[Barack Obama]] for president of the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Obama for President |url=https://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-for-president.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421040320/http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-for-president.html |work=Robert Reich's Blog |via=BlogSpot |date=April 18, 2008 |archive-date=April 21, 2008 |access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref> During the 2008 primaries, Reich published an article that was critical of the Clintons, referring to Bill Clinton's attacks on Barack Obama as "ill-tempered and ill-founded," and accusing the Clintons of waging "a smear campaign against Obama that employs some of the worst aspects of the old politics."<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Clinton's Old Politics |url=https://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/01/bill-clintons-old-politics.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127104359/http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/01/bill-clintons-old-politics.html |work=Robert Reich's Blog |via=BlogSpot |date=January 24, 2008 |archive-date=January 27, 2008 |access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Robert Reich - 2021.jpg|thumb|Reich in 2021]]
Reich endorsed [[Bernie Sanders]] for president of the United States in 2016, and both Sanders and [[Elizabeth Warren]] in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/robert-reich-bernie-sanders-endorsement-bill-clinton-hillary-secretary-of-labor|title=Former secretary of labor endorses Sanders|work=TheHill|date=February 27, 2016|access-date=February 27, 2016|archive-date=February 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228044146/http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/robert-reich-bernie-sanders-endorsement-bill-clinton-hillary-secretary-of-labor|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=America's Next President: Warren Sanders |url=https://robertreich.org/post/189708348725 |work=Robert Reich's Blog |date=December 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |last=Reich |first=Robert |user=RBReich |number=1232771608739074048 |title=The best way for Democrats to defeat Trump's fake anti-establishment populism is with the real thing, coupled with an agenda of systemic reform. This is what @BernieSanders offers.|date=February 26, 2020 |access-date=August 5, 2020}}</ref> After Sanders ended his 2016 campaign, Reich urged Sanders's supporters to back the eventual Democratic nominee, Hillary Clinton.<ref name="DEMOCRACYNOW">{{cite web |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2016/8/4/as_green_party_convention_opens_watch | title=Chris Hedges vs. Robert Reich on Clinton, Third Parties, Capitalism & Next Steps for Sanders Backers | work=[[Democracy Now!]] | date=August 4, 2016 | access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref>

On May 31, 2020, Reich declared that "by having no constructive response to any of the monumental crises now convulsing America, [[Donald Trump|Trump]] has abdicated his office."<ref>Reich, Robert, ''[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/31/donald-trump-coronavirus-pandemic-george-floyd-minneapolis-tweets Fire, pestilence, and a country at war with itself: the Trump presidency is over]'', The Guardian, May 31, 2020</ref> Since at least 2021, Reich has publicly supported President [[Donald Trump]]'s removal from [[Twitter]] and other social media platforms.<ref name="ReichGuardian">{{cite web |last1=Reich |first1=Robert |title=Elon Musk's vision for the internet is dangerous nonsense|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/12/elon-musk-internet-twitter |website=The Guardian |language=en |date=12 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Reich |first1=Robert |title=Accountability for the Attempted Coup (VIDEO) |url=https://yubanet.com/opinions/robert-reich-accountability-for-the-attempted-coup-video/ |website=YubaNet |date=12 January 2021}}</ref> In an April 2022 op-ed published in ''[[The Guardian]]'', Reich criticized [[Elon Musk]]'s [[Elon Musk purchase of Twitter|efforts to take over Twitter]], opining that the "[[libertarian]] vision of an 'uncontrolled' internet" is "dangerous rubbish."<ref name="ReichGuardian" />

In 2022, Reich called [[Florida governor]] [[Ron DeSantis]] a "[[Fascism|fascist]]."<ref>{{Cite web |last=Black |first=Eric |date=2022-08-31 |title=A liberal's experiment in calling DeSantis a 'fascist' and what it says about labels |url=https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2022/08/a-liberals-experiment-in-calling-desantis-a-fascist-and-what-it-says-about-labels/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=MinnPost |language=en-US}}</ref>

In October 2023, Reich wrote "The last adult in the room". In the essay, he characterized [[Joe Biden]] as, "shrewd, careful, and calibrated" and expressed gratitude that Biden "is in charge" at a time "when the kids are on a rampage".<ref>Reich, Robert, ''[https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-last-adult-in-the-room The last adult in the room]'', Robert Reich Daily Newsletter, Substack, October 19, 2023</ref>

