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Okay, we're going
in my MINI Cooper.
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Now, the thing you ought to know
about this MINI Cooper
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is, it is small.
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I like having a MINI Cooper.
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I sort of identify with it.
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You know?
It's pretty little.
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I feel as if it's proportion...
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that we are in proportion,
you know?
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Me and my car,
we are sort of...
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together,
facing the rest of the world.
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Economic fairness is,
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"the defining issue of our time,
and what the millions..."
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This kind of gaping inequality
gives lie to the promise
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that's at the very heart
of America.
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There is income inequality
in America.
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There always has been,
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and hopefully
there always will be.
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If inequality is at a very
much higher level, who cares?
19
00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:02,466
Income inequality
has been ticking up.
20
00:02:02,467 --> 00:02:03,934
Income inequality is bull.
21
00:02:03,935 --> 00:02:05,235
I think it's about envy.
22
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I think it's about
class warfare.
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It's class warfare,
and it's the kind of language
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that you would expect
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from a leader
of a third world country,
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not the president
of the United States.
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It's true,
because United States of America
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is not a third world country
by any measure,
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except perhaps
income inequality,
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where we rank...
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Worse than the Ivory Coast,
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worse than Cameroon...
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64th!
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Ah, in your face,
Uruguay, Jamaica, and Uganda!
35
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Yeah.
36
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Okay, are we all here?
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My name is Robert Reich.
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I was secretary of labor
under Bill Clinton.
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Before that, I was at Harvard.
40
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Before that, I was in
the Carter administration.
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Do you remember...
does anybody...
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You don't remember
the Carter administration.
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00:03:35,360 --> 00:03:38,362
Before that,
I was a special aide
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to Abraham Lincoln.
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Those were tough times.
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We are going to deal
with three questions.
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The first question is,
what is happening
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in terms of the distribution
of income and wealth?
49
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Number two, why?
50
00:04:02,788 --> 00:04:05,589
Number three, is it a problem?
51
00:04:05,590 --> 00:04:08,726
Maybe it's not a problem.
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00:04:08,727 --> 00:04:10,995
Many of you call yourselves
conservatives.
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Many of you call yourselves
liberals.
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00:04:13,364 --> 00:04:16,833
Those labels will become
increasingly irrelevant
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as you get deeper and deeper
into this subject.
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I want you to test
your assumptions.
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If possible, I want to shake
your assumptions a little bit
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about why the system
works as it does.
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00:04:48,333 --> 00:04:50,505
Some inequality is inevitable.
60
00:04:53,505 --> 00:04:55,472
If people are gonna have
the proper incentives
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to be productive, to work hard,
to be inventive...
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00:05:01,478 --> 00:05:03,080
that's the essence
of capitalism,
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00:05:03,081 --> 00:05:07,154
and capitalism does generate
a lot of good things.
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00:05:09,154 --> 00:05:13,123
Look, the question
is not inequality per se.
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00:05:13,124 --> 00:05:17,528
The question is, when does
inequality become a problem?
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How much inequality
can we tolerate
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00:05:21,166 --> 00:05:23,900
and still have an economy
that's working for everyone
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00:05:23,901 --> 00:05:27,703
and still have a democracy
that's functioning?
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00:05:27,704 --> 00:05:31,909
Of all developed nations today,
the United States has
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00:05:31,910 --> 00:05:36,580
the most unequal distribution
of income and wealth by far.
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00:05:36,581 --> 00:05:41,552
And we're surging
toward even greater inequality.
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00:05:41,553 --> 00:05:43,854
One way of looking at
and measuring inequality
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00:05:43,855 --> 00:05:46,556
is to look at the earnings
of people at the top
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00:05:46,557 --> 00:05:47,825
versus the earnings
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00:05:47,826 --> 00:05:50,076
of the typical worker
in the middle.
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00:05:51,562 --> 00:05:54,564
The typical male worker in 1978
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was making around $48,000,
adjusted for inflation,
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00:05:58,803 --> 00:06:01,470
while the average person
in the top 1%
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00:06:01,471 --> 00:06:04,874
earned $390,000.
80
00:06:04,875 --> 00:06:06,410
Now fast-forward.
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00:06:06,411 --> 00:06:09,547
By 2010,
the typical male worker
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00:06:09,548 --> 00:06:11,681
earned even less
than he did then,
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00:06:11,682 --> 00:06:13,350
but the person at the top
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00:06:13,351 --> 00:06:16,822
got more than twice as much
as before.
85
00:06:17,822 --> 00:06:21,525
Today the richest 400 Americans
have more wealth
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00:06:21,526 --> 00:06:25,729
than the bottom
150 million of us put together.
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00:06:25,730 --> 00:06:26,797
Now, think about it.
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400 people have more wealth
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00:06:29,733 --> 00:06:34,203
than half the population
of the United States.
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00:06:36,374 --> 00:06:39,042
Anger rising
over an economic system
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00:06:39,043 --> 00:06:40,376
that has rewarded some
92
00:06:40,377 --> 00:06:44,080
but leaves many
feeling left behind.
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00:06:44,081 --> 00:06:46,616
After the economy crashed
in 2008,
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inequality suddenly
became front-page news.
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Who else wants to join the 1%?
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You look like a one percenter.
97
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We're a fabulous percent.
98
00:06:55,293 --> 00:06:59,330
People from both parties were
looking for someone to blame.
99
00:06:59,331 --> 00:07:02,265
But most people have no idea
how it got this bad
100
00:07:02,266 --> 00:07:03,406
or why.
101
00:07:09,406 --> 00:07:10,974
Not until the last few years
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00:07:10,975 --> 00:07:14,410
have we really understood
all that much about inequality.
103
00:07:14,411 --> 00:07:17,780
I mean,
we knew the top 10% or 20%
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00:07:17,781 --> 00:07:19,249
were moving in one direction
105
00:07:19,250 --> 00:07:21,886
and the bottom 10% or 20%
was moving in another.
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00:07:21,887 --> 00:07:24,621
But we didn't know what was
happening at the very top,
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to the top 1%.
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- Hello.
- How are you doing?
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Good to see you.
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00:07:30,060 --> 00:07:32,462
And then a few years ago,
two researchers,
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00:07:32,463 --> 00:07:34,797
Emmanuel Saez
and Thomas Piketty,
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00:07:34,798 --> 00:07:36,878
found a different
source of data.
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They looked at IRS tax data,
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not just
over the last few years
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but all the way back to 1913,
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when the income tax
was instituted.
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00:07:53,584 --> 00:07:56,487
It showed
that there were two peak years.
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1928 and 2007
become the peak years
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00:08:01,291 --> 00:08:03,126
for income concentration,
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00:08:03,127 --> 00:08:05,595
both of them in which the top 1%
is taking home
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00:08:05,596 --> 00:08:08,668
more than 23% of total income.
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00:08:10,668 --> 00:08:13,537
We knew that inequality
had started to increase
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00:08:13,538 --> 00:08:16,006
in the late '70s and the 1980s,
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00:08:16,007 --> 00:08:20,210
but we didn't know
how dramatically
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00:08:20,211 --> 00:08:21,910
income concentration
had increased,
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00:08:21,911 --> 00:08:24,147
especially within the top 1%.
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00:08:24,148 --> 00:08:27,650
When you had this study
come out in 2003,
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00:08:27,651 --> 00:08:29,753
it sat there
for a number of years,
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00:08:29,754 --> 00:08:34,023
and then suddenly
it became important.
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00:08:34,024 --> 00:08:36,427
But you see them
starting to recover...
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00:08:36,428 --> 00:08:38,796
This graph becomes very central
132
00:08:38,797 --> 00:08:42,132
for explaining what has happened
to the U.S. economy
133
00:08:42,133 --> 00:08:46,635
and, indeed, what's happening
and has happened to our society.
134
00:08:46,636 --> 00:08:49,908
It looks like
a suspension bridge.
135
00:08:50,908 --> 00:08:53,476
What happened
the year after 1928?
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The Great Crash.
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00:08:54,711 --> 00:08:57,279
And what happened
just after 2007?
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00:08:57,280 --> 00:08:58,317
Another crash.
139
00:09:00,317 --> 00:09:03,552
The parallels are breathtaking
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00:09:03,553 --> 00:09:06,156
if you look at them carefully.
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00:09:13,697 --> 00:09:16,298
Leading up
to those two peak years,
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00:09:16,299 --> 00:09:18,701
as income got more and more
concentrated
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00:09:18,702 --> 00:09:20,903
in fewer and fewer hands,
144
00:09:20,904 --> 00:09:23,373
the wealthy turned
to the financial sector,
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00:09:23,374 --> 00:09:27,845
and in both periods,
the financial sector ballooned.
146
00:09:27,846 --> 00:09:30,580
They focused
on a limited number of assets:
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00:09:30,581 --> 00:09:34,118
Housing, gold,
speculative instruments,
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debt instruments.
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And that creates
a speculative bubble
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00:09:38,322 --> 00:09:40,257
in both times.
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00:09:40,258 --> 00:09:42,725
We also know
that the middle class,
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00:09:42,726 --> 00:09:46,129
in both periods,
their incomes were stagnating,
153
00:09:46,130 --> 00:09:48,264
and they went deeper and deeper
into debt
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00:09:48,265 --> 00:09:50,933
to maintain
their living standards.
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00:09:50,934 --> 00:09:52,844
And that creates a debt bubble.
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00:09:56,474 --> 00:09:58,874
That's why you see,
in both these periods,
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economic instability.
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00:10:02,145 --> 00:10:06,917
What makes an economy stable
is a strong middle class.
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00:10:06,918 --> 00:10:10,620
Look, the most important thing
to understand
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00:10:10,621 --> 00:10:13,790
is that consumer spending
is 70%
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00:10:13,791 --> 00:10:16,759
of the United States economy.
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00:10:16,760 --> 00:10:19,461
And the middle class
is the heart
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00:10:19,462 --> 00:10:23,133
of that consumer spending.
164
00:10:23,134 --> 00:10:27,738
So it's your middle class
that keeps the economy going.
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00:10:27,739 --> 00:10:31,041
There's no way you can sustain
the economy over the long term
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without a strong and vibrant
and growing middle class.
167
00:10:35,779 --> 00:10:36,779
Can't be done.
168
00:10:39,417 --> 00:10:41,151
- People are being intimidated.
- Correct.
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00:10:41,152 --> 00:10:42,985
I mean, they might
lose their jobs if they...
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00:10:42,986 --> 00:10:45,721
I talk to a lot
of different groups.
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00:10:45,722 --> 00:10:49,292
Some are wealthy.
Some are working-class.
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00:10:49,293 --> 00:10:51,128
Some are conservative.
Some are liberal.
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00:10:51,129 --> 00:10:55,231
And he finally got
a full-time job.
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00:10:55,232 --> 00:10:57,267
The middle class is struggling.
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00:10:57,268 --> 00:10:59,668
It is going downhill.
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I hear it all the time.
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00:11:01,905 --> 00:11:03,473
Well, everyone tells me
that I am,
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00:11:03,474 --> 00:11:05,908
but I don't feel
like I'm middle-class,
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00:11:05,909 --> 00:11:07,344
because I'm barely making it.
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00:11:07,345 --> 00:11:10,346
Middle-class
is living comfortably
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00:11:10,347 --> 00:11:13,950
and not having to... not having
every week be a struggle.
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00:11:13,951 --> 00:11:16,185
I'd like to save up
and buy a house one day,
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00:11:16,186 --> 00:11:18,455
and, you know, I haven't really
been able to do that
184
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and been kind of holding back
185
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and just trying to make rent
right now.
186
00:11:25,529 --> 00:11:29,932
How much do you make an hour?
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Right now,
I think it went up... $21.50.
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$21.50 an hour.
189
00:11:36,673 --> 00:11:38,541
Hola, Alberto.
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00:11:38,542 --> 00:11:40,442
I think I'm being paid fair.
191
00:11:40,443 --> 00:11:43,112
It got to a point
that we were able to afford,
192
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you know, a condo
on Olivera Road,
193
00:11:48,285 --> 00:11:50,086
and we bought it.
194
00:11:50,087 --> 00:11:52,723
We had our own things,
our own place.
195
00:11:52,724 --> 00:11:55,796
It was little,
you know, two-bedroom.
196
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We bought it in 2004.
197
00:12:03,000 --> 00:12:07,604
Around 2006, start of 2007,
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00:12:07,605 --> 00:12:09,939
the market just dropped
like a rock.
199
00:12:09,940 --> 00:12:13,009
And not that long after,
actually,
200
00:12:13,010 --> 00:12:17,547
I lost my job that I'd been at
for a long time.
201
00:12:17,548 --> 00:12:20,048
Luckily we had
some really good friends,
202
00:12:20,049 --> 00:12:21,750
and one of them said,
203
00:12:21,751 --> 00:12:24,521
"Come over here
and live with me."
204
00:12:24,522 --> 00:12:27,393
So that's where we are now.
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00:12:28,393 --> 00:12:29,692
Go with Daddy.
206
00:12:29,693 --> 00:12:31,561
- Go with Daddy.
- I'm hungry.
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00:12:31,562 --> 00:12:34,330
You're hungry?
208
00:12:34,331 --> 00:12:39,869
Child care for Paulina right now
costs me about $400.
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00:12:39,870 --> 00:12:43,907
I'm, like, undecided whether
I should make her walk home...
