Thanks for watching! If you found this video informative, be sure to watch our video on the myth of privatization: th-cam.com/video/0wYHRWo2Ins/w-d-xo.html
@madhatter 41 something he said at 3:23 in the video. We've always had way to big a " defense" budget. To protect " our " interests all around the oil, I mean world.
Bob, its time to end capitalism. The world is sooo corrupt, and its all because of this absurd, neglectful, unfounded, ridiculous system of capitalism. So much unneeded suffering.
Not only should corporate welfare cease but also the notion that a business has the same existential legal rights as a real human. A corporation is not capable of acting like a real human.
@@thoughtfortheday7811 That's a really complicated phrase. In legal terms, "person" has different meanings. The easiest way to exemplify this is with children. A child does not have the right to vote like an adult does, but if you kill a child you still get the same charge of murder as you would had the victim been an adult. Legally, a child is not fully a person in terms of Constitutional rights, but in certain criminal proceedings is designated a full person by the State. Similarly, corporations are "legal persons" but do not have the full rights of adult citizens. Until the (wrongfullly decided based on Supreme Court precedence) Hobby Lobby and Citizens United cases, the legal personhood of corporations was meant to allow them to be sued in civil court (requriing only 51% certainty of guilt, giving the people alleging harm a chance against multi-million dollar companies) without the company having to break the law beyond a reasonable doubt (99% certainty). TL;DR it was meant to make corporations accountable for the shady shit they do with plausible deniability that any reasonable jury could see through at trial, not to give them rights that individuals have, but an activist Supreme Court fucked us all.
@@thoughtfortheday7811 - It is an interpretation of how the law is written that is a problem, giving corporations and other non-corporeal entities a legal status as an entity like a person. The law needs to be amended so that this interpretation is precluded. People grow old and die. People can be jailed for their behavior. Corporations can not. A corporation should be nothing more than a method to organize and control a company in a way that allows it to exist as a company (not a person) outside of the owners own mortality. Corporations get far too many protections under the law that almost no other forms of business does. To me it is not that other forms of business should get these protections, it is that corporations should not. We need to tell our congress critters emphatically (by that I mean vote them out if they do not comply) that they need to pass laws to contain corporations and stop the abuse that the people who run them have been allowed to do by using the corporation as a person. That being said, there are good reasons to have corporations. Continuance of operations when the owner(s) leave/pass on is one reason. Lowering of risk to individual investors is another. As well, sharing of profits based on different options of participation in ownership and many more. The reality is that sometimes the theory of law gets too far away from the reality of life. Many people practice business and law as though it were nothing more than a game without regards for the human consequences (winner take all). That is something that we the people must put an end to wherever we can. It can not be done by the choice of individual business owners or boards. It must be put into law to maintain a more level playing field for all businesses (often in the form of regulations). We do not want to put businesses out of business, we only want to channel their activities in a way where not only do the owners win but so does everyone else involved, from the customer to the employee to the rest of the people who help make that business possible. We the people vote for the people who write or at least vote for the laws that we suffer from. We the people have to change those people before we will get relief from what we have allowed. There is a cost to making things better as opposed to giving a very few most of the assets. There is a much larger price to pay but not doing so.
I work for a corporation, and gladly paid for insurance... and then they said I didn’t work enough hours and went on Obama care... and now for the second time I’m on Medicaid. Yes, corporate welfare needs to end.
@@UpperCaseX Yes. that is exactly what that means. It is far better than the old COBRA system, but still rough. When the company that head hunted me in 2008, decided in 2009 (after the crash) that the investment in a new business division was not worth it anymore, I got my COBRA notice. The insurance I had been paying $800/mo for (just for me and my wife) would be $1,850 dollars. We had to take it, because she had pre-existing conditions and could not get insurance otherwise. But Obama care dropped that to $1,100/mo a couple of years later. Still not great, but a big improvement.
Obamacare from what i noticed seem to cause that. Before it came into effect most businesses wanted full time workers but since it has become law it has forced corporations to hire only part time workers because of how they have to provide health care. Just what i have noticed.
And since when was it a companies business for providing health care to begin with. It was given as a benefit to give a bonus for someone to work for them.
But it's not welfare when rich people get it - then it is "economic stimulus" - but give money to poor people and it is "handouts". See how the language works?
Yes, like the rich are "job creators". They don't mention that the rich can also be "job destroyers". The real job creators are consumers and their "demand" for a product.
@@chaist94 Can only handle the weakest of the comments eh? Kind of like Ben Shapiro trying to destroy arrogant college freshman!!!! Let us know when you have a real argument.
@@chaist94 I pay my employees 25% of total revenue. 25% goes to material the other 50% is profit, of that I draw 5%, the rest going into improvement, management, expansion projects, r and d and charity. Although a lot more would go to taxes with gleee and pleasure if my freaking congressman would raise my taxes. Like all good business used to do in the 1950's the era conservitives worship I belive in 80% taxation on luxury wages. And I do bring in enough to pay myself a luxury wage. I choose not to. Being wealthy is just a freaken stupid idea youd never know who your friends are.
I think corporations should pay their tax es in full. They should not get handouts to pay their bills. They have tons of money, they should spend it wisely and stop paying executives tons of money just for sitting in the front office...
The problem is that top level salaries are decided by Boards of Directors. Who sits on those boards? Often the top execs from other companies whose board YOU sit on! So if I am CEO of company "A", and I sit on the board of company "B", and their CEO sits on my board, am I going to piss him off when his contract is being negotiated? Is he going to piss me off?
@Frederic Bastiat ok he says the government subsidises corporations for the cost of oil wells etc. It just means that it's costly to do those things so the government cuts their taxes. They still pay the same costs and Reich didn't say otherwise.
They give billions to rich corporations without even blinking... and fight a poor person tooth and nail over a measly few hundred a month because that's 'enabling dependency' or some such rot. This country literally makes me sick.