In 2025, Reich endorsed [[New York State Assembly]] member [[Zohran Mamdani]] in the [[2025 New York City Democratic mayoral primary]].<ref>{{Cite web |title=Progressive Economists Say Mamdani Offers Antidote to Failed NYC Austerity Policies {{!}} Common Dreams |url=https://www.commondreams.org/news/zohran-mamdani-economic-platform |access-date=2025-06-24 |website=www.commondreams.org |language=en}}</ref>

In 2025, Reich also endorsed [[Sullivan, Maine|Sullivan]] Harbor Master [[Graham Platner]] in the Democratic primary for the [[2026 United States Senate election in Maine]], and Independent [[Dan Osborn]] in the [[2026 United States Senate election in Nebraska]]<ref>{{Cite web |title=Democrats should forget about appealing to some mythical center - The Boston Globe |url=https://www.bostonglobe.com/2025/09/12/opinion/future-of-democrats-progressive-vs-center/ |access-date=2025-10-15 |website=BostonGlobe.com |language=en-US}}</ref>

== Social media ==
[[File:What's the Fed - inequality media .webm|thumb|What's the [[Federal reserve|Fed]]? Reich explaining the Federal Reserve (2015)]]

In 2015, with Jacob Kornbluth, Reich founded Inequality Media, which produces video content of Reich. This content includes a "Resistance Report" (a fifteen- to thirty-minute video published on social media),<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCj5HsClUUEJ4zuCSNtd1ssQ|title=Inequality Media Civic Action|publisher=YouTube|access-date=July 5, 2017}}</ref> and the weekly YouTube show ''The Common Good''.<ref>{{Citation|title=Impeachment, Bernie's Surge, and the Upcoming State of the Union |work=The Common Good with Robert Reich|date=January 30, 2020 |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RD7JMqheqSo| archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/RD7JMqheqSo| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|language=en|publisher=YouTube|access-date=February 7, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref>

== Personal life ==
Reich married British-born lawyer Clare Dalton in [[Cambridge]], England, in 1973;<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.freebmd.org.uk/cgi/information.pl?cite=CxU2MlJF9DsyOJcSKv049w&scan=1|title=Index entry|access-date=11 November 2020|work=FreeBMD|publisher=ONS}}</ref> they divorced in 2012.<ref name="ADAMREICH" /> During their marriage, the couple had two sons: [[Sam Reich|Sam]], CEO and owner of [[Dropout (media company)|Dropout]] (previously known as [[CollegeHumor]]), and Adam, a sociology professor at [[Columbia University]].<ref name="ADAMREICH">{{cite web|last=Reich|first=Adam|date=November 2, 2013|title=Will You Help My Parents Get Divorced on Google?|url=https://adamreich.org/2013/11/02/will-you-help-my-parents-get-divorced-on-google/|access-date=July 29, 2018|work=adamreich.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131103212033/https://adamreich.org/2013/11/02/will-you-help-my-parents-get-divorced-on-google/ |archive-date=3 November 2013}}</ref><ref>{{cite news|author=David Usborne|date=June 12, 1994|title=Profile: Small guy, big deal: Robert Reich: Can this man get the West to work again? David Usborne on an economist with charisma |department=Voices|work=The Independent|url=https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/profile-small-guy-big-deal-robert-reich-can-this-man-get-the-west-to-work-again-david-usborne-on-an-economist-with-charisma-1422047.html|access-date=October 24, 2013}}</ref> Reich subsequently married photographer Perian Flaherty.

Reich was born with [[multiple epiphyseal dysplasia|multiple epiphyseal dysplasia (Fairbank's disease)]], a rare genetic disorder that affects bone growth and results in short stature. He stands 4 feet 11 inches tall, an issue he publicly addressed in a July 2023 blog post titled "Why I'm So Short."<ref name="ROBERTREICH">{{cite web |last=Reich |first=Robert |date=July 11, 2023 |title=Why I'm So Short |url=https://robertreich.substack.com/p/why-im-so-short |access-date=April 27, 2024 |work=robertreich.substack.com}}</ref>