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00:12:43,908 --> 00:12:45,542
buy her a phone and walk home,
211
00:12:45,543 --> 00:12:47,610
making sure she gets home okay,
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00:12:47,611 --> 00:12:49,612
or keep paying a day care.
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00:12:49,613 --> 00:12:52,485
- Bye.
- Here, Mom.
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00:12:54,485 --> 00:12:55,485
Ready?
215
00:13:01,125 --> 00:13:04,460
I have $25 in my
checking account right now
216
00:13:04,461 --> 00:13:08,031
and just thinking about
all the things that we need.
217
00:13:08,032 --> 00:13:09,532
I don't have a way
of communicating
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00:13:09,533 --> 00:13:11,100
with Robert right now.
219
00:13:11,101 --> 00:13:14,003
He doesn't have a phone,
so we have to wait for that.
220
00:13:14,004 --> 00:13:15,872
I got to figure out...
we have to have enough,
221
00:13:15,873 --> 00:13:19,947
you know,
food on the table for the kids.
222
00:13:22,947 --> 00:13:24,848
$25 in your checking account,
223
00:13:24,849 --> 00:13:27,617
that's got to be...
224
00:13:27,618 --> 00:13:29,552
That's not very much.
225
00:13:29,553 --> 00:13:31,553
No, it's not.
226
00:13:33,024 --> 00:13:35,591
But, I mean,
it's Tues... it's Wednesday.
227
00:13:35,592 --> 00:13:37,859
I'll survive today.
228
00:13:37,860 --> 00:13:39,061
I'll look up in the pantry,
229
00:13:39,062 --> 00:13:41,663
see what else is there to eat.
230
00:13:41,664 --> 00:13:44,968
I have a full tank of gas,
so I'm fine on that part.
231
00:13:44,969 --> 00:13:47,379
I don't need to go anywhere
right now.
232
00:13:53,009 --> 00:13:54,778
When I was laid off,
I decided to go ahead
233
00:13:54,779 --> 00:13:57,714
and pursue my degree
at that point.
234
00:13:57,715 --> 00:14:02,485
Most of the classmates I have
are a lot younger than I am.
235
00:14:02,486 --> 00:14:04,354
It's different
when you're reading about it
236
00:14:04,355 --> 00:14:06,422
or somebody else's issues.
237
00:14:06,423 --> 00:14:08,891
That's different from when
it's your own family's.
238
00:14:08,892 --> 00:14:10,159
So when it hits home,
239
00:14:10,160 --> 00:14:12,629
that's probably
the hardest part.
240
00:14:12,630 --> 00:14:17,100
There is no official
definition of the middle class.
241
00:14:17,101 --> 00:14:18,468
But Alan Krueger,
242
00:14:18,469 --> 00:14:20,403
chairman of the Council
of Economic Advisors,
243
00:14:20,404 --> 00:14:22,104
these are the percentage
of households
244
00:14:22,105 --> 00:14:27,643
with annual incomes within 50%
of the median household.
245
00:14:27,644 --> 00:14:32,285
$50,000, median income,
50% above, 50% below.
246
00:14:35,285 --> 00:14:37,653
If you're in the top 1%,
you're earning
247
00:14:37,654 --> 00:14:40,790
at least $380,000 a year.
248
00:14:40,791 --> 00:14:42,892
If you're at the lower end
of this group,
249
00:14:42,893 --> 00:14:44,528
you're probably
at the top levels
250
00:14:44,529 --> 00:14:47,997
of the professional fields,
a top doctor or a top lawyer.
251
00:14:47,998 --> 00:14:49,298
Higher in this group,
252
00:14:49,299 --> 00:14:50,933
earning several million dollars
a year,
253
00:14:50,934 --> 00:14:54,403
are successful entrepreneurs
who start profitable companies.
254
00:14:54,404 --> 00:14:58,474
At the highest levels, earning
$10 million a year or more,
255
00:14:58,475 --> 00:15:00,743
are the CEOs of big companies,
256
00:15:00,744 --> 00:15:04,080
the heads of Wall Street banks,
top entertainers,
257
00:15:04,081 --> 00:15:06,883
and also the top sports stars.
258
00:15:06,884 --> 00:15:12,021
Last year, we made $36,000,
and we're a family of three.
259
00:15:12,022 --> 00:15:13,290
I think I probably make
260
00:15:13,291 --> 00:15:15,358
in between $45,000 and $50,000
a year
261
00:15:15,359 --> 00:15:19,129
working 70 hours a week,
six days a week.
262
00:15:19,130 --> 00:15:20,696
Combined income with the army
263
00:15:20,697 --> 00:15:27,070
and with my personal job,
maybe $55,000 to $60,000 a year.
264
00:15:27,071 --> 00:15:32,841
Probably close to $600,000.
265
00:15:32,842 --> 00:15:36,778
Usually more than $10 million,
less than $30 million
266
00:15:36,779 --> 00:15:38,148
but, you know, a lot,
267
00:15:38,149 --> 00:15:41,221
a ridiculous amount of money.
268
00:15:44,221 --> 00:15:46,755
I am an entrepreneur
and venture capitalist.
269
00:15:46,756 --> 00:15:49,959
My family owns a large
manufacturer of bed pillows
270
00:15:49,960 --> 00:15:52,394
and down comforters called
Pacific Coast Feather Company.
271
00:15:52,395 --> 00:15:54,297
We are, in fact,
one the largest manufacturers
272
00:15:54,298 --> 00:15:56,375
of those things in the world.
273
00:16:05,375 --> 00:16:08,311
The problem
with rising inequality is,
274
00:16:08,312 --> 00:16:11,080
a person like me,
who earns 1,000 times as much
275
00:16:11,081 --> 00:16:13,649
as the typical American,
276
00:16:13,650 --> 00:16:16,418
doesn't buy 1,000 pillows
a year.
277
00:16:16,419 --> 00:16:20,293
Even the richest people only
sleep on one or two pillows.
278
00:16:22,293 --> 00:16:24,393
The pillow business
is quite tough,
279
00:16:24,394 --> 00:16:27,196
as it is
for many, many industries,
280
00:16:27,197 --> 00:16:31,367
because fewer and fewer people
can afford to buy
281
00:16:31,368 --> 00:16:34,206
the products that we make.
282
00:16:40,543 --> 00:16:42,311
And I have the nicest Audi
you can get,
283
00:16:42,312 --> 00:16:45,281
but it's still only one Audi.
284
00:16:45,282 --> 00:16:47,517
I personally hate fancy food.
285
00:16:47,518 --> 00:16:50,653
I would infinitely rather
go have a great bowl
286
00:16:50,654 --> 00:16:52,721
of pho at the local
Vietnamese place
287
00:16:52,722 --> 00:16:57,130
than a five-course $300 dinner
at some fancy place.
288
00:16:59,130 --> 00:17:00,763
You know, we can only
go out to eat
289
00:17:00,764 --> 00:17:02,331
so many times a year.
290
00:17:02,332 --> 00:17:04,633
We can only get
so many haircuts a year.
291
00:17:04,634 --> 00:17:07,604
We can only get...
I can, you know...
292
00:17:07,605 --> 00:17:09,471
Three pairs of jeans
will do you, you know?
293
00:17:09,472 --> 00:17:11,432
Like, you don't need 300 pairs.
294
00:17:13,176 --> 00:17:15,178
The problem isn't that the rich
295
00:17:15,179 --> 00:17:17,046
spend too much
of what they earn.
296
00:17:17,047 --> 00:17:20,350
It's actually, paradoxically,
that they spend too little.
297
00:17:20,351 --> 00:17:23,381
They're not generating
enough economic activity.
298
00:17:25,154 --> 00:17:27,390
Somebody earning
$10 million a year
299
00:17:27,391 --> 00:17:30,293
doesn't spend $10 million.
300
00:17:30,294 --> 00:17:31,826
They save it.
301
00:17:31,827 --> 00:17:34,797
And those savings go
anywhere around the world.
302
00:17:34,798 --> 00:17:39,135
They can make the most money,
get the highest return.
303
00:17:39,136 --> 00:17:42,838
They become part
of the global capital market,
304
00:17:42,839 --> 00:17:45,274
including a lot
of speculative instruments,
305
00:17:45,275 --> 00:17:48,178
having gold and real estate
and anything else
306
00:17:48,179 --> 00:17:50,747
that they're all chasing.
307
00:17:50,748 --> 00:17:55,317
With the exception
of the money I personally invest
308
00:17:55,318 --> 00:17:59,221
to start companies,
I have essentially no idea
309
00:17:59,222 --> 00:18:00,990
what happens to my money.
310
00:18:00,991 --> 00:18:03,993
I invest in funds of funds,
311
00:18:03,994 --> 00:18:08,097
and those hedge funds
do God knows what with it.
312
00:18:08,098 --> 00:18:10,700
But I do believe absolutely
313
00:18:10,701 --> 00:18:13,702
that most of the return
that's being created
314
00:18:13,703 --> 00:18:17,073
isn't creating
any kind of social utility
315
00:18:17,074 --> 00:18:20,175
other than creating
a return for me.
316
00:18:20,176 --> 00:18:22,178
Now, ordinarily we like saving.
317
00:18:22,179 --> 00:18:24,046
I mean, savings are good,
but when we have
318
00:18:24,047 --> 00:18:27,683
so much unemployment,
so much underutilized capacity
319
00:18:27,684 --> 00:18:31,822
here in the United States,
we need spending.
320
00:18:31,823 --> 00:18:37,259
Every single person there has
to process 12 units per hour.
321
00:18:37,260 --> 00:18:39,496
How are we gonna create jobs
if you're taxing
322
00:18:39,497 --> 00:18:41,698
the very successful people
in America
323
00:18:41,699 --> 00:18:43,399
who provide those jobs?
324
00:18:43,400 --> 00:18:46,568
Sometimes we think
that this is a debate
325
00:18:46,569 --> 00:18:48,970
over facts and figures
and data.
326
00:18:48,971 --> 00:18:52,409
To raise taxes on the job
creators in this country...
327
00:18:52,410 --> 00:18:53,709
I think if you believe that,
328
00:18:53,710 --> 00:18:55,444
you're fooling yourself
a little bit.
329
00:18:55,445 --> 00:18:58,448
The people that you call rich,
I call job creators.
330
00:18:58,449 --> 00:19:00,783
When somebody calls themselves
a job creator,
331
00:19:00,784 --> 00:19:03,419
they're not describing
the economy
332
00:19:03,420 --> 00:19:04,787
or how the economy works,
333
00:19:04,788 --> 00:19:06,722
although that's
what it sounds like.
334
00:19:06,723 --> 00:19:09,592
What they're really doing
is making a claim
335
00:19:09,593 --> 00:19:13,364
on status, privileges,
and power.
336
00:19:14,364 --> 00:19:16,731
If a guy like me
is a job creator
337
00:19:16,732 --> 00:19:18,800
at the center
of the economic universe,
338
00:19:18,801 --> 00:19:21,971
the current
economic arrangements
339
00:19:21,972 --> 00:19:25,208
are righteous and justified.
340
00:19:25,209 --> 00:19:26,976
I know how comfortable
this is to believe
341
00:19:26,977 --> 00:19:29,545
because I used to believe it.
342
00:19:29,546 --> 00:19:31,914
You know, I grew up
kind of believing that.
343
00:19:31,915 --> 00:19:34,316
You know, and when people
challenged that idea,
344
00:19:34,317 --> 00:19:35,751
I would say things like,
345
00:19:35,752 --> 00:19:37,886
"Well, you just don't understand
economics."
346
00:19:39,890 --> 00:19:42,659
But of course,
if rich business guys like me
347
00:19:42,660 --> 00:19:44,960
are not job creators...
it's actually our customers
348
00:19:44,961 --> 00:19:46,496
that are the job creators...
349
00:19:46,497 --> 00:19:49,265
we are not the center
of the economic universe.
350
00:19:49,266 --> 00:19:50,536
They are.
351
00:19:52,536 --> 00:19:56,338
We need to replace
trickle-down economics
352
00:19:56,339 --> 00:19:58,741
with middle-out economics.
353
00:19:58,742 --> 00:20:02,644
And, indeed,
every place you look on Earth
354
00:20:02,645 --> 00:20:06,548
where you find prosperity,
you finds massive investments
355
00:20:06,549 --> 00:20:08,317
in the middle class
and the poor,
356
00:20:08,318 --> 00:20:12,854
because at the end of the day,
they are the true job creators.
357
00:20:12,855 --> 00:20:15,758
The most pro-business thing
you can do
358
00:20:15,759 --> 00:20:19,394
is to help middle-class people
thrive.
359
00:20:50,394 --> 00:20:53,395
Okay, I'm gonna get the box.
360
00:20:53,396 --> 00:20:57,633
Now, see, this box
is really important.
361
00:20:57,634 --> 00:20:59,935
I travel not only
with my MINI Cooper
362
00:20:59,936 --> 00:21:01,903
but with my box.
363
00:21:04,208 --> 00:21:05,608
Hello, George.
How are you?
364
00:21:05,609 --> 00:21:07,143
You are so kind
to bring the box.
365
00:21:07,144 --> 00:21:08,510
We have one for you too.
366
00:21:08,511 --> 00:21:09,745
It's the same room and...