I agree. I just hang my head in disgust now everytime i hear what a great country this is, yeah if your rich. .rest of us spend our life getting scraps and getting screwed and overtaxed. Its awful.
They really dont give billion or anything. They ask the company to come to their state so they can create more jobs. They still pay taxes . Its not a zero sum game. Like i said before, the company doesn’t really pay the taxes, its the end consumer who pays it. How else can a company make money otherwise.
@@douglasbrittain7018 no not billion to A company but added altogether could be billions. They might move company in but like near st Louis the company only employed enough to supervise the robot machinery. Except for maybe janitorial type jobs not much for real people in a area that needs jobs. Unless you are one of few that has training or degree in robotics.
jewelleryaddict so you don’t believe the state would get more in taxes in the end from both the corporation and payroll taxes from that company. When amazon was wanting to come to New York they wanted a tax break but we’re still going to pay billions back, but not as much. Amazon was just negotiating a tax amount and amazon was not actually getting paid by the state like the liberal media tries to make it out to be.
@@douglasbrittain7018 That too is the same old tired defense of the status quo. They DO give money away... and sometimes the corporations take the money and run. This county, which I consider the most evil in this country, used to (and still does from what I understand) talk about attracting high-tech businesses to the area. Well, they HAD high-tech businesses, albeit small businesses (like the one I used to have), already in place - many of whom had to shut their doors because they didn't get tax breaks and were taxed to death. In our case, it was just the opposite of getting a tax break - I was forced to pay many thousands of dollars in taxes that I didn't owe. When I went to the nearest "Good Republican" politician and talked with the main case worker about what had happened (and pointed out the proof I had), I got a two word response "Tough Shit!" (QUOTE!!!) In another situation, a major corporation got a whole slew of tax breaks, and promised the local people that they'd have good-paying jobs if they let them in. When they set up shop, they brought in outside people to fill the better-paying positions (never mind that there were fully qualified locals available), and the only positions the people had available to them were minimum wage no benefits and no insurance. That same major corporation also finagled their way out of paying most of the taxes the politicians expected - standard behavior for the rich. You see, the attitude is that if people are poor, they're just not capable - never mind that they don't get the chance to prove they are. If you're a small business, well, you don't have the money (and thus fawning 'respect') that a rich owner of a corporation gets. Your arguments fit those used to justify big corporations using the promise of increased taxes to justify taking away the homes and property of poor people... so that the tax base would be increased. We had a rich couple from California try to do that to this area... using zoning to destroy lives and small businesses, and making life miserable for the poor (so they could be driven out and snap up the land for a pittance). They tried that with us... making life very difficult, as the county was vicious regarding 'zoning violations', even for things they had no business trying to regulate. The passing of the state laws banning the use of 'increased tax base" to justify such behavior stopped the harassment - and then when the 2008 crash happened, the couple abandoned the properties they'd snapped up (including one next to us). The county condemned the property and bulldozed it... and it's not been touched since (weeds chest high and higher). Next time you try to defend the rich, think about these things - and realize you're defending evil people.
Get Mitch McConnell out of office! Support Amy McGrath! That alone will go a long way to reshaping the senate to go back to being there for the average American. Our people need to vote this change in 2020.
@@dtexdarkus Exactly! Trump is the wild eyed Anakin Skywalker right after he turned to the dark side, and McConnell is Emperor Palpatine - plotting everything from behind closed doors.
I hope everyone knows this. Bernie has been talking about this for a LONG time. Maybe Bernie will bring Robert on board once he’s President. I hope America even deserves a President like Bernie!
Robert already served for a president. Nothing got accomplished, so he got a cushy job as a 'professor' where he can be more useful spreading commie propaganda to Berkley students
i Definirely not commie. Social democracy viewpoints. He is tainted with his history with Bill Clinton whom we don’t want or need a President like him again. Trump is course is much worse though George HW Bush was the architect for Trump. Former used the media as well for lies and propaganda. Anyway, there is nothing communist about Robert Reich’s policies. I do have a BA in Economics personally. China’s ideology is far from Reich’s.
2000 years ago you would have been a slave and your owner would have had certain obligations towards you (shelter/housing). Now you are a slave and have to take care of yourself. FREEDOM !
Genuine question: if you do take on student debt then later go bankrupt does the debt disappear? I had heard it doesn't. Unless debts dissolve with bankruptcy then there's no way to restart without a debt obligation. That sounds like a form of servitude. Yes, the debt was a choice but was it an informed choice? It is often made by someone trying to improve themselves and their family's financial situation. They are told they need college to get the job they want. That doesn't sound like much of a choice as you can be certain lots will take that chance.... What do you think?
@@joythought the debt does not go away with bankruptcy, look up "debt peonage". How can a 17 year old make an informed decision when every adult is screaming COLLEGE! their whole lives?
Without it you will be jobless and the your job will be outsourced or automated. Then the wealth will accumulate in those low wage countries and ur SSI that you are so fond of will disappear. Value of your currency become paper value like Venezuela. Tariff helps a bit to promote manufacturing at home. Trumps policy was not fully successful. But if there are people with common sense, they will see the opportunity and start industries and businesses that create more jobs. Everyone's wealth will increase.
Ride TheCurve Any taxes that imposed on the corporation are passed off to the consumer. If the revenues and profits are in the black they have to. Either way you look at it the end consumer pays it all.
@@douglasbrittain7018 If that were true, then no business owners would care at all about higher taxes on their businesses. But they care deeply and are vehemently against it. The reason is because they can't always pass all the taxation onto their customers. The term in economics is called price elasticity.
Anthony Twohill Yes they would care, they would have to raise their prices which greatly affects sales. How do you think companies make money. They make them off the consumer. Where else would they make it. Common sense!
