Robert Reich lays out his concerns about the ongoing epidemic of 'corporate greed' in the US
Former U.S. Secretary of Labor Robert Reich recently laid out his concerns about the ongoing epidemic of corporate greed in the United States.
In a new op-ed written for The Winchester Star, Reich began with a brief overview of what he observed during his time with the labor department writing, "I saw it when I was secretary of labor in the early 1990s, overseeing enforcing the nation's labor laws."
"The department had only 1,100 inspectors responsible for the health and safety of 130 million workers, including any children who might be working illegally in dangerous conditions," Reich wrote. "And not even the biggest penalty we could impose was high enough to deter companies that treated such fines as costs of doing business."
Weighing in on the current state of the department, Reich wrote:
"The Labor Department is still woefully understaffed, and penalties are still too low. Every time the department's budget is up for review, members of Congress — mostly (but not entirely) Republicans — refuse to appropriate enough funds for inspectors or to increase penalties," he wrote.
"So of course migrant children coming into the United States, fleeing violence and poverty, have ended up in dangerous jobs," he added.
Reich also shed light on other misconceptions that also align with the problems stemming from corporate greed.
"Just as Republican tax cuts for big corporations and the wealthy have not trickled down, Republican regulatory cuts have not benefited most people," he wrote. "Big companies and their major shareholders enjoy larger profits, but average working people bear the costs and risks. Citizens in places like East Palestine, Ohio, become sickened by toxic plumes. Children fleeing violence and poverty in Latin America become injured on jobs they should never have been offered."
He concluded with a clear appeal regarding the necessary changes needed in Congress. "Capitalism needs regulation if it is to serve the public," he wrote. "Greed requires guardrails if it is to stay on track."
Reich's full column is available here.