367
00:21:09,746 --> 00:21:11,047
In recent years,
I've discovered
368
00:21:11,048 --> 00:21:14,217
that I actually have
a very, very rare
369
00:21:14,218 --> 00:21:16,585
genetic condition.
370
00:21:16,586 --> 00:21:18,854
It's Fairbanks Syndrome
371
00:21:18,855 --> 00:21:22,324
that is responsible
for me being very short.
372
00:21:22,325 --> 00:21:25,393
- Hey, Bob, let me carry that.
- No, no, no, that's fine.
373
00:21:25,394 --> 00:21:27,630
My parents were normal size.
374
00:21:27,631 --> 00:21:29,732
My grandmother
always said to me,
375
00:21:29,733 --> 00:21:31,367
"Don't worry,"
'cause when I hit
376
00:21:31,368 --> 00:21:34,738
about 10 or 11 or 12,
I'm gonna,
377
00:21:34,739 --> 00:21:37,573
you know,
have a real growth spurt.
378
00:21:37,574 --> 00:21:39,541
And then I got to be
about 10, 11,
379
00:21:39,542 --> 00:21:41,576
and nothing happened, you know?
380
00:21:41,577 --> 00:21:42,945
Right up this way to the right.
381
00:21:42,946 --> 00:21:43,979
Right this way.
382
00:21:43,980 --> 00:21:45,413
Yup, behind you.
383
00:22:01,765 --> 00:22:04,467
I grew up in the shadow
of World War II.
384
00:22:04,468 --> 00:22:08,136
My father was in the war.
385
00:22:08,137 --> 00:22:10,105
We were middle-class.
386
00:22:10,106 --> 00:22:13,346
My father sold dresses.
My mother helped in the shop.
387
00:22:15,144 --> 00:22:19,147
My first job in Washington
was working as a summer intern
388
00:22:19,148 --> 00:22:22,719
for Robert Kennedy.
389
00:22:22,720 --> 00:22:25,454
It was a time
when there were kind of giants.
390
00:22:25,455 --> 00:22:28,391
Robert F. Kennedy,
Martin Luther King,
391
00:22:28,392 --> 00:22:31,559
they were all
trying to change society.
392
00:22:31,560 --> 00:22:33,997
There was a sense
of possibility.
393
00:22:33,998 --> 00:22:37,232
It kind of turned me on
to politics.
394
00:22:37,233 --> 00:22:40,635
A few years later, I was picked
to be a Rhodes Scholar.
395
00:22:40,636 --> 00:22:42,904
In those days,
all the Rhodes Scholars
396
00:22:42,905 --> 00:22:45,946
who were selected
took a boat to England.
397
00:22:50,946 --> 00:22:53,582
The problem was, you know,
when you go over there,
398
00:22:53,583 --> 00:22:57,120
the Atlantic Ocean
is pretty rough.
399
00:22:57,121 --> 00:23:00,021
You know, I and most
of the other Rhodes Scholars
400
00:23:00,022 --> 00:23:02,892
were sick,
and I went down to my cabin.
401
00:23:02,893 --> 00:23:05,133
You know,
I thought I was gonna die.
402
00:23:08,531 --> 00:23:10,665
And then there was a knock
on the door,
403
00:23:10,666 --> 00:23:12,701
and this fellow was there,
404
00:23:12,702 --> 00:23:15,004
this kind of tall,
gangly Southerner,
405
00:23:15,005 --> 00:23:17,306
and he had chicken soup
in one hand
406
00:23:17,307 --> 00:23:19,374
and crackers in the other,
407
00:23:19,375 --> 00:23:21,743
and he said, "I hear
you aren't feeling too well.
408
00:23:21,744 --> 00:23:23,278
"I thought these might help.
409
00:23:23,279 --> 00:23:26,149
My name is Bill Clinton."
410
00:23:26,150 --> 00:23:28,550
At Oxford,
we were at the same college.
411
00:23:28,551 --> 00:23:30,556
We kept in touch.
412
00:23:32,556 --> 00:23:34,958
At Oxford,
I studied mostly economics
413
00:23:34,959 --> 00:23:37,326
and philosophy.
414
00:23:37,327 --> 00:23:40,595
But those experiences
really were a study for me
415
00:23:40,596 --> 00:23:43,232
of the rules by which
markets are organized.
416
00:23:43,233 --> 00:23:44,767
And this is an important point,
417
00:23:44,768 --> 00:23:47,903
and it's one
that's very often lost,
418
00:23:47,904 --> 00:23:51,339
but it was the focus
of my attention.
419
00:23:51,340 --> 00:23:52,608
You see, there's no such thing
420
00:23:52,609 --> 00:23:55,044
as a perfectly free market
anywhere.
421
00:23:55,045 --> 00:24:00,016
Government sets the rules
by which the market functions.
422
00:24:00,017 --> 00:24:02,885
All of these rules
are necessary
423
00:24:02,886 --> 00:24:06,889
in order to construct
a free market.
424
00:24:06,890 --> 00:24:10,526
The real question is,
who do these rules benefit
425
00:24:10,527 --> 00:24:12,760
and who do they hurt?
426
00:24:12,761 --> 00:24:15,130
And in the last 30 years,
427
00:24:15,131 --> 00:24:18,201
as the structure of the economy
began to shift,
428
00:24:18,202 --> 00:24:20,769
many of the rules
governing our market
429
00:24:20,770 --> 00:24:23,009
began to shift as well.
430
00:24:26,009 --> 00:24:28,411
Today we're going
to try to explain
431
00:24:28,412 --> 00:24:34,616
the mystery of why inequality
has been widening.
432
00:24:34,617 --> 00:24:37,586
Remember, the economy is growing
all of this time.
433
00:24:37,587 --> 00:24:38,787
The economy is...
434
00:24:38,788 --> 00:24:40,789
The economy continues to grow.
435
00:24:40,790 --> 00:24:43,258
Look, here is
gross domestic product growth
436
00:24:43,259 --> 00:24:46,261
from 1929 to 2011.
437
00:24:46,262 --> 00:24:49,565
The economy overall
has done extremely well,
438
00:24:49,566 --> 00:24:51,933
and productivity
keeps on increasing.
439
00:24:51,934 --> 00:24:54,269
We are producing
more and more and more
440
00:24:54,270 --> 00:24:55,738
and more and more value.
441
00:24:55,739 --> 00:24:58,007
That's a big, big
success story.
442
00:24:58,008 --> 00:25:00,041
But here is the problem.
Here's the puzzle.
443
00:25:00,042 --> 00:25:02,845
Because if you look
at the average hourly earnings
444
00:25:02,846 --> 00:25:04,614
of production workers,
445
00:25:04,615 --> 00:25:09,050
the average hourly earning
continued to rise
446
00:25:09,051 --> 00:25:15,191
until the late 1970s,
and then something happened,
447
00:25:15,192 --> 00:25:17,693
flattening wages.
448
00:25:17,694 --> 00:25:20,596
Look at the gap.
449
00:25:20,597 --> 00:25:24,200
Something happened
in the late 1970s.
450
00:25:24,201 --> 00:25:29,771
Something happened
in the late 1970s, folks.
451
00:25:38,548 --> 00:25:40,516
In the late 1970s,
452
00:25:40,517 --> 00:25:43,251
I was at
the Federal Trade Commission.
453
00:25:43,252 --> 00:25:45,453
I was looking
at a lot of studies
454
00:25:45,454 --> 00:25:50,191
about the direction
that the economy was going in.
455
00:25:50,192 --> 00:25:53,796
More of American manufacturing
was beginning to move abroad.
456
00:25:53,797 --> 00:25:59,133
There was the beginnings
of a technological revolution.
457
00:25:59,134 --> 00:26:03,105
Financial markets were becoming
a little bit more powerful.
458
00:26:03,106 --> 00:26:05,844
There was a move to deregulate.
459
00:26:07,844 --> 00:26:10,479
Well, you connect the dots,
and all of these
460
00:26:10,480 --> 00:26:14,851
begin to look as if
they're connected somehow
461
00:26:14,852 --> 00:26:17,624
to this widening inequality.
462
00:26:20,624 --> 00:26:24,727
For example, we knew that
labor unions were declining.
463
00:26:24,728 --> 00:26:27,864
And that decline mirrored
almost exactly
464
00:26:27,865 --> 00:26:29,931
the decline
in the middle class' share
465
00:26:29,932 --> 00:26:32,401
of national income.
466
00:26:34,104 --> 00:26:36,038
The hard part is stepping back
467
00:26:36,039 --> 00:26:38,806
and seeing the big picture.
468
00:26:38,807 --> 00:26:40,875
Many people, even to this day,
469
00:26:40,876 --> 00:26:44,614
say that the decline of unions
really was attributable
470
00:26:44,615 --> 00:26:49,352
to Ronald Reagan taking on
the air traffic controllers.
471
00:26:49,353 --> 00:26:51,688
Strike, strike, strike,
strike, strike, strike...
472
00:26:51,689 --> 00:26:55,391
I must tell those who failed
to report for duty this morning,
473
00:26:55,392 --> 00:27:00,262
they have forfeited their jobs
and will be terminated.
474
00:27:00,263 --> 00:27:03,499
There's no question
that beginning in the late '70s
475
00:27:03,500 --> 00:27:07,769
but also after Reagan fired
the air traffic controllers,
476
00:27:07,770 --> 00:27:14,277
there was a major assault
on unions.
477
00:27:14,278 --> 00:27:18,181
Employers did try to prevent
unions from being formed
478
00:27:18,182 --> 00:27:20,382
much more aggressively
than before...
479
00:27:20,383 --> 00:27:22,986
I'll go.
You don't have to hang on to me.
480
00:27:22,987 --> 00:27:26,322
And employers fought
to bust unions
481
00:27:26,323 --> 00:27:27,856
that were already there.
482
00:27:30,094 --> 00:27:34,029
But maybe they were doing so
because they felt they had to
483
00:27:34,030 --> 00:27:37,600
in order to maintain
their competitiveness
484
00:27:37,601 --> 00:27:44,006
given so many other companies
that were nonunion
485
00:27:44,007 --> 00:27:48,678
in the United States
and also many companies abroad.
486
00:27:48,679 --> 00:27:56,679
The major underlying issue
was two interrelated things:
487
00:27:57,054 --> 00:28:01,323
Globalization and technology.
488
00:28:01,324 --> 00:28:03,191
I mean, you hear the word
"globalization"
489
00:28:03,192 --> 00:28:04,893
over and over and over again.
490
00:28:04,894 --> 00:28:07,630
Globalization, globalization,
globalization.
491
00:28:07,631 --> 00:28:09,966
Rarely has a word gone
so directly
492
00:28:09,967 --> 00:28:14,335
from obscurity
to meaninglessness
493
00:28:14,336 --> 00:28:17,105
without any intervening period
of coherence.
494
00:28:18,374 --> 00:28:21,777
Can anybody lend me
their iPhone for a moment?
495
00:28:21,778 --> 00:28:24,645
Anybody have one that...
great.
496
00:28:24,646 --> 00:28:26,515
Thank you.
497
00:28:26,516 --> 00:28:27,883
I don't have one,
498
00:28:27,884 --> 00:28:30,518
and I've really wanted
to have one.
499
00:28:33,056 --> 00:28:37,727
Where do most of your dollars go
when you buy an iPhone?
500
00:28:37,728 --> 00:28:39,228
What do you think?
501
00:28:39,229 --> 00:28:41,930
Let's go.
Let's do the bidding.
502
00:28:41,931 --> 00:28:44,333
A little over 700 of you
have these clickers,
503
00:28:44,334 --> 00:28:47,170
which is great.
504
00:28:47,171 --> 00:28:49,137
You say mostly
to the United States,
505
00:28:49,138 --> 00:28:51,206
some of you say to China,
506
00:28:51,207 --> 00:28:56,679
and then some of you say...
a few of you say Japan.
507
00:28:56,680 --> 00:28:58,779
11 of you think Germany.
508
00:29:02,986 --> 00:29:07,456
Well, here is where
your dollars go.
509
00:29:07,457 --> 00:29:10,526
Most of your dollars
are going to Japan.
510
00:29:10,527 --> 00:29:13,295
Some of your dollars
are going to Germany.
511
00:29:13,296 --> 00:29:15,130
In fact, Germany
is the biggest...
512
00:29:15,131 --> 00:29:16,397
is the second-biggest one.
513
00:29:16,398 --> 00:29:18,432
South Korea's the third,
and here,
514
00:29:18,433 --> 00:29:20,568
6% of your dollars
are going to the United States,
515
00:29:20,569 --> 00:29:24,574
and only 3.6% of your dollars
are going to China.
516
00:29:24,575 --> 00:29:27,576
Now, it's assembled in China.
517
00:29:27,577 --> 00:29:28,710
Do you get this?
518
00:29:28,711 --> 00:29:30,278
It's assembled in China,
519
00:29:30,279 --> 00:29:34,083
but the assembly is of pieces
520
00:29:34,084 --> 00:29:35,851
from all over the place.
521
00:29:35,852 --> 00:29:38,692
Everything is coming
from everywhere.
522
00:29:43,692 --> 00:29:46,729
I wanted my students to see
it's not just
523
00:29:46,730 --> 00:29:48,329
cost of wages or labor.
524
00:29:48,330 --> 00:29:52,170
It's also which country's
workers add what value.