@@douglasbrittain7018 So you admit then that a business can't always pass an entire tax on to their customers. That's the whole point. If a business wants to maintain the same sales level, the business must therefore take at least SOME of the responsibility of the tax. This comes out of profit. Glad we can agree.
@@douglasbrittain7018 This is true to a point but corporations sell their goods largely on the cost of production and the tax benefits flow directly to the bottom line. Realistically, they still have to compete on price unless the tax system has given them an unfair advantage - think drug prices.
Robert’s accounting of fossil fuel industry subsidies does not even take into account the costs of environmental and health damage caused by mining, transporting and burning fossil fuels!
Did your position become more valuable? Did you produce more for the company, or learn new skills? Or did you just stay at the same position with no major changes in your part of the industry?
Robert, thank you for these videos. America needs you, now more than ever! This is truly our time of need. We need you in the 2020 debate at a higher level, somewhere, somehow.
the real kicker is all people that are illegal gets government loans and doesn't have to pay it back but if an American citizen asks for it thay get turned down. why it that way. it's all free money for those who came illegally. now this is wrong.
tonerduckpin was shocked to find out that the NFL was a registered “Non-Profit organization!” What a joke! Tax payers pay for the stadium and they get to use it for free??!!? Pure profit! That got shut down as soon as it was made known to the general public!
Excellent video Robert! "US Government Spends More on Corporate Welfare Subsidies than Social Welfare Programs" Roughly $59 Billion is spent on traditional social welfare programs. Roughly $92 Billion is spent on Corporate subsidies.
Google: Which corporations in my state receive subsidies Then continue the fight to put these hidden taxes to better use. Like Education, Healthcare, and a Livable Wage.
A very informative and eye-opening program! I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican- just someone who tries to make decisions based upon the evidence and REASON. Can fiscal irresponsibility continue, without all of us eventually having to " pay the piper?" I think not. Partisan politics seems to have stifled so many possible solutions to the threats facing our country. Our founding fathers worried that an uninformed electorate would endanger the very existence of our country.
You would think the supply side free marketers would have a shred of humility when they hold out their tin cups for our dollars. We saw, and were disgusted, by the gall of Amazon in their HQ2 "contest" to deplete the public purse for any state/municipality willing to throw away all fiscal restraint. NY State shutting that nonsense down was a sign we just might be waking up.
Bill Bloggins I think NY lost out on the deal. They were still going to pay a lot in taxes but not as much. Heard somewhere like Amazon was still paying 27 billion a year. Think of it like this. If a company post profits, the ones that really pay then taxes are the bottom line consumers. It is always past along to the end of the line.
@@douglasbrittain7018 "Taxes are always passed onto the consumer." False. I gave a more lengthy retort to you elsewhere. Look into 'Price elasticity of Demand.'
Anthony Twohill Then how does a company have profitability. Then you buy something you are partially paying the company cost right down to the wrapper it’s in. You pay shrinkage, you Pay shipping. You pay what the labor cost is. This is common sense here. The company isn’t paying, you and me are. Company are in business to make money, period. How can they do this if they pay the tax burden. This is so much common sense that it is almost sad I have to explain this.
And how much did Amazon pay in federal taxes in 2018 on $11.2 billion in pre-tax income? That's right Doug, $0. Keep looking for evidence of Amazon paying its' share and you will see paltry amounts over the years, not more than 3% at any level. Must be a hoot to be a small business owner in middle America and see your tax dollars provided in massive handouts to the goliath while you are in bankruptcy proceedings. Do some kind of research and maybe you will conclude corporate welfare is not a good thing.
The Corporate media is not going to let Yang spread his message, Its up to us "the people" to spread the word, all you have to do is ask someone you know is this question, Have you heard of Andrew Yang?
The US government built GPS, the internet, and many other technologies that we rely on today. Now, the taxpayers who funded that research have to pay high prices to use them. How does that make any sense?
Not quite - Canada is still a much better country to live in for the average citizen. There are significant problems but things are still better up north.
Professor Reich - just a moment to say thank you for these videos that you’re doing. They are pure gold. They break things down so simply, and if those are your drawings you’re a good artist as well. Please keep up the good work!
Yes and no. Yes to supporting new industries for the common good such as the green solar and wind industries, battery and electric cars development, certain drugs development, etc. No to dinosaur and cash cow industries who really need to be subject to the marketplace.
Leslie That should be based more on practical results than strait up subsidies. That way it’s based on actually improving more people’s lives than directly deciding which industries are important, which is an easy decision to abuse.
Why Can't I sell My Vote to a Corporation ? Representatives and Candidates sell their Votes. Why do we need Elected Representatives acting as Middlemen.?
@ Not a very good answer . The United States is a Capitalist Nation. Selling your vote is Capitalism at it's most fundamental. Your answer assumes that representatives can break any vote selling law. The Constitutional law applies equally to individuals and representatives. It's legal hypocrisy It's the reason why we have debt servitude in the US.
your right. we don't need mitch McConnell or any of these politicians to only side for big business only .or for higher donations from people like the coch brothers. we the people should be the ones voting on our future not those politicians. that are getting rich over all these big corporations paying donations that thay have stolen our money .no raises for x amount of years.no extra vacation time for x amount of years served.no seniority for those picking vacation time. great time for corporations not working FAMILY'S. rents going threw the roof all over this country to benefit who trump and his hench man.
For those who despise corporate welfare, remember that it only exists because the government has the power to expropriate wealth from the innocent in the first place. Money in politics is simply a consequence of politics being involved in money. They are two sides of the same coin. Robert Reich's solutions: government intervention in the economy, increased government spending, and increased taxation will exacerbate, not minimize, the prevalence of corporate welfare.
Politics in this day and age has become slight of hand. your best off looking in the opposite direction they seam to be pointing you in and you will always learn more by listening to what they get around saying, more so than what they say. the break down is this : Lie , Distract and redirect , never a straight answer.
