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" Obviously, personal responsibility is important. But there's no evidence that people who are poor are less ambitious than anyone else. In fact, many work long hours at backbreaking jobs. "

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" Nations are becoming less relevant in a world where everyone and everything is interconnected. The connections that matter most are again becoming more personal. "

Robert Reich

Connections

Personal

World

" Political scientists after World War II hypothesized that even though the voices of individual Americans counted for little, most people belonged to a variety of interest groups and membership organizations - clubs, associations, political parties, unions - to which politicians were responsive. "

" Our moral authority is as important, if not more important, than our troop strength or our high-tech weapons. We are rapidly losing that moral authority, not only in the Arab world but all over the world. "

" Standing up to bullies is the hallmark of a civilized society. "

" We do not want to live in a theocracy. We should maintain that barrier and government has no business telling someone what they ought to believe or how they should conduct their private lives. "

" As public schools deteriorate, the upper-middle class and wealthy send their kids to private ones. As public pools and playgrounds decay, the better-off buy memberships in private tennis and swimming clubs. As public hospitals decline, the well-off pay premium rates for private care. "

" Public fear isn't something to be played with. "

" Too many young people graduate laden with debts that take years, if not decades, to pay off. "

" Some argue shareholder capitalism has proven more efficient. It has moved economic resources to where they're most productive, and thereby enabled the economy to grow faster. "

Robert Reich

Economy

Most

" Evidence suggests jobs are crucial not only to economic well-being but also to self-esteem. "

" The largest party in America, by the way, is neither the Democrats nor the Republicans. It's the party of non-voters. "

" No company can be expected to build a nuclear reactor, an oil well, a coal mine, or anything else that's one hundred percent safe under all circumstances. The costs would be prohibitive. It's unreasonable to expect corporations to totally guard against small chances of every potential accident. "

" We already have an annual wealth tax on homes, the major asset of the middle class. It's called the property tax. Why not a small annual tax on the value of stocks and bonds, the major assets of the wealthy? "

" Government subsidies to elite private universities take the form of tax deductions for people who make charitable contributions to them. "

" You might say those who can't repay their student debts shouldn't have borrowed in the first place. But they had no way of knowing just how bad the jobs market would become. "

" Tax laws favor capital over labor, giving capital gains a lower rate than ordinary income. The rich get humongous mortgage interest deductions while renters get no deduction at all. "

" It is impossible to fight bullies merely by saying they're going too far. "

" In 1968, the sanitation workers of Memphis tried to form a union. The city resisted. The Rev. Martin Luther King, Jr. came to support them. That was where he lost his life. "

" Harvard, Yale, Princeton, and the rest of the Ivy League are worthy institutions, to be sure, but they're not known for educating large numbers of poor young people. "

" One tax dodge often used by multi-national companies is to squirrel their earnings abroad in foreign subsidiaries located in countries where taxes are lower. "

" Walmart isn't your average mom-and-pop operation. It's the largest employer in America. As such, it's the trendsetter for millions of other employers of low-wage workers. "

" The only way to grow the economy in a way that benefits the bottom 90 percent is to change the structure of the economy. At the least, this requires stronger unions and a higher minimum wage. "

" We never used to blink at taking a leadership role in the world. And we understood leadership often required something other than drones and bombs. We accepted global leadership not just for humanitarian reasons, but also because it was in our own best interest. We knew we couldn't isolate ourselves from trouble. There was no place to hide. "

" America's real business leaders understand unless or until the middle class regains its footing and its faith, capitalism remains vulnerable. "

" Much of what's called 'public' is increasingly a private good paid for by users - ever-higher tolls on public highways and public bridges, higher tuitions at so-called public universities, higher admission fees at public parks and public museums. "

" In reality, most of America's poor work hard, often in two or more jobs. "

" Media outlets that are exploiting Ebola because they want a sensational story and politicians using it to their own ends ought to be ashamed. "

" The only way to make sure no bank is too big to fail is to make sure no bank is too big. "

" What someone is paid has little or no relationship to what their work is worth to society. "

" Community colleges are great bargains. They avoid the fancy amenities four-year liberal arts colleges need in order to lure the children of the middle class. "