525
00:29:54,170 --> 00:29:58,073
My MINI Cooper
is made by a foreign company.
526
00:29:58,074 --> 00:30:00,276
But where a company's
headquartered
527
00:30:00,277 --> 00:30:03,167
means less and less
in this new global economy.
528
00:30:04,413 --> 00:30:07,950
Technologies
like cargo ships, containers,
529
00:30:07,951 --> 00:30:10,419
satellite communication
technologies,
530
00:30:10,420 --> 00:30:13,154
and eventually
computers and the internet,
531
00:30:13,155 --> 00:30:16,893
these technologies enabled
the production process
532
00:30:16,894 --> 00:30:20,162
to be parceled out
around the world.
533
00:30:20,163 --> 00:30:22,831
Large numbers of American
manufacturing workers
534
00:30:22,832 --> 00:30:25,701
began to lose their jobs,
535
00:30:25,702 --> 00:30:29,136
which meant it inevitably
began undercutting
536
00:30:29,137 --> 00:30:33,010
the wages of a lot
of working Americans.
537
00:30:35,010 --> 00:30:37,312
Even factories
remaining in the United States
538
00:30:37,313 --> 00:30:40,787
shed workers as they automated.
539
00:30:43,787 --> 00:30:45,954
And we have this romantic idea
540
00:30:45,955 --> 00:30:48,022
that we can get
manufacturing back.
541
00:30:48,023 --> 00:30:50,124
But you get manufacturing plants
back,
542
00:30:50,125 --> 00:30:52,126
and they're filled
with robots and computers.
543
00:30:52,127 --> 00:30:54,697
The old assembly line is gone.
544
00:30:54,698 --> 00:30:58,768
I was one of the earliest
investors in amazon.com.
545
00:30:58,769 --> 00:31:02,904
I consider amazon.com
to be one of the greatest
546
00:31:02,905 --> 00:31:05,106
economic achievements
of our time
547
00:31:05,107 --> 00:31:08,778
and certainly something
I'm incredibly proud of.
548
00:31:08,779 --> 00:31:15,616
But make no mistake:
Amazon.com employs 60,000 people
549
00:31:15,617 --> 00:31:20,489
and does $70 billion,
$80 billion in sales.
550
00:31:20,490 --> 00:31:22,624
But if mom-and-pop retailers
were doing
551
00:31:22,625 --> 00:31:26,027
that $70 billion or $80 billion
in sales,
552
00:31:26,028 --> 00:31:28,497
it would be 60,000 people
employed doing it.
553
00:31:28,498 --> 00:31:32,567
It'd be 600,000
or 800,000 or a million people
554
00:31:32,568 --> 00:31:38,172
because those business models
are so much less efficient.
555
00:31:38,173 --> 00:31:41,710
So Amazon created
a huge economic windfall
556
00:31:41,711 --> 00:31:43,711
here in the Pacific Northwest,
557
00:31:43,712 --> 00:31:45,914
but all over the country,
558
00:31:45,915 --> 00:31:48,150
there are people
who are no longer employed
559
00:31:48,151 --> 00:31:51,890
in selling stuff
who are not happy.
560
00:31:53,890 --> 00:31:55,624
As a manager for Circuit City,
561
00:31:55,625 --> 00:31:59,361
it was a look behind
the curtain, so to speak,
562
00:31:59,362 --> 00:32:03,531
as a manager, to see exactly
how everything worked.
563
00:32:03,532 --> 00:32:05,901
So when you got laid off,
did you see it coming,
564
00:32:05,902 --> 00:32:07,536
or was it sudden?
565
00:32:07,537 --> 00:32:11,106
They did several layoffs
while I was there.
566
00:32:11,107 --> 00:32:12,908
People who had been there
too long:
567
00:32:12,909 --> 00:32:14,677
"They're making too much money
568
00:32:14,678 --> 00:32:16,577
"because they've
been there too long,
569
00:32:16,578 --> 00:32:21,450
and we're gonna have to do
something to cut the payroll."
570
00:32:21,451 --> 00:32:25,491
The hardest part was thinking,
"Is it gonna happen to me?"
571
00:32:29,491 --> 00:32:31,360
Until I became a student,
it was pretty dicey.
572
00:32:31,361 --> 00:32:32,894
I mean, it would have been
easy for me
573
00:32:32,895 --> 00:32:34,997
to just fall into depression,
574
00:32:34,998 --> 00:32:36,499
which happens
to a lot of people,
575
00:32:36,500 --> 00:32:39,067
or go for a lower-paying job,
which would have
576
00:32:39,068 --> 00:32:43,074
put me in a worse
financial situation.
577
00:32:45,074 --> 00:32:49,678
Looking back on it,
you can see the pattern.
578
00:32:49,679 --> 00:32:52,014
It's not as easy to see
when you're in it,
579
00:32:52,015 --> 00:32:53,481
but the signs were there.
580
00:32:53,482 --> 00:32:58,720
I mean, there was
a major slowdown in business,
581
00:32:58,721 --> 00:33:00,556
and I think a lot of that
had to do
582
00:33:00,557 --> 00:33:03,758
with things like Amazon.
583
00:33:03,759 --> 00:33:06,961
Because I've been in retail
for so long,
584
00:33:06,962 --> 00:33:10,198
I don't go through
the automated checkout lines.
585
00:33:10,199 --> 00:33:12,366
And one of the main reasons
is because I know
586
00:33:12,367 --> 00:33:14,269
that every time
I go through that,
587
00:33:14,270 --> 00:33:17,974
it's taking a little bit
of someone's job away.
588
00:33:18,974 --> 00:33:21,308
It's not that I think
that I'm going to...
589
00:33:21,309 --> 00:33:23,746
save their jobs
in the long run.
590
00:33:23,747 --> 00:33:25,448
But I know
that I'm gonna slow down
591
00:33:25,449 --> 00:33:28,717
the transition a little bit
so that maybe
592
00:33:28,718 --> 00:33:31,252
they're gonna have
a little bit longer
593
00:33:31,253 --> 00:33:33,223
to get ready for the transition.
594
00:33:39,127 --> 00:33:41,096
Contrary to popular mythology,
595
00:33:41,097 --> 00:33:44,100
globalization and technology
haven't really
596
00:33:44,101 --> 00:33:46,701
reduced the number of jobs
available to Americans.
597
00:33:46,702 --> 00:33:51,586
These transformations
have reduced their pay.
598
00:34:02,586 --> 00:34:05,187
I mean, it's not just
that wages are stagnating,
599
00:34:05,188 --> 00:34:07,655
but when you take
into consideration
600
00:34:07,656 --> 00:34:09,392
rising costs...
601
00:34:09,393 --> 00:34:13,129
the rising costs of rents
or homes,
602
00:34:13,130 --> 00:34:16,297
dramatically increasing costs
of health care,
603
00:34:16,298 --> 00:34:18,667
the rising costs of child care,
604
00:34:18,668 --> 00:34:21,569
and also the rising costs
or higher education,
605
00:34:21,570 --> 00:34:24,605
rising much faster
than inflation...
606
00:34:24,606 --> 00:34:27,142
Take all of these
into consideration,
607
00:34:27,143 --> 00:34:28,509
and you find
that it's much worse
608
00:34:28,510 --> 00:34:30,645
than just stagnating wages.
609
00:34:30,646 --> 00:34:33,883
It's basically
middle-class families,
610
00:34:33,884 --> 00:34:35,484
often with two wage earners,
611
00:34:35,485 --> 00:34:38,020
working harder and harder
and harder
612
00:34:38,021 --> 00:34:40,393
and getting nowhere.
613
00:34:43,393 --> 00:34:49,031
I work at a law firm
as a litigation assistant.
614
00:34:49,032 --> 00:34:50,899
And Moises?
615
00:34:50,900 --> 00:34:54,403
I work as a bus operator.
616
00:34:54,404 --> 00:34:57,573
Do you know how much is
in your bank account right now?
617
00:34:57,574 --> 00:34:59,475
Mine is less than 100 bucks.
618
00:34:59,476 --> 00:35:02,576
So I want to say maybe $80.
619
00:35:02,577 --> 00:35:05,080
Yeah, yesterday
it was only $30.
620
00:35:07,016 --> 00:35:08,183
And that's with us working.
621
00:35:08,184 --> 00:35:09,484
Yeah.
622
00:35:09,485 --> 00:35:11,220
Car insurance, $125.
623
00:35:11,221 --> 00:35:13,221
Kids' World, $150.
624
00:35:13,222 --> 00:35:15,758
Rent, $1,375.
625
00:35:15,759 --> 00:35:18,259
We felt like we had
to write it all down,
626
00:35:18,260 --> 00:35:20,662
because how could we
not have money?
627
00:35:20,663 --> 00:35:21,562
We make money.
628
00:35:21,563 --> 00:35:23,332
You know, I'm working now.
629
00:35:23,333 --> 00:35:26,067
We don't know how much
we're gonna be paying on that.
630
00:35:26,068 --> 00:35:27,502
The Y.
631
00:35:27,503 --> 00:35:29,171
This is my money that I donate.
632
00:35:29,172 --> 00:35:32,306
$16 a month
to Children International.
633
00:35:32,307 --> 00:35:36,578
We don't even have here
my UCSF bill.
634
00:35:36,579 --> 00:35:38,647
Remember that hospital bill?
635
00:35:38,648 --> 00:35:40,348
It's, like,
200 and something dollars
636
00:35:40,349 --> 00:35:42,017
that's not even here
that we need to pay.
637
00:35:42,018 --> 00:35:43,317
Oh, yeah.
638
00:35:43,318 --> 00:35:45,654
What about savings?
639
00:35:45,655 --> 00:35:47,122
We haven't been able to.
640
00:35:47,123 --> 00:35:49,723
We don't have
a savings account.
641
00:35:49,724 --> 00:35:53,528
- I took it off because it...
- It wasn't working.
642
00:35:54,563 --> 00:35:57,433
Oh, you brought your glove.
643
00:35:57,434 --> 00:35:59,100
Did you guys play baseball?
644
00:35:59,101 --> 00:36:01,035
And she's been playing with you?
645
00:36:01,036 --> 00:36:02,971
When she was born,
we had no money.
646
00:36:02,972 --> 00:36:05,841
The refrigerator was empty.
The freezer was empty.
647
00:36:05,842 --> 00:36:08,009
I said, "This is not the way
I want to raise my daughter."
648
00:36:08,010 --> 00:36:10,812
- How was your day?
- Good.
649
00:36:10,813 --> 00:36:14,549
I've seen single mothers
work three jobs
650
00:36:14,550 --> 00:36:18,252
just to be able to pay rent.
651
00:36:18,253 --> 00:36:20,020
And I didn't want that.
652
00:36:20,021 --> 00:36:21,811
So I started going to school.
653
00:36:24,527 --> 00:36:27,495
How do you build wealth?
654
00:36:27,496 --> 00:36:29,263
Not that I want to be wealthy.
655
00:36:29,264 --> 00:36:30,265
I just...
656
00:36:30,266 --> 00:36:31,834
How do you do it?
657
00:36:31,835 --> 00:36:33,401
How the heck
do you build wealth,
658
00:36:33,402 --> 00:36:35,203
like, when you don't
have anything,
659
00:36:35,204 --> 00:36:38,439
when you don't have any assets,
when you don't have nothing?
660
00:36:38,440 --> 00:36:41,310
This is gonna be Mommy's office.
Look.
661
00:36:41,311 --> 00:36:43,312
This is gonna be my office.
662
00:36:43,313 --> 00:36:44,812
It's not my office yet,
663
00:36:44,813 --> 00:36:47,915
but it's going to be my office
really soon.
664
00:36:47,916 --> 00:36:49,218
Hmm?
665
00:36:49,219 --> 00:36:50,785
People, I think,
would be less concerned
666
00:36:50,786 --> 00:36:53,455
about inequality
of income and wealth
667
00:36:53,456 --> 00:36:56,692
if everybody had a chance
to make it.
668
00:36:56,693 --> 00:36:58,493
As long as there's
upward mobility,
669
00:36:58,494 --> 00:37:01,796
as long as anybody
with enough guts and gumption
670
00:37:01,797 --> 00:37:04,332
and hard work
can make it in America,
671
00:37:04,333 --> 00:37:09,605
can move up the income ladder,
then we don't have a problem.
672
00:37:09,606 --> 00:37:12,908
But as income inequality rises,
673
00:37:12,909 --> 00:37:16,712
upward mobility is actually less
than it was before.
674
00:37:16,713 --> 00:37:18,245
- Come on.
- You want to see the rest?
675
00:37:18,246 --> 00:37:20,547
Yeah.
676
00:37:20,548 --> 00:37:24,419
In the United States,
42% of kids born into poverty
677
00:37:24,420 --> 00:37:26,154
will not get out.
678
00:37:26,155 --> 00:37:27,723
Compare that to Denmark,
679
00:37:27,724 --> 00:37:31,794
where only 25% of kids
born into poverty stay there.
680
00:37:31,795 --> 00:37:33,160
Even Great Britain,
681
00:37:33,161 --> 00:37:35,796
a country that still has
an aristocracy,
682
00:37:35,797 --> 00:37:38,503
has more upward mobility
than we do.
683
00:37:40,503 --> 00:37:43,471
You know,
people occasionally say to me,
684
00:37:43,472 --> 00:37:47,642
"Okay, Reich, if you think
it can be done better,
685
00:37:47,643 --> 00:37:49,944
"what nation does it better?