Good descriptive video. Corporations are only interested in milking every penny so that execs and wealthy investors can accumulate more wealth. I’ve lived long enough to see how things changed since my early days of employment in the IT industry. All the perks have been done away with so that more can be kicked upstairs.
I remember reading a book called Get the Rich Off Welfare. It was written 15 years ago, so the numbers may be off, but at the time, welfare for the rich actually cost over four times what welfare to the poor did. Oh, and they just used federal dollars, so it is probably much worse given the race to the bottom.
@metaldogsg true with that comment... but they are helping banks with tax payers dollars, and after they got paid thier millions they still got their CEO's got their Thousands bonuses.
That's the lie that the government teaches in public schools to keep the corporations in power, because corporations run the government. If not for Bernie Sanders starting to wake people up to this reality with his famous economic statistics that he quotes all the time, we would continue to lose more and more of our freedoms to the wealthy. Scary thought. Now people are being encouraged to question the authority of private business owners, which is fantastic.
Handouts to Big AG are especially galling because of how pinched farmers are: their profits are crazy thin! Shout out to a former Sidney St. neighbor! Five years on I'm glad to see you're still making great, thoughtful content.
Yep, while the American ppl were sleeping, these corporations have become very wealthy and powerful. And now we have a corporate head in office, so you know what that means. Now if you will excuse me, I'm gonna go back to watching the game and finish eating my buffalo wings.
We live in an upside down, inside out world. One day, when it straightens out, and it will, there will be lots of screaming and teeth biting from the rich who will be dying to live in a sh-t hole world again.
Thank you for presenting this video, Mr. Reich. Corporate welfare and special interest are the root cause of what's wrong in this country and with our current situation. Without an informed public, how can we know what the real issues are?
Thanks for watching! If you found this video informative, be sure to watch our video on the myth of privatization: th-cam.com/video/0wYHRWo2Ins/w-d-xo.html
Not enough for defense?
Rethink that one , Bob.
Robert Reich for President
@madhatter 41 something he said at 3:23 in the video.
We've always had way to big a
" defense" budget.
To protect " our " interests all around the oil, I mean world.
Bob, its time to end capitalism. The world is sooo corrupt, and its all because of this absurd, neglectful, unfounded, ridiculous system of capitalism. So much unneeded suffering.
Seize the means of Production ☭
Not only should corporate welfare cease but also the notion that a business has the same existential legal rights as a real human.
A corporation is not capable of acting like a real human.
This is one of the most important problems to fix.
I agree, but isn't a business considered to be a "legal person"?
@@thoughtfortheday7811 That's a really complicated phrase. In legal terms, "person" has different meanings. The easiest way to exemplify this is with children. A child does not have the right to vote like an adult does, but if you kill a child you still get the same charge of murder as you would had the victim been an adult. Legally, a child is not fully a person in terms of Constitutional rights, but in certain criminal proceedings is designated a full person by the State. Similarly, corporations are "legal persons" but do not have the full rights of adult citizens. Until the (wrongfullly decided based on Supreme Court precedence) Hobby Lobby and Citizens United cases, the legal personhood of corporations was meant to allow them to be sued in civil court (requriing only 51% certainty of guilt, giving the people alleging harm a chance against multi-million dollar companies) without the company having to break the law beyond a reasonable doubt (99% certainty).
TL;DR it was meant to make corporations accountable for the shady shit they do with plausible deniability that any reasonable jury could see through at trial, not to give them rights that individuals have, but an activist Supreme Court fucked us all.
@@thoughtfortheday7811 - It is an interpretation of how the law is written that is a problem, giving corporations and other non-corporeal entities a legal status as an entity like a person. The law needs to be amended so that this interpretation is precluded. People grow old and die. People can be jailed for their behavior. Corporations can not. A corporation should be nothing more than a method to organize and control a company in a way that allows it to exist as a company (not a person) outside of the owners own mortality. Corporations get far too many protections under the law that almost no other forms of business does. To me it is not that other forms of business should get these protections, it is that corporations should not.
We need to tell our congress critters emphatically (by that I mean vote them out if they do not comply) that they need to pass laws to contain corporations and stop the abuse that the people who run them have been allowed to do by using the corporation as a person.
That being said, there are good reasons to have corporations. Continuance of operations when the owner(s) leave/pass on is one reason. Lowering of risk to individual investors is another. As well, sharing of profits based on different options of participation in ownership and many more.
The reality is that sometimes the theory of law gets too far away from the reality of life. Many people practice business and law as though it were nothing more than a game without regards for the human consequences (winner take all). That is something that we the people must put an end to wherever we can. It can not be done by the choice of individual business owners or boards. It must be put into law to maintain a more level playing field for all businesses (often in the form of regulations). We do not want to put businesses out of business, we only want to channel their activities in a way where not only do the owners win but so does everyone else involved, from the customer to the employee to the rest of the people who help make that business possible. We the people vote for the people who write or at least vote for the laws that we suffer from. We the people have to change those people before we will get relief from what we have allowed. There is a cost to making things better as opposed to giving a very few most of the assets. There is a much larger price to pay but not doing so.
@@ManfredDudesonVonGuy thanks for taking the time to reply. Lots to think about.
Corporate welfare will never end so long as private money is allowed in politics.
chrisose End Citizens United.
@@AmandaBlondie007 All private money needs to be banned since there are individuals with as much influence as multinational corporations.
chrisose Correct. 👍🏼
chrisose Well wait, I have to Bernie last month. That’s private. Or are you specifying private corporations and not individuals, right?
Gave. Auto correct sucks
I'm so tired of the way our government gives tax breaks to the people that needs it the least.
@Leon Flames Yang only has policy. Policy that will *increase* income inequality. Bernie has policy and an actual plan of action.
I work for a corporation, and gladly paid for insurance... and then they said I didn’t work enough hours and went on Obama care... and now for the second time I’m on Medicaid. Yes, corporate welfare needs to end.
so they forced you onto obamacare?