In 2020, Reich, like other neighbors, wrote a letter to the City of Berkeley Landmarks Preservation Commission objecting to the construction of ten housing units (including one low-income unit) on a lot near Reich's home, occupied by the Payson House (1889), and several live oaks. The landmark designation was denied in August 2020 and January 2021.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Reich|first=Robert|date=July 22, 2020|title=Email from Robert Reich to Fatema Crane|url=https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_LPC/2020-08-06_LPC_ATT%204_1915%20Berryman_Correspondence%20Received.pdf|access-date=October 3, 2020|website=City of Berkeley|archive-date=June 18, 2021|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618233012/https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_LPC/2020-08-06_LPC_ATT%204_1915%20Berryman_Correspondence%20Received.pdf|url-status=dead |quote=[Page 27 of 46] }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |last=Yelimeli |first=Supriya |date=2020-08-07 |title=Landmarking fails for 130-year-old Berkeley house in passionate debate over housing, history |url=http://www.berkeleyside.org/2020/08/07/landmarking-fails-for-130-year-old-berkeley-house-in-passionate-debate-over-housing-and-history |website=Berkeleyside |language=en-US |quote=[Reich said] that he supported the landmarking because the developers are “pretending” to build low-income or inclusionary housing. So far, the proposal for the new building has a subsidy for including one low-income unit. The plan is incomplete and could change, but all development in Berkeley must include some affordable housing.}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://sfyimby.com/2021/11/proposed-townhouses-to-replace-a-vintage-house-at-1915-berryman-street-in-berkeley.html |title=Proposed Townhouses To Replace a Vintage House At 1915 Berryman Street In Berkeley |author=Team [[Yimby]] |publication-date=November 18, 2021 |publisher=SF Yimby |access-date=August 31, 2025 |quote=A new residential project has been proposed at 1915 Berryman Street in Berkeley. The project proposal includes the development of four-story townhomes on a site that presently houses a three-story two-unit home that was built 132 years ago. Plans call for the demolition of the single-family home on the site. The home wasn’t deemed worthy of landmark status in May 2020. (...) An estimated construction timeline has not been announced yet. }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://qz.com/1976751/berkeley-ends-a-century-of-housing-segregation |title=The US city that pioneered NIMBY zoning has finally abandoned it |author=Tim Fernholz |publication-date=July 20, 2022 |publisher=Quartz |access-date=August 31, 2025 |quote=The contradiction of lefty Berkeley maintaining such a policy was epitomized by figures like Robert Reich, an influential progressive economist who supported an effort to make an unremarkable home into a landmark in order to block the development of 10 new housing units in his neighborhood. }}</ref>{{efn|Sources from 2020-2021 report the decision of destroying the Payton House (1915 Berryman Street), but Google Street View (July 2024) shows the house is still there.{{Cite Google Maps|url=https://www.google.com/maps/@37.8833847,-122.2734252,3a,75y,90t/data=!3m7!1e1!3m5!1sa_H44fPTQCDnkN6gDq8WqA!2e0!6shttps:%2F%2Fstreetviewpixels-pa.googleapis.com%2Fv1%2Fthumbnail%3Fcb_client%3Dmaps_sv.tactile%26w%3D900%26h%3D600%26pitch%3D0%26panoid%3Da_H44fPTQCDnkN6gDq8WqA%26yaw%3D0!7i16384!8i8192?entry=ttu&g_ep=EgoyMDI1MDgyNS4wIKXMDSoASAFQAw%3D%3D |title=1915 Berryman St. Berkeley, California. Google Street View |access-date=31 August 2025}} }}

In 2023, Reich appeared in a cameo role in "Dropout America 2", the first episode of the sixth season of [[Dropout (media company)|Dropout]]'s ''Breaking News'' program, providing a fictional account of his son Sam's life.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.dropout.tv/videos/dropout-america-2 |title=Dropout America 2 |date=2023-06-12 |type=Television production |publisher=[[Dropout (streaming service)|Dropout]] |series=Breaking News}}</ref> He made another cameo appearance in 2025 in the season 7 finale of the game show ''[[Game Changer (game show)|Game Changer]]'', titled "Outvoted," wherein contestants were made to compete in a mock presidential debate.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Sachat |first1=Sarah |title=How the Audience Changed the ‘Game Changer’ Finale |url=https://www.indiewire.com/features/craft/game-changer-season-7-finale-sam-reich-interview-1235144684/ |access-date=13 August 2025 |publisher=IndiWire |date=12 August 2025}}</ref> Reich endorsed comedian and contestant [[Demi Adejuyigbe]] after he was bribed $3.<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.dropout.tv/videos/outvoted |title=Outvoted |date=2025-08-11 |type=Television production |publisher=[[Dropout (streaming service)|Dropout]] |series=[[Game Changer (game show)|Game Changer]]}}</ref>