686
00:37:49,945 --> 00:37:52,446
Whom should we emulate?"
687
00:37:52,447 --> 00:37:55,417
And the answer is
688
00:37:55,418 --> 00:37:56,578
the United States.
689
00:38:01,389 --> 00:38:04,459
In the three decades
after World War II,
690
00:38:04,460 --> 00:38:07,062
a period that I call
"the Great Prosperity,"
691
00:38:07,063 --> 00:38:08,997
the economy boomed,
692
00:38:08,998 --> 00:38:11,033
but not only
did the economy boom,
693
00:38:11,034 --> 00:38:14,472
but you had very low inequality.
694
00:38:16,472 --> 00:38:19,306
We made education
a national priority,
695
00:38:19,307 --> 00:38:22,776
particularly higher education.
696
00:38:22,777 --> 00:38:26,147
By 1940,
only 5% of adult Americans
697
00:38:26,148 --> 00:38:27,982
had a four-year college degree,
698
00:38:27,983 --> 00:38:31,289
but that percentage
began to explode.
699
00:38:34,289 --> 00:38:36,225
The GI Bill paid college costs
700
00:38:36,226 --> 00:38:37,792
for those who returned
from war,
701
00:38:37,793 --> 00:38:40,796
and the subsequent expansion
of public universities
702
00:38:40,797 --> 00:38:44,899
made higher education
affordable to many.
703
00:38:44,900 --> 00:38:49,038
By the late '50s, we had
the best-educated workforce
704
00:38:49,039 --> 00:38:51,073
of any country in the world.
705
00:38:52,307 --> 00:38:54,679
We also had labor unions.
706
00:38:56,679 --> 00:39:00,381
By the mid-1950s,
more than 1/3 of all workers
707
00:39:00,382 --> 00:39:02,917
belonged to a union.
708
00:39:02,918 --> 00:39:05,421
This gave average workers
bargaining leverage
709
00:39:05,422 --> 00:39:08,689
to get a larger share
of the growing pie.
710
00:39:08,690 --> 00:39:11,292
We created
the largest middle class
711
00:39:11,293 --> 00:39:12,826
the world had ever seen.
712
00:39:12,827 --> 00:39:17,487
And that middle class
was part of a virtuous cycle.
713
00:39:38,487 --> 00:39:40,254
The wider their prosperity,
714
00:39:40,255 --> 00:39:42,957
the more people were included
in that prosperity,
715
00:39:42,958 --> 00:39:46,108
the more that prosperity
generated more prosperity.
716
00:39:54,137 --> 00:39:55,541
Hello.
717
00:39:59,541 --> 00:40:03,278
Okay, now,
718
00:40:03,279 --> 00:40:07,716
they're gonna be calling in
momentarily.
719
00:40:07,717 --> 00:40:09,616
From American Public Media,
720
00:40:09,617 --> 00:40:12,319
this is Marketplace.
721
00:40:16,726 --> 00:40:18,560
America's already
making it harder
722
00:40:18,561 --> 00:40:21,163
for young people of modest means
to attend college.
723
00:40:21,164 --> 00:40:24,598
41 states are cutting spending
for public higher education,
724
00:40:24,599 --> 00:40:27,806
and tuition and fees
are rising as a result.
725
00:40:30,806 --> 00:40:32,839
One of the things
we've learned about inequality
726
00:40:32,840 --> 00:40:35,776
is that it's clearly
linked to education,
727
00:40:35,777 --> 00:40:39,214
including higher education.
728
00:40:39,215 --> 00:40:41,883
More than anything else,
that's what lifted people
729
00:40:41,884 --> 00:40:43,685
out of poverty
and into the middle class
730
00:40:43,686 --> 00:40:45,854
during the Great Prosperity.
731
00:40:45,855 --> 00:40:48,089
But starting in the late 1970s,
732
00:40:48,090 --> 00:40:51,197
our college graduation rates
began to flatten out.
733
00:40:55,197 --> 00:40:58,033
Countries that kept focusing
on higher education
734
00:40:58,034 --> 00:41:00,767
were able to deal
with globalization better
735
00:41:00,768 --> 00:41:03,937
by creating
a highly skilled workforce.
736
00:41:03,938 --> 00:41:06,040
Look at South Korea.
Look at the Netherlands.
737
00:41:06,041 --> 00:41:08,343
Look at Germany.
738
00:41:08,344 --> 00:41:11,212
They've invested substantially
in education,
739
00:41:11,213 --> 00:41:15,582
in skill building
of all of their workers.
740
00:41:15,583 --> 00:41:17,017
Even though their wages
are high,
741
00:41:17,018 --> 00:41:18,752
it's worth it to make stuff
742
00:41:18,753 --> 00:41:21,156
that goes into the iPhone
from Germany
743
00:41:21,157 --> 00:41:25,627
because it is so well made
and is so precise.
744
00:41:25,628 --> 00:41:27,761
Basically, every other
industrialized country...
745
00:41:27,762 --> 00:41:30,966
Japan, Germany, France...
they are investing per capita
746
00:41:30,967 --> 00:41:34,335
much more public investment
in all of the areas:
747
00:41:34,336 --> 00:41:36,571
Roads, bridges,
public education.
748
00:41:36,572 --> 00:41:37,671
That's what we're not doing.
749
00:41:37,672 --> 00:41:38,872
That's what we have to be doing.
750
00:41:38,873 --> 00:41:40,207
We're almost out of time.
751
00:41:40,208 --> 00:41:41,676
We can't do it,
not with new tech.
752
00:41:41,677 --> 00:41:43,310
For years, I have been writing
753
00:41:43,311 --> 00:41:45,680
about the importance
of investing in people,
754
00:41:45,681 --> 00:41:48,383
in our workforce,
so that our people could compete
755
00:41:48,384 --> 00:41:50,954
in this new global economy.
756
00:41:51,954 --> 00:41:55,589
And then in 1992,
I thought I finally
757
00:41:55,590 --> 00:41:57,991
might be able
to do something about it.
758
00:41:57,992 --> 00:42:01,029
Today I proudly announce
my candidacy
759
00:42:01,030 --> 00:42:03,665
for president
of the United States of America.
760
00:42:05,934 --> 00:42:09,404
Bill Clinton told me
he had read all my books.
761
00:42:09,405 --> 00:42:10,904
They must have influenced him,
762
00:42:10,905 --> 00:42:14,676
because it formed the backbone
of his 1992 campaign
763
00:42:14,677 --> 00:42:16,977
about putting people first.
764
00:42:16,978 --> 00:42:19,046
If you put people first,
if you do what works,
765
00:42:19,047 --> 00:42:21,316
what we know works
in the global economy,
766
00:42:21,317 --> 00:42:23,919
you'll do what the Germans do;
you'll do what the Japanese do.
767
00:42:23,920 --> 00:42:25,053
You'll put your people first.
768
00:42:25,054 --> 00:42:26,955
You'll expand the middle class.
769
00:42:26,956 --> 00:42:29,357
I mean, here was, you know,
somebody I'd known
770
00:42:29,358 --> 00:42:32,493
from the age of 22,
and he called me one day
771
00:42:32,494 --> 00:42:35,663
and said, "Look, Bob,
what I really want you to do
772
00:42:35,664 --> 00:42:37,799
"is come down to Washington
right now.
773
00:42:37,800 --> 00:42:41,468
I need you to run
the economic transition team."
774
00:42:41,469 --> 00:42:44,939
I didn't even know what
an economic transition team was.
775
00:42:48,476 --> 00:42:52,881
You can't imagine
the headiness, the excitement.
776
00:42:52,882 --> 00:42:56,618
I mean, the chance
to actually take these ideas,
777
00:42:56,619 --> 00:42:59,220
put them into practice...
778
00:42:59,221 --> 00:43:02,756
I named my economic plan
Putting People First
779
00:43:02,757 --> 00:43:04,759
to highlight my belief
that our nation
780
00:43:04,760 --> 00:43:08,196
can only become a high-wage,
high-growth economy
781
00:43:08,197 --> 00:43:11,700
if we make a commitment
to invest in the American people
782
00:43:11,701 --> 00:43:14,535
to make the American economy
prosper.
783
00:43:14,536 --> 00:43:18,506
That is why I'm naming today
one of my most trusted advisors
784
00:43:18,507 --> 00:43:20,008
and closest friends
785
00:43:20,009 --> 00:43:22,379
to the position
of secretary of labor.
786
00:43:25,047 --> 00:43:28,216
Well, modesty aside,
I have assumed for months
787
00:43:28,217 --> 00:43:31,051
that I was on Bill Clinton's
short list.
788
00:43:31,052 --> 00:43:32,986
- You can step up on that, Bob.
- There is a step.
789
00:43:32,987 --> 00:43:35,524
- Oh, there is a step here.
- Okay.
790
00:43:35,525 --> 00:43:37,459
It was a dream job
791
00:43:37,460 --> 00:43:40,794
for somebody like me,
who had worried about
792
00:43:40,795 --> 00:43:43,631
and fretted about
and studied and taught about
793
00:43:43,632 --> 00:43:45,600
and wrote about
what was happening
794
00:43:45,601 --> 00:43:48,102
to the American workforce
for years.
795
00:43:48,103 --> 00:43:51,038
That long decline
in median wages...
796
00:43:51,039 --> 00:43:52,841
the wage of that person
smack in the middle
797
00:43:52,842 --> 00:43:55,776
of the wage scale...
that decline started in 1978.
798
00:43:55,777 --> 00:43:57,278
Those wages began to decline
799
00:43:57,279 --> 00:43:59,379
in terms of the real purchasing
power of the dollar...
800
00:43:59,380 --> 00:44:01,850
You know, on the one side,
it was pretty clear
801
00:44:01,851 --> 00:44:05,854
that wages were flat
for most people.
802
00:44:05,855 --> 00:44:08,489
The flip side was that
some people in this country
803
00:44:08,490 --> 00:44:10,480
were doing extraordinarily well.
804
00:44:17,032 --> 00:44:19,232
You see,
the same new technologies
805
00:44:19,233 --> 00:44:21,870
that brought globalization
and automation
806
00:44:21,871 --> 00:44:24,738
bestowed ever larger rewards
on people
807
00:44:24,739 --> 00:44:27,642
who had the right education
and connections
808
00:44:27,643 --> 00:44:29,853
to take advantage
of globalization.
809
00:44:32,347 --> 00:44:34,549
Some people say to me,
"But wait a minute.
810
00:44:34,550 --> 00:44:37,986
You've got technologies today
that you didn't have in 1980."
811
00:44:37,987 --> 00:44:40,254
You know, we didn't have
flat-screen televisions.
812
00:44:40,255 --> 00:44:42,522
We didn't have
low-cost air travel.
813
00:44:42,523 --> 00:44:44,225
We didn't have Skype.
814
00:44:44,226 --> 00:44:47,127
We didn't have the internet.
815
00:44:47,128 --> 00:44:49,062
So who are
the winners and losers
816
00:44:49,063 --> 00:44:52,634
from this great shift?
817
00:44:52,635 --> 00:44:54,868
Consumers certainly are winning.
818
00:44:54,869 --> 00:44:57,538
I mean, you guys, as consumers,
819
00:44:57,539 --> 00:44:58,874
you are doing very well.
820
00:44:58,875 --> 00:45:01,207
You get wonderful products.
821
00:45:01,208 --> 00:45:05,212
Almost everything you're buying
is getting cheaper,
822
00:45:05,213 --> 00:45:08,216
and the investors
are doing well.
823
00:45:08,217 --> 00:45:12,687
Here is a chart showing
the rise and fall
824
00:45:12,688 --> 00:45:14,723
of the Dow Jones
Industrial Average.
825
00:45:14,724 --> 00:45:17,459
You can see something here.
826
00:45:17,460 --> 00:45:19,326
There is sort of a pattern.
827
00:45:19,327 --> 00:45:20,361
Whoo!
828
00:45:21,563 --> 00:45:24,198
You see, something happened,
829
00:45:24,199 --> 00:45:28,803
and I think it happened
starting right in these years.
830
00:45:31,840 --> 00:45:34,975
You see these were the...
831
00:45:34,976 --> 00:45:37,779
years I was labor secretary.
832
00:45:37,780 --> 00:45:40,647
And investors got very excited.
833
00:45:42,585 --> 00:45:43,817
I mean, we all saw
834
00:45:43,818 --> 00:45:45,986
the stock market
going like this.
835
00:45:45,987 --> 00:45:47,022
I mean, how...
836
00:45:47,023 --> 00:45:48,489
What in the world was going on?
837
00:45:48,490 --> 00:45:49,957
How could that be possible?
838
00:45:49,958 --> 00:45:53,463
Were companies suddenly
that much more profitable?
839
00:45:55,463 --> 00:45:57,297
One of the big reasons
corporations
840
00:45:57,298 --> 00:46:02,069
were showing higher profits is,
they were keeping pay down.
841
00:46:02,070 --> 00:46:04,437
At the same time,
corporate CEOs
842
00:46:04,438 --> 00:46:07,308
were starting to pay themselves
large multiples
843
00:46:07,309 --> 00:46:09,544
of what the average worker
was earning.