Didn't you know? You don't count! This is Trump's America, where only the strong, and whiny little bitches survive!
@@UpperCaseX
Yes. that is exactly what that means. It is far better than the old COBRA system, but still rough. When the company that head hunted me in 2008, decided in 2009 (after the crash) that the investment in a new business division was not worth it anymore, I got my COBRA notice. The insurance I had been paying $800/mo for (just for me and my wife) would be $1,850 dollars. We had to take it, because she had pre-existing conditions and could not get insurance otherwise. But Obama care dropped that to $1,100/mo a couple of years later. Still not great, but a big improvement.
Obamacare from what i noticed seem to cause that. Before it came into effect most businesses wanted full time workers but since it has become law it has forced corporations to hire only part time workers because of how they have to provide health care. Just what i have noticed.
And since when was it a companies business for providing health care to begin with. It was given as a benefit to give a bonus for someone to work for them.
But it's not welfare when rich people get it - then it is "economic stimulus" - but give money to poor people and it is "handouts". See how the language works?
Yeah, Its stimulating something.
Truth.
Awesome analysis
That great thinking!
Yes, like the rich are "job creators". They don't mention that the rich can also be "job destroyers". The real job creators are consumers and their "demand" for a product.
I think any business that can't pay its workers a living salary doesn't deserve to be in business.
@@chaist94 Can only handle the weakest of the comments eh? Kind of like Ben Shapiro trying to destroy arrogant college freshman!!!! Let us know when you have a real argument.
Maybe businesses that rely on subsidies. MA and Pa shops who can only afford part-timers don't have that luxury.
@metaldogsg - Bingo.
@@85Funkadelic - In what way was my comment weak?
@@chaist94 I pay my employees 25% of total revenue. 25% goes to material the other 50% is profit, of that I draw 5%, the rest going into improvement, management, expansion projects, r and d and charity.
Although a lot more would go to taxes with gleee and pleasure if my freaking congressman would raise my taxes.
Like all good business used to do in the 1950's the era conservitives worship I belive in 80% taxation on luxury wages.
And I do bring in enough to pay myself a luxury wage.
I choose not to.
Being wealthy is just a freaken stupid idea youd never know who your friends are.
I think corporations should pay their tax es in full. They should not get handouts
to pay their bills. They have tons of money, they should spend it wisely and
stop paying executives tons of money just for sitting in the front office...
The problem is that top level salaries are decided by Boards of Directors. Who sits on those boards? Often the top execs from other companies whose board YOU sit on! So if I am CEO of company "A", and I sit on the board of company "B", and their CEO sits on my board, am I going to piss him off when his contract is being negotiated? Is he going to piss me off?
They are poor, they have more debt than cash. Government gets paid more for the same job.
@Frederic Bastiat what's wrong with ehat he said? Are they not deducting taxes for corporations?
Consumers and workers makes these predatory corporations powerful. Funny how they forget that.
@Frederic Bastiat ok he says the government subsidises corporations for the cost of oil wells etc. It just means that it's costly to do those things so the government cuts their taxes. They still pay the same costs and Reich didn't say otherwise.
They give billions to rich corporations without even blinking... and fight a poor person tooth and nail over a measly few hundred a month because that's 'enabling dependency' or some such rot.
This country literally makes me sick.
I agree. I just hang my head in disgust now everytime i hear what a great country this is, yeah if your rich. .rest of us spend our life getting scraps and getting screwed and overtaxed. Its awful.
They really dont give billion or anything. They ask the company to come to their state so they can create more jobs. They still pay taxes . Its not a zero sum game. Like i said before, the company doesn’t really pay the taxes, its the end consumer who pays it. How else can a company make money otherwise.
@@douglasbrittain7018 no not billion to A company but added altogether could be billions. They might move company in but like near st Louis the company only employed enough to supervise the robot machinery. Except for maybe janitorial type jobs not much for real people in a area that needs jobs. Unless you are one of few that has training or degree in robotics.
jewelleryaddict so you don’t believe the state would get more in taxes in the end from both the corporation and payroll taxes from that company. When amazon was wanting to come to New York they wanted a tax break but we’re still going to pay billions back, but not as much. Amazon was just negotiating a tax amount and amazon was not actually getting paid by the state like the liberal media tries to make it out to be.
@@douglasbrittain7018 That too is the same old tired defense of the status quo. They DO give money away... and sometimes the corporations take the money and run. This county, which I consider the most evil in this country, used to (and still does from what I understand) talk about attracting high-tech businesses to the area. Well, they HAD high-tech businesses, albeit small businesses (like the one I used to have), already in place - many of whom had to shut their doors because they didn't get tax breaks and were taxed to death. In our case, it was just the opposite of getting a tax break - I was forced to pay many thousands of dollars in taxes that I didn't owe. When I went to the nearest "Good Republican" politician and talked with the main case worker about what had happened (and pointed out the proof I had), I got a two word response "Tough Shit!" (QUOTE!!!)
In another situation, a major corporation got a whole slew of tax breaks, and promised the local people that they'd have good-paying jobs if they let them in. When they set up shop, they brought in outside people to fill the better-paying positions (never mind that there were fully qualified locals available), and the only positions the people had available to them were minimum wage no benefits and no insurance. That same major corporation also finagled their way out of paying most of the taxes the politicians expected - standard behavior for the rich.
You see, the attitude is that if people are poor, they're just not capable - never mind that they don't get the chance to prove they are. If you're a small business, well, you don't have the money (and thus fawning 'respect') that a rich owner of a corporation gets.