In 2025, Reich published ''Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America.'' [[Jennifer Szalai]], reviewing it for [[The New York Times]], remarked how [[bullying]] is an important subject in the book as Reich experienced it through his childhood, adding: "Reich comes across as thoughtful, genial and principled; he notes on the copyright page that portions of “Coming Up Short” appeared in a couple of earlier books, but the bit of recycling arguably reflects how steadfastly he has held onto his values. Unlike the economists [[Lawrence Summers|Larry Summers]] and [[Robert Rubin]], who also served in the Clinton administration, Reich has been remarkably prescient, regularly warning about the dangers of inequality and the perils posed by a financial industry run amok. His numerous books have a moral center because he has a moral center. Reich, who is 4-foot-11 (and prone to puns, as evinced by previous books like “Locked in the Cabinet” and “I’ll Be Short”), has long promoted civil society and government institutions as essential antidotes to a [[State of nature#Thomas Hobbes|Hobbesian]] [[Bellum omnium contra omnes|war of all-against-all]]: “I would not survive a minute in a society based on brute force.”"<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2025/08/06/books/review/coming-up-short-robert-reich.html |url-access=subscription |title=He Always Fought for the Little Guy, and Not Just Because He’s 4-Foot-11. The former labor secretary Robert B. Reich sees “the central struggle of civilization as fighting bullies,” he says in a new memoir. |author=Jennifer Szalai |publication-date=August 6, 2025 |publisher=The New York Times |access-date=August 31, 2025 }}</ref> As of September 1, 2025, it is ranked 7th among non-fiction books on [[The New York Times Best Seller list]].<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/books/best-sellers/hardcover-nonfiction/ |title=Hardcover Nonfiction |publication-date=2025 |publisher=The New York Times |access-date=September 1, 2025 |quote=Best Sellers Methodology. A version of this list appears in the September 7, 2025, issue of The New York Times Book Review. Rankings on weekly lists reflect sales for the week ending August 23, 2025. Lists are published early online. }}</ref>

== Awards ==
* Bruno-Kreisky Award, best political book of year (''Supercapitalism''), 2009<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://asunow.asu.edu/content/former-labor-secretary-address-economic-issues |title = Former Labor Secretary to address economic issues|date = March 13, 2009}}</ref>
*  [[Václav Havel]] Foundation [[VIZE 97 Prize]], October 2003, for his writings in economics and politics.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.vize.cz/en/laureates.php |title=Foundation VIZE 97 – Laureates |publisher=Vize.cz |access-date=October 24, 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110718192353/http://www.vize.cz/en/laureates.php |archive-date=July 18, 2011}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=https://discovercal.berkeley.edu/speaker/robert-reich |title = Robert Reich &#124; Discover Cal}}</ref>
* Louis Brownlow Award (best book on public administration), National Academy of Public Administration, 1984<ref name="CURRICULUM">{{cite web|title=Curriculum Vitae|url=https://gspp.berkeley.edu/directories/faculty/robert-reich|website=Berkeley.edu|access-date=January 9, 2017}}</ref>

== Written works ==

=== Books ===

* 1982: ''Minding America's Business: The Decline and Rise of the American Economy'' (with [[Ira Magaziner]]), {{ISBN|0-394-71538-1}}
* 1983: ''The Next American Frontier'', {{ISBN|0-8129-1067-2}}
* 1985: ''New Deals: The Chrysler Revival and the American System'' (with writer John Donahue), {{ISBN|0-14-008983-7}}
* 1987: ''Tales of a New America: The Anxious Liberal's Guide to the Future'', {{ISBN|0-394-75706-8}}
* 1989: ''The Resurgent Liberal: And Other Unfashionable Prophecies'', {{ISBN|0-8129-1833-9}}
* 1990: ''The Power of Public Ideas'' (editor), {{ISBN|0-674-69590-9}}
* 1990: ''Public Management in a Democratic Society'', {{ISBN|0-13-738881-0}}
* 1991: ''The Work of Nations: Preparing Ourselves for 21st Century Capitalism'', {{ISBN|0-679-73615-8}}
* 1997: ''Locked in the Cabinet'', {{ISBN|0-375-70061-7}}
* 2000: ''The Future of Success: Working and Living in the New Economy'', {{ISBN|0-375-72512-1}}
* 2002: ''I'll Be Short: Essentials for a Decent Working Society'', {{ISBN|0-8070-4340-0}}
* 2004: ''[[Reason: Why Liberals Will Win the Battle for America]]'', {{ISBN|1-4000-7660-9}}
* 2007: ''[[Supercapitalism: The Transformation of Business, Democracy, and Everyday Life]]'', {{ISBN|0-307-26561-7}}
* 2010: ''Aftershock: The Next Economy and America's Future'', {{ISBN|978-0-307-59281-1}} (updated edition 2013)
* 2012: ''Beyond Outrage: What Has Gone Wrong with Our Economy and Our Democracy, and How to Fix It'', {{ISBN|978-0345804372}}
* 2015: ''Saving Capitalism: For the Many, Not the Few'', {{ISBN|978-0385350570}}
* 2017: ''Economics in Wonderland'', {{ISBN|978-1683960607}}
* 2018: ''The Common Good'', {{ISBN|978-0525520498}}
* 2020: ''The System: Who Rigged It, How We Fix It'', {{ISBN|9780525659044}}
* 2025: ''Coming Up Short: A Memoir of My America'', {{ISBN|978-0593803288}}