844
00:46:09,545 --> 00:46:12,113
When we, in the fourth quarter
of last year,
845
00:46:12,114 --> 00:46:13,913
along with a number
of other companies,
846
00:46:13,914 --> 00:46:16,984
has to consider
workforce reductions,
847
00:46:16,985 --> 00:46:18,953
it was a difficult time.
848
00:46:18,954 --> 00:46:22,357
You knew that you
were impacting people
849
00:46:22,358 --> 00:46:25,426
who would have a difficult time,
many of them,
850
00:46:25,427 --> 00:46:27,995
in finding new jobs,
but you had to do it
851
00:46:27,996 --> 00:46:34,804
for the organization to,
in that day, look to survive.
852
00:46:35,804 --> 00:46:39,006
This chart shows you
the compensation
853
00:46:39,007 --> 00:46:43,444
of the highest-paid executives
in 2010.
854
00:46:43,445 --> 00:46:46,948
These executives
are being paid a lot of money.
855
00:46:46,949 --> 00:46:50,116
Executive pay keeps going up.
856
00:46:50,117 --> 00:46:53,254
Here's the ratio
of average CEO compensation
857
00:46:53,255 --> 00:46:55,122
to the average worker's pay.
858
00:46:55,123 --> 00:47:00,294
Suddenly this ratio
goes kablooey.
859
00:47:00,295 --> 00:47:04,966
Bill Clinton in 1992,
one of his campaign planks
860
00:47:04,967 --> 00:47:07,435
was that no company
should be able
861
00:47:07,436 --> 00:47:10,171
to deduct the cost
of executive compensation
862
00:47:10,172 --> 00:47:11,772
in excess of $1 million.
863
00:47:11,773 --> 00:47:15,042
Many big corporate executives
raised their own salaries
864
00:47:15,043 --> 00:47:17,243
even when their companies
were losing money
865
00:47:17,244 --> 00:47:20,848
and their workers were being
put into the unemployment lines.
866
00:47:20,849 --> 00:47:23,283
I expect the jet-setters
and the featherbedders
867
00:47:23,284 --> 00:47:26,254
of corporate America to know
that if you sell your companies
868
00:47:26,255 --> 00:47:28,221
and your workers
and your country down the river,
869
00:47:28,222 --> 00:47:29,890
you'll be called on the carpet.
870
00:47:29,891 --> 00:47:33,026
That's what the president's
bully pulpit is for.
871
00:47:33,027 --> 00:47:34,595
When it came
to actually implementing it,
872
00:47:34,596 --> 00:47:38,332
the Treasury Department decided
that as long as CEO pay
873
00:47:38,333 --> 00:47:40,868
was linked
to company performance,
874
00:47:40,869 --> 00:47:43,504
you could deduct pay
over $1 million.
875
00:47:43,505 --> 00:47:47,341
Well, that was the signal
to a lot of executives
876
00:47:47,342 --> 00:47:51,412
and to their boards of directors
to make more and more
877
00:47:51,413 --> 00:47:54,316
of executive pay
into stock options.
878
00:47:54,317 --> 00:47:57,218
That's where the whole
stock option thing came from.
879
00:47:57,219 --> 00:48:00,221
It was kind of a perversion
of Bill Clinton's promise
880
00:48:00,222 --> 00:48:02,559
in the 1992 election.
881
00:48:04,559 --> 00:48:06,694
Another result of all of this
is that you get
882
00:48:06,695 --> 00:48:11,431
the third group of people
who are doing remarkably well.
883
00:48:11,432 --> 00:48:13,535
They're the people
who always do well,
884
00:48:13,536 --> 00:48:16,604
particularly in times
of high inequality:
885
00:48:16,605 --> 00:48:17,872
The financiers.
886
00:48:20,809 --> 00:48:23,611
Between 1997 and 2007,
887
00:48:23,612 --> 00:48:27,582
finance was the fastest-growing
part of the American economy.
888
00:48:27,583 --> 00:48:30,651
In 2009, during the depths
of the recession,
889
00:48:30,652 --> 00:48:34,654
the seven highest-paid
hedge fund managers
890
00:48:34,655 --> 00:48:37,927
were taking in
more than $1 billion each.
891
00:48:39,927 --> 00:48:42,363
Remember that government
sets the rules
892
00:48:42,364 --> 00:48:44,737
by which the market functions.
893
00:48:47,737 --> 00:48:50,171
We deregulated Wall Street,
894
00:48:50,172 --> 00:48:52,306
allowing Wall Street to engage
895
00:48:52,307 --> 00:48:55,047
in more and more excessive
behavior.
896
00:48:59,047 --> 00:49:01,482
These are
the financial sector wages
897
00:49:01,483 --> 00:49:03,283
relative to everyone else's.
898
00:49:05,219 --> 00:49:07,520
Does this graph look familiar?
899
00:49:07,521 --> 00:49:09,957
I mean, this is
our bridge graph,
900
00:49:09,958 --> 00:49:11,859
our old inequality graph.
901
00:49:11,860 --> 00:49:13,331
It's the same pattern.
902
00:49:15,331 --> 00:49:18,133
And meanwhile
you've got many working people
903
00:49:18,134 --> 00:49:21,067
succumbing to this huge lie
904
00:49:21,068 --> 00:49:25,439
that government is bad,
that the market is good,
905
00:49:25,440 --> 00:49:29,243
that everything government does
works against you
906
00:49:29,244 --> 00:49:31,178
and everything the market does
helps you.
907
00:49:33,414 --> 00:49:35,517
Our Father in heaven,
we thank You for this food
908
00:49:35,518 --> 00:49:36,951
that's been placed before us.
909
00:49:36,952 --> 00:49:38,419
We ask You to bless it.
910
00:49:38,420 --> 00:49:39,754
Bless the hands
that prepared it.
911
00:49:39,755 --> 00:49:41,254
Bless it'll strengthen
our bodies.
912
00:49:41,255 --> 00:49:42,957
We ask a special blessing
this day, Lord,
913
00:49:42,958 --> 00:49:44,225
for those that have no food.
914
00:49:44,226 --> 00:49:46,426
Bless them
with comfort and hope.
915
00:49:46,427 --> 00:49:47,261
Amen.
916
00:49:47,262 --> 00:49:50,131
Ooh, ooh.
This looks good.
917
00:49:50,132 --> 00:49:53,067
I am registered
as a Republican.
918
00:49:53,068 --> 00:49:55,502
It probably has to do
with our religion too,
919
00:49:55,503 --> 00:49:56,837
okay, Mormons.
920
00:49:56,838 --> 00:49:58,305
The majority
of the Mormons are.
921
00:49:58,306 --> 00:50:00,441
There are those rare Democrats,
922
00:50:00,442 --> 00:50:02,276
but the majority of them
are Republicans.
923
00:50:02,277 --> 00:50:04,477
Oh, I called them,
but you know what it is?
924
00:50:04,478 --> 00:50:06,546
I don't look at myself
as someone
925
00:50:06,547 --> 00:50:08,281
that's economically troubled.
926
00:50:08,282 --> 00:50:10,884
No way.
But I am worried about my kids.
927
00:50:10,885 --> 00:50:15,790
We have paid for doctor bills.
We've paid for dental bills.
928
00:50:15,791 --> 00:50:18,692
Two of my children right now
do not have health insurance.
929
00:50:18,693 --> 00:50:22,196
Our kids without health care
was a big turning point for us.
930
00:50:22,197 --> 00:50:24,034
That really got my attention.
931
00:50:26,034 --> 00:50:29,470
I'm a power plant operator.
932
00:50:29,471 --> 00:50:31,105
Where I work, The Geysers,
933
00:50:31,106 --> 00:50:34,008
it's a renewable energy source.
934
00:50:34,009 --> 00:50:35,776
Calpine is a good company.
935
00:50:35,777 --> 00:50:37,812
They are.
936
00:50:37,813 --> 00:50:39,814
So then why are they
cutting back on people
937
00:50:39,815 --> 00:50:41,281
and cutting sick leave?
938
00:50:41,282 --> 00:50:44,551
Well, the operation
will be more profitable
939
00:50:44,552 --> 00:50:47,687
if they cut back on personnel.
940
00:50:47,688 --> 00:50:49,960
That's a given.
941
00:50:57,932 --> 00:51:02,303
I've always been pro-union
from a philosophical standpoint.
942
00:51:02,304 --> 00:51:05,205
I consider myself
part of the labor force.
943
00:51:05,206 --> 00:51:08,711
Therefore I think labor
needs a say.
944
00:51:10,711 --> 00:51:13,781
The company brought in
anti-union consultants
945
00:51:13,782 --> 00:51:18,252
and put on a good campaign
to counter the union.
946
00:51:18,253 --> 00:51:20,754
Let me just say I came here...
947
00:51:20,755 --> 00:51:22,656
Some of you were still
on the fence.
948
00:51:22,657 --> 00:51:23,558
Some people walked out.
949
00:51:23,559 --> 00:51:25,959
There was tension in the air.
950
00:51:25,960 --> 00:51:28,162
The underlying reality
951
00:51:28,163 --> 00:51:29,997
is that if workers
don't have power,
952
00:51:29,998 --> 00:51:32,066
if they don't have a voice,
953
00:51:32,067 --> 00:51:36,437
inevitably their wages
and benefits start eroding.
954
00:51:36,438 --> 00:51:38,872
It happens inevitably.
955
00:51:38,873 --> 00:51:41,109
Personally
I'm a proud Christian.
956
00:51:41,110 --> 00:51:43,276
I'm a proud Calpine employee.
957
00:51:43,277 --> 00:51:46,013
I think they treat me more fair
958
00:51:46,014 --> 00:51:47,582
than I should be treated.
959
00:51:47,583 --> 00:51:52,419
If you have a company that is
dependent on shareholders,
960
00:51:52,420 --> 00:51:56,056
there is growing and growing
pressure on that company
961
00:51:56,057 --> 00:51:57,457
to show better
and better profits
962
00:51:57,458 --> 00:51:59,259
and have higher and higher
share prices.
963
00:51:59,260 --> 00:52:00,960
That's just
the way capitalism is.
964
00:52:00,961 --> 00:52:02,162
That's not bad.
965
00:52:02,163 --> 00:52:04,864
But what that means inevitably
966
00:52:04,865 --> 00:52:07,533
is that there's greater
and greater pressure
967
00:52:07,534 --> 00:52:12,105
to push wages and benefits
down to the minimum.
968
00:52:12,106 --> 00:52:14,308
So you're a capitalist.
I'm a capitalist.
969
00:52:14,309 --> 00:52:16,243
I say for these people
making their millions,
970
00:52:16,244 --> 00:52:17,678
that's fantastic.
971
00:52:17,679 --> 00:52:19,413
I could have done
the same thing
972
00:52:19,414 --> 00:52:21,415
if I went to school
and had the brains for it.
973
00:52:21,416 --> 00:52:22,750
I do not.
974
00:52:22,751 --> 00:52:24,218
So I'm a laborer.
975
00:52:24,219 --> 00:52:25,785
And there's such a burden
on the companies
976
00:52:25,786 --> 00:52:29,189
in the United States now
that the cost of business
977
00:52:29,190 --> 00:52:32,459
drives that...
them to go elsewhere.
978
00:52:32,460 --> 00:52:33,727
But this right now
979
00:52:33,728 --> 00:52:35,562
is the richest country
in the world,
980
00:52:35,563 --> 00:52:37,631
and we are richer
than we've ever been.
981
00:52:37,632 --> 00:52:40,734
Believe me,
we as a nation are doing great,
982
00:52:40,735 --> 00:52:42,535
and certain people
in this country
983
00:52:42,536 --> 00:52:45,473
are doing better than anybody
has ever done in the world
984
00:52:45,474 --> 00:52:47,508
in world history.
985
00:52:49,277 --> 00:52:50,845
It's not just Calpine.
986
00:52:50,846 --> 00:52:54,482
I took a $12-an-hour
cut in pay, okay?
987
00:52:54,483 --> 00:52:56,783
My benefits are going down.
988
00:52:56,784 --> 00:52:57,951
I do twice the duties.
989
00:52:57,952 --> 00:53:00,587
I'll be running two plants
instead of one.
990
00:53:00,588 --> 00:53:03,290
If you have $10 million
or if you have $1 billion,
991
00:53:03,291 --> 00:53:07,095
why do you need
that little bit that I have?
992
00:53:07,096 --> 00:53:08,096
Okay?
993
00:53:15,003 --> 00:53:19,439
Big companies are designed
not to generate good jobs
994
00:53:19,440 --> 00:53:21,542
in the United States.
995
00:53:21,543 --> 00:53:25,513
Big companies are designed
to make profits.
996
00:53:25,514 --> 00:53:27,647
And thanks to the members
of the administration,
997
00:53:27,648 --> 00:53:29,450
Jeff and Cass
and others that have worked...
998
00:53:29,451 --> 00:53:31,051
This isn't a matter of fault.
999
00:53:31,052 --> 00:53:32,386
You know, the head of GE
1000
00:53:32,387 --> 00:53:34,654
is on the president's
Jobs Council.
1001
00:53:34,655 --> 00:53:36,790
I want to start off
by thanking Jeff
1002
00:53:36,791 --> 00:53:41,629
for his continued outstanding
leadership of this Jobs Council.
1003
00:53:41,630 --> 00:53:44,265
Well, GE has been creating
more jobs abroad
1004
00:53:44,266 --> 00:53:47,334
than it's been creating jobs
in the United States.
