Reich To Rich: Redistribute Or Risk Angry Populace Turning On You!

March 1st, 2011 8:42 PM

Nice house there, rich guy.  Wouldn't wanna see nuthin' happen to it . . .

Robert Reich has actually argued that the rich should welcome redistributing more of their income to prevent an angry American populace from turning on them.

Clinton's former Labor Secretary made his astounding assertion on Cenk Uygur's MSNBC show this evening.   View video after the jump.

 



CENK UYGUR: Secretary Reich, this isn't just about let's get the money from the rich because that's where it is and they've accumulated all the wealth up at the top. It also makes sense for the rich if we had more equal distribution of income because of the effect it would have on the middle class.  Tell us about that, why do you think that's the case?  . . . Now if you go buying less cars, less homes, less everything, how are corporations and rich people supposed to make money?  I mean, it hurts everybody, doesn't it?


ROBERT REICH: Not only does it hurt everybody, but it also breeds a kind of anger. I mean, so many middle-class people, lower middle-class people, working-class people, are frustrated.  They are anxious, they worry about paying their bills. They see people at the very top getting away with, well, the equivalent of murder: look at what happened on Wall Street.  There's not a single Wall Streeter that's actually been indicted or brought to justice after that huge implosion on Wall Street. And people get cynical and they get angry.  

And then they see, uh, Republicans are very good at channeling that anger toward what? Government, immigrants, public employees.  Well, an angry population and an angry populace could just as easily turn their anger toward the very rich. Again, it is in the interest of the people at the top to actually call for a more equitable distribution of the gains of economic growth and a better tax system: a tax system that is fair.

 

Note: apologies for the mediocre video quality, complete with my lovebird Tukki squawking his rejection of Reich's threats in the background.  Still working out some of the kinks in my system after my recent move to Texas, but expect to be providing consistently better quality soon.