=== Plays ===

* ''Milton and Augusto'' (reading, University of California Berkeley, Center for Latin American Studies, September 2013)
* ''Public Exposure'' (East Coast premier, Wellfleet Harbor Actor's Theater, June 2005; West Coast premier, Santa Rosa Theater, June 2008)<ref name="CURRICULUM"/>

== Filmography ==

These documentaries, and additional social media movies, have been made in collaboration with [[Jacob Kornbluth]].

* 2013: ''[[Inequality for All]]''
* 2017: ''[[Saving Capitalism]]''
Released on June 27, 2025:

* 2025: ''The Last Class''<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.thelastclassfilm.com/ |title=The Last Class with Robert Reich |publication-date=2025 |publisher=Inequality Media Civil Action |access-date=August 31, 2025 |quote=''The Last Class'' captures a master educator wrestling with the dual realities of his own aging and his students inheriting a world out of balance. Reich confronts the impending finality with unflinching candor, humor, introspection, and a rawness of emotion he has never shared publicly before. [Official website, includes trailer.] }}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.rogerebert.com/reviews/the-last-class-robert-reich-documentary-film-review-2025 |title=The Last Class |author=[[Matt Zoller Seitz]] |publication-date=June 27, 2025 |publisher=[[RogerEbert.com]] |access-date=August 31, 2025 |quote=(...) If you go into this movie expecting a feature-length account of Reich in the classroom, you’ll be disappointed. Most of the movie consists of Reich ruminating on income inequality, the shaping of public opinion by media and political messages, the democratic process, the importance of publicly funded education, and his own formative experiences. We see enough of Reich in the classroom to understand that he’s very good at teaching, especially when he’s discovering ways to connect with the students. “A good teacher instills both curiosity and critical thinking,” he says. (...) }}</ref>

== See also ==

{{Portal|Biography|United States|Politics}}

* [[2008–09 Keynesian resurgence]]
* ''[[Journal of Women, Politics & Policy]]'' – Reich sits on the editorial board<ref name=Ed_board>{{cite web|title=Journal of Women, Politics & Policy – Editorial board |url=http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?show=editorialBoard&journalCode=wwap20 |publisher=Taylor and Francis |access-date=June 3, 2014}}</ref>
* [[The Trap (British TV series)|''The Trap'' (TV series)]], BBC documentary featuring Reich
* [[List of Jewish United States Cabinet members]]

== Notes ==
{{Notelist}}

== References ==

{{Reflist|20em}}

== External links ==
{{Sister project links|d=Q718828|commonscat=yes|s=Author:Robert Reich|n=no|b=no|v=no|voy=no|m=no|mw=no|wikt=no|species=no}}
* {{Official website}}
* {{Bluesky}}
* {{Mastodon user}} on the [[Fediverse]]
* [https://www.arcamax.com/politics/fromtheleft/robertbreich/ ''From the Left''], blog by Reich
* [https://www.theguardian.com/profile/robert-reich ''The Guardian'' contributor page]
* {{C-SPAN|16203}}
* [https://prospect.org/topics/robert-reich/ ''The American Prospect'' articles] by Robert Reich
* [https://gspp.berkeley.edu/directories/faculty/robert-reich UC Berkeley bio]

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{{USSecLabor}}
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