1005
00:53:47,335 --> 00:53:49,971
So who is taking care
of the American worker?
1006
00:53:49,972 --> 00:53:52,473
Who is looking out
for the American worker
1007
00:53:52,474 --> 00:53:55,908
as GE and other big companies
and Wall Street
1008
00:53:55,909 --> 00:53:57,377
and the very wealthy,
1009
00:53:57,378 --> 00:53:59,946
who basically have capital
all over the world...
1010
00:53:59,947 --> 00:54:03,051
As they have more and more
political power,
1011
00:54:03,052 --> 00:54:07,355
who is actually working in a way
1012
00:54:07,356 --> 00:54:09,089
in Washington
and in state capitals
1013
00:54:09,090 --> 00:54:12,259
that improves the well-being
of the American workforce?
1014
00:54:12,260 --> 00:54:14,041
The answer is nobody.
1015
00:54:27,041 --> 00:54:30,678
So why didn't the nation
respond to the great regression
1016
00:54:30,679 --> 00:54:33,680
that started around 1980?
1017
00:54:33,681 --> 00:54:36,584
Why didn't we take bold steps
to make the economy
1018
00:54:36,585 --> 00:54:40,824
continue to work
for just about everyone?
1019
00:54:42,824 --> 00:54:45,526
Because we figured out
three ways
1020
00:54:45,527 --> 00:54:48,462
to cope with flattening
or declining incomes
1021
00:54:48,463 --> 00:54:51,668
without reducing
our relative standard of living.
1022
00:54:53,668 --> 00:54:57,136
Remember,
starting in the late '70s,
1023
00:54:57,137 --> 00:54:59,473
the typical wage is flat.
1024
00:54:59,474 --> 00:55:02,009
But a lot of people are buying.
1025
00:55:02,010 --> 00:55:04,678
How did they do that?
1026
00:55:04,679 --> 00:55:11,417
How does the middle class
manage to keep on spending
1027
00:55:11,418 --> 00:55:14,087
when wages are flat?
1028
00:55:14,088 --> 00:55:18,026
The first coping mechanism,
starting in the late '70s,
1029
00:55:18,027 --> 00:55:23,363
is, women go into paid work.
1030
00:55:28,036 --> 00:55:30,571
♪ Tumble out of bed
and stumble to the kitchen ♪
1031
00:55:30,572 --> 00:55:32,238
♪ Pour myself
a cup of ambition ♪
1032
00:55:32,239 --> 00:55:35,642
♪ And yawn and stretch
and try to come to life ♪
1033
00:55:35,643 --> 00:55:38,745
Young mothers
went into work in huge numbers.
1034
00:55:38,746 --> 00:55:40,147
We haven't seen
anything like it,
1035
00:55:40,148 --> 00:55:41,348
a social revolution.
1036
00:55:41,349 --> 00:55:42,950
♪ Traffic starts jumpin' ♪
1037
00:55:42,951 --> 00:55:46,319
♪ With folks like me on the job
from nine to five ♪
1038
00:55:46,320 --> 00:55:48,421
♪ Working nine to five ♪
1039
00:55:48,422 --> 00:55:49,489
♪ What a way... ♪
1040
00:55:49,490 --> 00:55:51,892
Nine to Five.
1041
00:55:51,893 --> 00:55:53,194
Dolly Parton?
1042
00:55:53,195 --> 00:55:54,995
1980.
1043
00:55:54,996 --> 00:55:57,832
Dolly Parton, you know,
she is only five feet tall.
1044
00:55:57,833 --> 00:56:00,100
♪ And they never
give you credit ♪
1045
00:56:00,101 --> 00:56:05,339
♪ It's enough to drive you crazy
if you let it ♪
1046
00:56:05,340 --> 00:56:06,841
♪ Nine to five ♪
1047
00:56:06,842 --> 00:56:08,942
They didn't go to work
because there were
1048
00:56:08,943 --> 00:56:12,913
all these wonderful professional
opportunities open to women.
1049
00:56:12,914 --> 00:56:14,247
Some of them did,
1050
00:56:14,248 --> 00:56:16,616
but that's not the major reason
women went to work.
1051
00:56:16,617 --> 00:56:19,486
They went to work mainly
because they had to prop up
1052
00:56:19,487 --> 00:56:21,122
family incomes
that were dropping
1053
00:56:21,123 --> 00:56:22,857
because the men in the family,
1054
00:56:22,858 --> 00:56:25,826
their wages were going nowhere.
1055
00:56:25,827 --> 00:56:29,196
But there's only a limit
to how many young mothers
1056
00:56:29,197 --> 00:56:30,598
can go into work.
1057
00:56:30,599 --> 00:56:34,600
And so the second strategy
used by the 1990s
1058
00:56:34,601 --> 00:56:38,038
was that families...
both men and women...
1059
00:56:38,039 --> 00:56:39,406
worked longer hours.
1060
00:56:39,407 --> 00:56:41,741
♪ Working nine to five ♪
1061
00:56:41,742 --> 00:56:44,210
♪ What a way to make a living ♪
1062
00:56:44,211 --> 00:56:47,013
♪ Barely getting by ♪
1063
00:56:47,014 --> 00:56:50,283
When I was secretary of labor,
I remember looking at the data,
1064
00:56:50,284 --> 00:56:51,551
and I was amazed,
1065
00:56:51,552 --> 00:56:53,287
and then I'd go out
into the field,
1066
00:56:53,288 --> 00:56:55,055
and I'd go to various cities,
and I'd talk with people,
1067
00:56:55,056 --> 00:56:57,524
and people were working,
you know, all hours...
1068
00:56:57,525 --> 00:57:01,629
I mean, second jobs,
third jobs, overtime.
1069
00:57:01,630 --> 00:57:02,962
If they were professionals,
1070
00:57:02,963 --> 00:57:05,431
billable hours
coming out of their ears.
1071
00:57:05,432 --> 00:57:10,236
We were working 300 hours a year
more than the typical European.
1072
00:57:10,237 --> 00:57:13,374
I mean, we were working harder
than the industrious...
1073
00:57:13,375 --> 00:57:15,408
enormously industrious Japanese.
1074
00:57:15,409 --> 00:57:18,444
But there's a limit
to how hard you can work.
1075
00:57:18,445 --> 00:57:21,415
When those were exhausted,
the third coping mechanism
1076
00:57:21,416 --> 00:57:23,517
was borrowing, going into debt,
1077
00:57:23,518 --> 00:57:27,687
which seemed easy because
housing prices were going up.
1078
00:57:29,257 --> 00:57:32,526
For 13 years, Americans
have enjoyed a housing boom,
1079
00:57:32,527 --> 00:57:34,727
the longest ever.
1080
00:57:34,728 --> 00:57:37,765
This a great time
to buy a house in Delray Beach.
1081
00:57:37,766 --> 00:57:39,633
You can make,
if you have some cash,
1082
00:57:39,634 --> 00:57:41,602
an unbelievable deal.
1083
00:57:41,603 --> 00:57:45,939
From the mid-to late '90s
onward,
1084
00:57:45,940 --> 00:57:48,975
you have this huge rise
in housing prices.
1085
00:57:48,976 --> 00:57:51,412
People said, "Well,
I can take out a loan
1086
00:57:51,413 --> 00:57:52,712
against my home."
1087
00:57:52,713 --> 00:57:54,314
"I could use my home
as collateral,"
1088
00:57:54,315 --> 00:57:55,982
or, "I can refinance my home."
1089
00:57:55,983 --> 00:57:57,852
And that kept the middle class
going.
1090
00:57:57,853 --> 00:57:59,593
Homes were like piggy banks.
1091
00:58:01,121 --> 00:58:04,625
Americans have been using
their home as an ATM,
1092
00:58:04,626 --> 00:58:09,296
cashing out more than
$500 billion in home equity
1093
00:58:09,297 --> 00:58:14,067
from 2001 to 2005 to cover
expenses like health costs,
1094
00:58:14,068 --> 00:58:17,474
student debt, repairs,
and credit cards.
1095
00:58:19,474 --> 00:58:24,278
We had a debt bubble
prompted by middle-class America
1096
00:58:24,279 --> 00:58:27,848
trying to maintain
its living standard
1097
00:58:27,849 --> 00:58:30,654
in the face of stagnant wages.
1098
00:58:32,654 --> 00:58:35,122
We're seeing more clients
every day that,
1099
00:58:35,123 --> 00:58:37,625
very sadly, they've gotten
into a debt hole
1100
00:58:37,626 --> 00:58:40,896
that is very difficult
to dig out of.
1101
00:58:41,896 --> 00:58:44,096
But there's a limit
to how far you can do that.
1102
00:58:44,097 --> 00:58:46,500
You know,
that was a speculative bubble,
1103
00:58:46,501 --> 00:58:49,602
and it burst in 2008.
1104
00:58:49,603 --> 00:58:50,803
We know what happened.
1105
00:58:50,804 --> 00:58:53,306
And so all of the coping
mechanisms
1106
00:58:53,307 --> 00:58:59,680
that the middle class has used
to avoid the inevitable reality
1107
00:58:59,681 --> 00:59:02,950
that their wages
have gone nowhere for 30 years,
1108
00:59:02,951 --> 00:59:07,391
adjusted for inflation,
are now exhausted.
1109
00:59:10,391 --> 00:59:14,026
When the middle class doesn't
share in the economic gains,
1110
00:59:14,027 --> 00:59:17,132
you get into this downward
vicious cycle.
1111
00:59:51,132 --> 00:59:54,701
The problem is,
for the last three decades,
1112
00:59:54,702 --> 00:59:57,203
nothing
has fundamentally changed
1113
00:59:57,204 --> 00:59:58,654
in terms of inequality.
1114
01:00:00,842 --> 01:00:03,243
And it wasn't until
the Clinton administration
1115
01:00:03,244 --> 01:00:07,080
that there was an opportunity
to reverse all of this.
1116
01:00:07,081 --> 01:00:10,984
And that was what was
so damn frustrating.
1117
01:00:10,985 --> 01:00:13,453
The Senate, I believe,
is on the verge of passing
1118
01:00:13,454 --> 01:00:16,323
the jobs program.
1119
01:00:16,324 --> 01:00:17,491
Things are going well.
1120
01:00:17,492 --> 01:00:20,127
I mean,
we had budget surpluses.
1121
01:00:20,128 --> 01:00:21,995
We might have been able
to take those surpluses
1122
01:00:21,996 --> 01:00:24,397
and invest them in education
and job training,
1123
01:00:24,398 --> 01:00:28,134
change the structure,
ultimately, of the economy.
1124
01:00:28,135 --> 01:00:32,872
But there wasn't
the political will to do that.
1125
01:00:32,873 --> 01:00:34,441
Before I leave,
I also want to say
1126
01:00:34,442 --> 01:00:35,676
a special word of thanks
1127
01:00:35,677 --> 01:00:38,078
to my longtime friend
Secretary Reich,
1128
01:00:38,079 --> 01:00:40,379
who's carried on this fight
for the minimum wage.
1129
01:00:40,380 --> 01:00:42,850
This was an especially sweet day
for him as well,
1130
01:00:42,851 --> 01:00:44,384
and I thank him for his efforts.
1131
01:00:44,385 --> 01:00:49,154
I should say something
just so it's not misunderstood.
1132
01:00:49,155 --> 01:00:52,392
You know,
Bill Clinton did preside
1133
01:00:52,393 --> 01:00:56,263
over one of the best economies
we've had in this country
1134
01:00:56,264 --> 01:00:57,631
in living memory.
1135
01:00:57,632 --> 01:00:59,665
The wages
of most people went up.
1136
01:00:59,666 --> 01:01:02,303
Poverty actually declined.
1137
01:01:02,304 --> 01:01:04,939
But we didn't do enough.
1138
01:01:04,940 --> 01:01:09,614
We did really alter
the underlying trend.
1139
01:01:12,614 --> 01:01:15,515
I became a true pain in the ass.
1140
01:01:15,516 --> 01:01:18,953
I mean, looking back on it,
I'm embarrassed.
1141
01:01:18,954 --> 01:01:21,488
In meetings,
I would sound off about,
1142
01:01:21,489 --> 01:01:23,723
you know, inequality,
and, "Are we looking
1143
01:01:23,724 --> 01:01:27,026
at the distributional impacts
of this policy or that policy?"
1144
01:01:27,027 --> 01:01:28,495
I mean, I became predictable.
1145
01:01:28,496 --> 01:01:30,263
People would roll their eyes.
1146
01:01:30,264 --> 01:01:34,067
I'm surprised Bill Clinton
kept me around.
1147
01:01:34,068 --> 01:01:35,602
I did want to bring you
up to date
1148
01:01:35,603 --> 01:01:37,236
on a couple of matters.
1149
01:01:37,237 --> 01:01:40,339
First of all,
the president was reelected.
1150
01:01:42,943 --> 01:01:46,312
The second
is that I'm going home.
1151
01:01:52,052 --> 01:01:54,288
I am so glad you did not clap.
1152
01:01:56,557 --> 01:01:57,823
In the end, I left.
1153
01:01:57,824 --> 01:01:59,491
Partly, I was frustrated.
1154
01:01:59,492 --> 01:02:02,730
Partly, I just hadn't seen
anything in my family.