Your arguments fit those used to justify big corporations using the promise of increased taxes to justify taking away the homes and property of poor people... so that the tax base would be increased. We had a rich couple from California try to do that to this area... using zoning to destroy lives and small businesses, and making life miserable for the poor (so they could be driven out and snap up the land for a pittance). They tried that with us... making life very difficult, as the county was vicious regarding 'zoning violations', even for things they had no business trying to regulate. The passing of the state laws banning the use of 'increased tax base" to justify such behavior stopped the harassment - and then when the 2008 crash happened, the couple abandoned the properties they'd snapped up (including one next to us). The county condemned the property and bulldozed it... and it's not been touched since (weeds chest high and higher). Next time you try to defend the rich, think about these things - and realize you're defending evil people.
Get Mitch McConnell out of office! Support Amy McGrath! That alone will go a long way to reshaping the senate to go back to being there for the average American. Our people need to vote this change in 2020.
Mitch is even more dangerous than Trump.
Amen. Amen To That.
Pat Doyle Especially since he knows what he’s doing
@@dtexdarkus
Exactly! Trump is the wild eyed Anakin Skywalker right after he turned to the dark side, and McConnell is Emperor Palpatine - plotting everything from behind closed doors.
Jeanette I totally agree!
Socialism for the wealthy, Capitalism for the rest.
Rugged predatory capitalism
That is not socialism, that is protectionism. It is wicked how you give socialism a bad name with that expression.
Keep telling yourself that.
But but but they create jobs! They're jobs creators!
@Frederic Bastiat Deducting costs that businesses could pay out of pocket anyway. Corruption is legal in America.
GET THE MONEY OUT OF POLITICS!
This is why we need Democracy Dollars.
I hope everyone knows this. Bernie has been talking about this for a LONG time. Maybe Bernie will bring Robert on board once he’s President. I hope America even deserves a President like Bernie!
I just hope he doesn't croak before the election
Elizabeth Sullivan 😱He has more energy than I do. Inspiring!
Robert already served for a president. Nothing got accomplished, so he got a cushy job as a 'professor' where he can be more useful spreading commie propaganda to Berkley students
i Definirely not commie. Social democracy viewpoints. He is tainted with his history with Bill Clinton whom we don’t want or need a President like him again. Trump is course is much worse though George HW Bush was the architect for Trump. Former used the media as well for lies and propaganda. Anyway, there is nothing communist about Robert Reich’s policies. I do have a BA in Economics personally. China’s ideology is far from Reich’s.
AmandaBlondie007
America 2020 Feel the burn
18k a year in child care, 3500 a year in student loan payments and my annual tax burden increased by 3000 after the tax scam was signed into law.
More "WINNING"
2000 years ago you would have been a slave and your owner would have had certain obligations towards you (shelter/housing). Now you are a slave and have to take care of yourself.
FREEDOM !
@@0MoTheG student loan debt is optional. your slavery analogy doesnt make sense
Genuine question: if you do take on student debt then later go bankrupt does the debt disappear? I had heard it doesn't. Unless debts dissolve with bankruptcy then there's no way to restart without a debt obligation. That sounds like a form of servitude.
Yes, the debt was a choice but was it an informed choice? It is often made by someone trying to improve themselves and their family's financial situation. They are told they need college to get the job they want. That doesn't sound like much of a choice as you can be certain lots will take that chance.... What do you think?
@@joythought the debt does not go away with bankruptcy, look up "debt peonage". How can a 17 year old make an informed decision when every adult is screaming COLLEGE! their whole lives?
It's about time you make this video Robert. Thank you for talking about the real problems in government and corporations.
to our labore movement. we need you back. you tell everyone the truth all of the time.
Thank you so much for this education of how things are and what needs to change. Thank you.
corporate welfare never made sense to me.
Without it you will be jobless and the your job will be outsourced or automated. Then the wealth will accumulate in those low wage countries and ur SSI that you are so fond of will disappear. Value of your currency become paper value like Venezuela. Tariff helps a bit to promote manufacturing at home. Trumps policy was not fully successful. But if there are people with common sense, they will see the opportunity and start industries and businesses that create more jobs. Everyone's wealth will increase.
@@deepa8468 what an idiot you are. If americans didnt have jobs they wouldnt be able to pay anything so the big companies would be bankrupt
Thank you for addressing this very important GOP talking point by throwing it back into their face, Sec. Reich!
Ride TheCurve Any taxes that imposed on the corporation are passed off to the consumer. If the revenues and profits are in the black they have to. Either way you look at it the end consumer pays it all.
@@douglasbrittain7018 If that were true, then no business owners would care at all about higher taxes on their businesses. But they care deeply and are vehemently against it. The reason is because they can't always pass all the taxation onto their customers. The term in economics is called price elasticity.
Anthony Twohill Yes they would care, they would have to raise their prices which greatly affects sales. How do you think companies make money. They make them off the consumer. Where else would they make it. Common sense!
@@douglasbrittain7018 So you admit then that a business can't always pass an entire tax on to their customers. That's the whole point. If a business wants to maintain the same sales level, the business must therefore take at least SOME of the responsibility of the tax. This comes out of profit. Glad we can agree.
@@douglasbrittain7018 This is true to a point but corporations sell their goods largely on the cost of production and the tax benefits flow directly to the bottom line. Realistically, they still have to compete on price unless the tax system has given them an unfair advantage - think drug prices.
Robert’s accounting of fossil fuel industry subsidies does not even take into account the costs of environmental and health damage caused by mining, transporting and burning fossil fuels!
Yep, the bill for the externalities from using oil and all fossil fuels will be paid either in dollars or bodies,and the price is unlimited.
I worked for a tech Giant, perhaps the biggest one out there and over 7 years I only got $.50 an hour in raises. Nothing trickled down, nothing!
Did your position become more valuable? Did you produce more for the company, or learn new skills? Or did you just stay at the same position with no major changes in your part of the industry?
This channel is criminally underrated!
huh ?. wtf are you talking about.
I am an American and New Zealand dual citizen. There is no way in hell I would ever want to go back and live in America. American society = shameful.
Good for you for escaping!
Although I am somewhat envious, even though I don’t (yet) live under the United Corporation of America.
Dagnabits! You nail it down every time, Profesor!
Robert, thank you for these videos. America needs you, now more than ever! This is truly our time of need. We need you in the 2020 debate at a higher level, somewhere, somehow.
I wish I could like this video a thousand times!!!!
I wish every American tax payer would watch your videos
I think every american should stop paying taxes and see what happens.
Tom Jones well then you can say bye to the military, roads, police, firefighters, and more.
People are stupid mindless sheep
@@Skulltaro the military is more than pointless
@@Skulltaro it exists to bolster the US ego
This has burned me for yrs.
the real kicker is all people that are illegal gets government loans
and doesn't have to pay it back
but if an American citizen asks for it thay get turned down. why it that way. it's all free money for those who came illegally.
now this is wrong.
greed will be the death of our nation
Yes you are right ...... Greed will kill America...... Lisa Brown
You forgot to mention billions of dollars given to professional sports teams to build stadiums. Another great video Mr. Reich.
tonerduckpin was shocked to find out that the NFL was a registered “Non-Profit organization!” What a joke! Tax payers pay for the stadium and they get to use it for free??!!? Pure profit! That got shut down as soon as it was made known to the general public!
End the corporate welfare by boycotting these corporations! Every action counts!
if trump gets another turn. there will not be a FBI that works for the American people. it will be a loyalty to the president only.
Excellent video Robert!
"US Government Spends More on Corporate Welfare Subsidies than Social Welfare Programs"
Roughly $59 Billion is spent on traditional social welfare programs.
Roughly $92 Billion is spent on Corporate subsidies.
This man should have millions of American subscribers,he's like a search light cutting through the gloom.👍✌
Keep up the good work, Mr. Reich. You are a true patriot.
Google: Which corporations in my state receive subsidies
Then continue the fight to put these hidden taxes to better use. Like Education, Healthcare, and a Livable Wage.
Money out of Politics, No more Lobbyists.
This is why we need Democracy Dollars.
My father had a saying: “Welfare for the rich, rugged individualism for the poor.”
A very informative and eye-opening program!
I am neither a Democrat nor a Republican- just someone who tries to make decisions based upon the evidence and REASON. Can fiscal irresponsibility continue, without all of us eventually having to " pay the piper?" I think not.
Partisan politics seems to have stifled so many possible solutions to the threats facing our country.
Our founding fathers worried that an uninformed electorate would endanger the very existence of our country.
Thanks Bob. I've been touting this for more than 20 yrs.
This is outrageous and must be stopped!
You would think the supply side free marketers would have a shred of humility when they hold out their tin cups for our dollars. We saw, and were disgusted, by the gall of Amazon in their HQ2 "contest" to deplete the public purse for any state/municipality willing to throw away all fiscal restraint. NY State shutting that nonsense down was a sign we just might be waking up.
Bill Bloggins I think NY lost out on the deal. They were still going to pay a lot in taxes but not as much. Heard somewhere like Amazon was still paying 27 billion a year. Think of it like this. If a company post profits, the ones that really pay then taxes are the bottom line consumers. It is always past along to the end of the line.
Passed down to the end consumer.
@@douglasbrittain7018 "Taxes are always passed onto the consumer." False. I gave a more lengthy retort to you elsewhere. Look into 'Price elasticity of Demand.'
Anthony Twohill Then how does a company have profitability. Then you buy something you are partially paying the company cost right down to the wrapper it’s in. You pay shrinkage, you Pay shipping. You pay what the labor cost is. This is common sense here. The company isn’t paying, you and me are. Company are in business to make money, period. How can they do this if they pay the tax burden. This is so much common sense that it is almost sad I have to explain this.
And how much did Amazon pay in federal taxes in 2018 on $11.2 billion in pre-tax income? That's right Doug, $0. Keep looking for evidence of Amazon paying its' share and you will see paltry amounts over the years, not more than 3% at any level. Must be a hoot to be a small business owner in middle America and see your tax dollars provided in massive handouts to the goliath while you are in bankruptcy proceedings. Do some kind of research and maybe you will conclude corporate welfare is not a good thing.
We need more worker co-ops. Direct ownership of the enterprise by the people who work there.
That is so true it is corporate welfare...
Robert Reich!! Get us a breakdown of Andrew Yangs policy and candidacy!!!
The Corporate media is not going to let Yang spread his message, Its up to us "the people" to spread the word, all you have to do is ask someone you know is this question, Have you heard of Andrew Yang?
The US government built GPS, the internet, and many other technologies that we rely on today. Now, the taxpayers who funded that research have to pay high prices to use them. How does that make any sense?
Holy crap! $153,000,000,000 a year in wage subsidies to employees of Walmart and McDonald's alone!?
That's 20% of the entire defence budget!
Thank you mr. Reich for educating us. It's refreshing to see truth and honesty among all the deceit.
Yes! I am a Canadian living in Canada and we have this same situation.
Not quite - Canada is still a much better country to live in for the average citizen. There are significant problems but things are still better up north.
Even Mr. Spock couldn't argue for corporate welfare after seeing this. Best explanation i have seen. Thank you.
Just learned about Corporate welfare today, thank you brother.
Another fantastic video, Mr Reich! Bonus points for the old-fashioned McDonald's restaurant.
Been saying this for decades. Thanks for the excellent video Robert!
Professor Reich - just a moment to say thank you for these videos that you’re doing. They are pure gold. They break things down so simply, and if those are your drawings you’re a good artist as well. Please keep up the good work!
Yes and no. Yes to supporting new industries for the common good such as the green solar and wind industries, battery and electric cars development, certain drugs development, etc. No to dinosaur and cash cow industries who really need to be subject to the marketplace.
Leslie That should be based more on practical results than strait up subsidies. That way it’s based on actually improving more people’s lives than directly deciding which industries are important, which is an easy decision to abuse.
Why Can't I sell My Vote to a Corporation ?
Representatives and Candidates sell their Votes. Why do we need Elected Representatives acting as Middlemen.?
@ Not a very good answer .
The United States is a Capitalist Nation. Selling your vote is Capitalism at it's most fundamental.
Your answer assumes that representatives can break any vote selling law.
The Constitutional law applies equally to individuals and representatives.
It's legal hypocrisy It's the reason why we have debt servitude in the US.
your right. we don't need mitch McConnell or any of these politicians to only side for big business only .or for higher donations from people like the coch brothers. we the people should be the ones voting on our future not those politicians. that are getting rich over all these big corporations paying donations that thay have stolen our money .no raises for x amount of years.no extra vacation time for x amount of years served.no seniority for those picking vacation time.
great time for corporations
not working FAMILY'S. rents going threw the roof all over this country
to benefit who trump and his hench man.
For those who despise corporate welfare, remember that it only exists because the government has the power to expropriate wealth from the innocent in the first place. Money in politics is simply a consequence of politics being involved in money. They are two sides of the same coin. Robert Reich's solutions: government intervention in the economy, increased government spending, and increased taxation will exacerbate, not minimize, the prevalence of corporate welfare.
Yep! Another great one from Robert!
Im tired of alk this shit flying in my face. Thank you Robert for clearing up this bull shit. Your videos make it easy to see the real problems.
Politics in this day and age has become slight of hand. your best off looking in the opposite direction they seam to be pointing you in and you will always learn more by listening to what they get around saying, more so than what they say. the break down is this : Lie , Distract and redirect , never a straight answer.
I love your reporting-thanks for putty the facts out there!!!
Socialism is fantastic when it helps Corporations or the Rich, isn't that right GOPers?
Thank You For All the Videos You Have Put Up On TH-cam. You're the Best!!!
absolutely correct Mr.Reich and no more big tax breaks for the top 1%either.
Cumulative rate of inflation: 53.7% from 1999 to 2019. I need to know why we the people do not deserve adjusted pay.
Knowledge.
This is good!
“We all too often have socialism for the rich and rugged free market capitalism for the poor.” ― Martin Luther King Jr.
Good descriptive video. Corporations are only interested in milking every penny so that execs and wealthy investors can accumulate more wealth.
I’ve lived long enough to see how things changed since my early days of employment in the IT industry. All the perks have been done away with so that more can be kicked upstairs.
Thank you for the work you do in explaining a huge injustice and the economic problem it creates for the rest of us taxpayers.
I love this guy!!!
Awesome explanation Mr. Reich. Thank you 🙏.
I remember reading a book called Get the Rich Off Welfare. It was written 15 years ago, so the numbers may be off, but at the time, welfare for the rich actually cost over four times what welfare to the poor did. Oh, and they just used federal dollars, so it is probably much worse given the race to the bottom.
End Corp welfare.
RR, How did you fail to mention the Auto Sector in your list of major recipients?
Mr Reich, thankyou for educating us.
And here I thought socialism was bad...
@metaldogsg true with that comment... but they are helping banks with tax payers dollars, and after they got paid thier millions they still got their CEO's got their Thousands bonuses.
That's the lie that the government teaches in public schools to keep the corporations in power, because corporations run the government. If not for Bernie Sanders starting to wake people up to this reality with his famous economic statistics that he quotes all the time, we would continue to lose more and more of our freedoms to the wealthy.
Scary thought.
Now people are being encouraged to question the authority of private business owners, which is fantastic.
This is a discussion that has to be hammered down in public debates just like Medicare for all
The World could become a different place if this channel had some Million Subs... *sigh
Corporate welfare is HORRIBLE.
ATTENTION ROBERT....If you want any of these things done, why don't YOU run for president?
Please?
Cut corporate welfare! 1st priority for President Berne!
Thank you for your work.
We need that Universal basic income to lift people out of despair. We need Andrew Yang for president. Yang2020.com
I agree we need to end corporate welfare
Handouts to Big AG are especially galling because of how pinched farmers are: their profits are crazy thin! Shout out to a former Sidney St. neighbor! Five years on I'm glad to see you're still making great, thoughtful content.
Great video! Keep up the good fight!
Professor Reich. Please run for President! You have my vote!!! You are the only one that is not a game player and would set this country straight. 😊👍❤
TH-cam Andrew Yang, exactly what you are looking for!
Thank you Mr.Reich you are a brilliant teacher.
Excellent, as always. Thx so much for making these.
I would LOVE to have Robert on my team for Pictionary! His drawings make me smile.
I'm on board with you on this one.It does hurt all of us.Something that we can agree on.Which is about as rare as an eclipse.
Yep, while the American ppl were sleeping, these corporations have become very wealthy and powerful. And now we have a corporate head in office, so you know what that means.
Now if you will excuse me, I'm gonna go back to watching the game and finish eating my buffalo wings.
The one thing that Franklin Delano Roosevelt and Mussolini could agree on was the functional definition of Fascism: CORPORATISM.
🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️🤦♂️why doe this country not ever stand up argue for better pay and a raise especially for the middle class
More truth from Mr Reich. Big thumbs up!
Another fact-based video. I can't decide which one is better. Thank you, Robert Reich
I like that you make more sense than anyone else out here.
We live in an upside down, inside out world. One day, when it straightens out, and it will, there will be lots of screaming and teeth biting from the rich who will be dying to live in a sh-t hole world again.
Thank you for presenting this video, Mr. Reich. Corporate welfare and special interest are the root cause of what's wrong in this country and with our current situation. Without an informed public, how can we know what the real issues are?
Well done Rob this content is genius and well broken down
Wow, not only is Robert Reich a smart economist, he is a pretty badass artist as well!
I am in complete agreement with you, Mr. Reich. I have verbally complained about Corporate welfare every since Reagan used the words "welfare queen".