1155
01:02:02,731 --> 01:02:04,096
I hadn't seen the boys.
1156
01:02:04,097 --> 01:02:07,945
I said to Bill Clinton
I had to go home.
1157
01:02:17,945 --> 01:02:21,814
I... I do ask myself
1158
01:02:21,815 --> 01:02:25,322
whether I've been
a total failure.
1159
01:02:27,322 --> 01:02:31,124
I've been saying much
of the same thing for 30 years.
1160
01:02:31,125 --> 01:02:34,498
And some of the trends
have grown worse.
1161
01:02:36,498 --> 01:02:38,464
Inequality has become worse.
1162
01:02:38,465 --> 01:02:42,005
The danger to the economy
and democracy have become worse.
1163
01:02:44,271 --> 01:02:47,374
But here's what I tell myself
1164
01:02:47,375 --> 01:02:49,375
in my quiet moments.
1165
01:02:49,376 --> 01:02:55,381
I say, close to home,
you know, nuts and bolts,
1166
01:02:55,382 --> 01:02:58,518
over the kitchen sink,
dining room table,
1167
01:02:58,519 --> 01:03:02,087
you know, this is what counts
for most people:
1168
01:03:02,088 --> 01:03:08,062
Good jobs, good wages,
a good opportunity
1169
01:03:08,063 --> 01:03:11,665
and set of opportunities
for their kids.
1170
01:03:11,666 --> 01:03:13,286
This is where people live.
1171
01:03:16,036 --> 01:03:18,270
Detective Conan O'Brien
1172
01:03:18,271 --> 01:03:22,246
and Detective Former Secretary
of Labor Robert Reich.
1173
01:03:25,246 --> 01:03:27,080
I am a cockeyed optimist.
1174
01:03:27,081 --> 01:03:29,381
I ask you,
do I look like big government?
1175
01:03:30,650 --> 01:03:33,653
I wouldn't have spent
so much of my adult life
1176
01:03:33,654 --> 01:03:36,122
banging my head against the wall
if I didn't think
1177
01:03:36,123 --> 01:03:38,892
that ultimately
it would pay off
1178
01:03:38,893 --> 01:03:41,227
in terms of social change.
1179
01:03:41,228 --> 01:03:44,997
No!
1180
01:03:44,998 --> 01:03:47,404
That's why I teach.
1181
01:03:49,404 --> 01:03:52,339
Now, people who are worried
about widening inequality
1182
01:03:52,340 --> 01:03:56,276
are also worried
about something else.
1183
01:03:56,277 --> 01:03:58,044
It's not upward mobility.
1184
01:03:58,045 --> 01:04:00,046
It's not even trust.
1185
01:04:00,047 --> 01:04:06,556
They are worried about
the undermining of democracy...
1186
01:04:08,556 --> 01:04:12,158
when so many resources,
so much money, so much wealth,
1187
01:04:12,159 --> 01:04:14,794
so much income
accumulates at the very top,
1188
01:04:14,795 --> 01:04:19,598
that with money
comes the capacity
1189
01:04:19,599 --> 01:04:22,938
to control politics.
1190
01:04:34,581 --> 01:04:36,884
There's nothing sinister
the way it starts.
1191
01:04:36,885 --> 01:04:38,183
Usually they bring in somebody
1192
01:04:38,184 --> 01:04:39,919
you haven't seen
for a few years.
1193
01:04:39,920 --> 01:04:41,888
You know,
they're paying them 10 grand.
1194
01:04:41,889 --> 01:04:43,857
Might be the best man
in your wedding
1195
01:04:43,858 --> 01:04:45,392
or a guy
you played football with.
1196
01:04:45,393 --> 01:04:47,259
You say, "Eddie, hell,
I haven't seen you..."
1197
01:04:47,260 --> 01:04:49,796
And then they say,
"Now, I'd like to turn it over
1198
01:04:49,797 --> 01:04:51,964
to old Freckles here..."
1199
01:04:51,965 --> 01:04:54,701
And then they give you
the whole load.
1200
01:04:54,702 --> 01:04:57,504
But money...
I mean, do the lobbyists come in
1201
01:04:57,505 --> 01:05:02,241
and obviously
the unspoken reality is,
1202
01:05:02,242 --> 01:05:04,009
"We can help you win
your next election
1203
01:05:04,010 --> 01:05:05,312
if you cooperate with us"?
1204
01:05:05,313 --> 01:05:07,448
There's a guy in every office
1205
01:05:07,449 --> 01:05:09,281
to say, "So-and-so
wants to see you.
1206
01:05:09,282 --> 01:05:12,118
"He's from the American
Shoe Leather Company.
1207
01:05:12,119 --> 01:05:14,687
"They have maxed out,"
meaning they gave you
1208
01:05:14,688 --> 01:05:18,125
the maximum in your primary
when you first started.
1209
01:05:18,126 --> 01:05:20,326
"They gave you the maximum
in every general.
1210
01:05:20,327 --> 01:05:21,962
"You've run three times now,
1211
01:05:21,963 --> 01:05:24,730
and they were there for you
at every point."
1212
01:05:24,731 --> 01:05:25,966
And what for?
1213
01:05:25,967 --> 01:05:27,670
Access.
1214
01:05:29,670 --> 01:05:31,904
This is actually
where there is blame,
1215
01:05:31,905 --> 01:05:35,008
and I think the blame
is justifiable.
1216
01:05:35,009 --> 01:05:36,475
It's not that people are rich.
1217
01:05:36,476 --> 01:05:40,279
It's that they abuse
their wealth
1218
01:05:40,280 --> 01:05:46,720
by lobbying for bailouts
and subsidies and taxes
1219
01:05:46,721 --> 01:05:49,756
that are going to entrench
their wealth.
1220
01:05:49,757 --> 01:05:53,593
That's the reason why the rules
have changed so dramatically.
1221
01:05:53,594 --> 01:05:54,895
Look at history.
1222
01:05:54,896 --> 01:05:57,430
Inequality and top tax rates
1223
01:05:57,431 --> 01:05:59,899
have had
an inverse relationship.
1224
01:05:59,900 --> 01:06:03,669
When inequality was lowest,
top tax rates were higher.
1225
01:06:03,670 --> 01:06:07,439
When inequality was highest,
tax rates on the wealthy
1226
01:06:07,440 --> 01:06:08,753
went down.
1227
01:06:19,753 --> 01:06:23,089
Under Dwight D. Eisenhower...
you know, he was a Republican;
1228
01:06:23,090 --> 01:06:25,058
nobody dared call him
a socialist...
1229
01:06:25,059 --> 01:06:29,395
the top marginal tax rate
was 91%.
1230
01:06:29,396 --> 01:06:30,997
I mean, even when you consider
1231
01:06:30,998 --> 01:06:33,100
all deductions
and all tax credits,
1232
01:06:33,101 --> 01:06:35,602
they were still paying
way over 50%.
1233
01:06:35,603 --> 01:06:38,705
I, John Fitzgerald Kennedy,
do solemnly swear...
1234
01:06:38,706 --> 01:06:40,306
I will faithfully execute...
1235
01:06:40,307 --> 01:06:43,709
The office of president
of the United States...
1236
01:06:43,710 --> 01:06:46,178
So help me, God.
1237
01:06:46,179 --> 01:06:50,484
Taxes on the top
were never below 70%
1238
01:06:50,485 --> 01:06:54,126
until Reagan dropped
those taxes on the top.
1239
01:06:59,126 --> 01:07:01,694
Read my lips.
1240
01:07:01,695 --> 01:07:05,098
No new taxes.
1241
01:07:05,099 --> 01:07:07,968
I, William Jefferson Clinton...
1242
01:07:07,969 --> 01:07:09,134
I, George Walker Bush...
1243
01:07:09,135 --> 01:07:11,772
Do solemnly swear...
1244
01:07:11,773 --> 01:07:15,140
I, Barack Hussein Obama,
do solemnly swear...
1245
01:07:15,141 --> 01:07:16,977
In fact, most of the very rich
in this country
1246
01:07:16,978 --> 01:07:18,412
don't even pay close to that
1247
01:07:18,413 --> 01:07:20,312
because most of their income
is in the form
1248
01:07:20,313 --> 01:07:23,482
of capital gains,
which is now taxed at 15%.
1249
01:07:23,483 --> 01:07:27,654
My total taxes paid...
payroll taxes plus income tax,
1250
01:07:27,655 --> 01:07:31,158
mine came to 17.7%.
1251
01:07:31,159 --> 01:07:33,725
The average for the office
was 32.9%.
1252
01:07:33,726 --> 01:07:35,495
There wasn't anybody
in the office,
1253
01:07:35,496 --> 01:07:37,730
from the receptionist on,
that paid as low a tax rate.
1254
01:07:37,731 --> 01:07:41,334
The taxation system
has tilted toward the rich
1255
01:07:41,335 --> 01:07:43,837
and away from the middle class
in the last ten years.
1256
01:07:43,838 --> 01:07:46,573
It is dramatic, and I don't
think it's appreciated.
1257
01:07:46,574 --> 01:07:48,475
What's the effective rate
I've been paying?
1258
01:07:48,476 --> 01:07:51,076
Well, it's probably closer
to the 15% rate than anything.
1259
01:07:51,077 --> 01:07:54,781
Mr. Romney's income taxes
were finally posted,
1260
01:07:54,782 --> 01:07:57,383
and he paid 13.9%.
1261
01:07:57,384 --> 01:08:00,854
Nancy and I paid 33% or more.
1262
01:08:00,855 --> 01:08:04,957
It was in the 30s,
and I find that atrocious.
1263
01:08:04,958 --> 01:08:10,796
I paid 11% last year
on an eight-figure income.
1264
01:08:10,797 --> 01:08:13,567
- Wowzers.
- So less than Mitt Romney.
1265
01:08:13,568 --> 01:08:17,170
When you give rich
businesspeople tax breaks
1266
01:08:17,171 --> 01:08:18,705
all in the name of job creation,
1267
01:08:18,706 --> 01:08:21,974
all that really happens
is that the fat cats get fatter.
1268
01:08:21,975 --> 01:08:23,876
And, of course,
that's what's happened
1269
01:08:23,877 --> 01:08:24,978
over the last 30 years.
1270
01:08:24,979 --> 01:08:26,712
That's the signature feature
1271
01:08:26,713 --> 01:08:29,485
of the economy
over the last 30 years.
1272
01:08:32,485 --> 01:08:36,822
Look, nobody wants
to pay taxes.
1273
01:08:36,823 --> 01:08:40,093
But taxes are the price we pay
to finance the kinds of things
1274
01:08:40,094 --> 01:08:44,634
that we can't do individually,
that we need to do together.
1275
01:08:46,634 --> 01:08:48,935
There's kind of a negative
trickle-down effect,
1276
01:08:48,936 --> 01:08:50,670
and it starts in Washington.
1277
01:08:50,671 --> 01:08:53,706
I mean, if the wealthy
are not paying their fair share
1278
01:08:53,707 --> 01:08:56,309
and if the middle class
are basically stagnant
1279
01:08:56,310 --> 01:08:57,943
and are not paying much
in taxes
1280
01:08:57,944 --> 01:09:00,212
because they're not making
much money,
1281
01:09:00,213 --> 01:09:02,247
then you're gonna have
a budget crisis
1282
01:09:02,248 --> 01:09:03,818
somewhere along the line.
1283
01:09:06,353 --> 01:09:09,313
That means less revenue sharing
with the states.
1284
01:09:11,024 --> 01:09:13,459
That means the states
have to pull in their belts.
1285
01:09:13,460 --> 01:09:17,663
They cannot support
public higher education.
1286
01:09:17,664 --> 01:09:22,702
As state funding to institutions
of higher education went down,
1287
01:09:22,703 --> 01:09:25,475
tuitions went up to compensate.
1288
01:09:27,475 --> 01:09:29,443
I mean, at Berkeley,
where I teach,
1289
01:09:29,444 --> 01:09:33,080
in the 1960s, tuition was free.
1290
01:09:33,081 --> 01:09:36,483
In the 1970s,
it was $700 a year
1291
01:09:36,484 --> 01:09:39,286
in today's dollars.
1292
01:09:39,287 --> 01:09:43,055
But now it costs $15,000
1293
01:09:43,056 --> 01:09:44,566
for in-state residents.
1294
01:09:47,228 --> 01:09:48,861
Next week, members of Congress
1295
01:09:48,862 --> 01:09:50,863
are gonna have a chance to vote
on what we call
1296
01:09:50,864 --> 01:09:52,999
the Buffett Rule,
and it's simple.
1297
01:09:53,000 --> 01:09:57,970
If you make more money...
more than $1 million a year,
1298
01:09:57,971 --> 01:10:00,473
not if you have $1 million
1299
01:10:00,474 --> 01:10:03,644
but if you make more
than $1 million a year,
1300
01:10:03,645 --> 01:10:05,946
you should pay
at least the same percentage
1301
01:10:05,947 --> 01:10:09,482
of your income in taxes
as middle-class families do.
1302
01:10:09,483 --> 01:10:10,916
He is killing the economy,
1303
01:10:10,917 --> 01:10:12,718
and this is class warfare.
1304
01:10:12,719 --> 01:10:15,188
I think Barack Obama
is a socialist.
1305
01:10:15,189 --> 01:10:16,488
It'll only be a minimum tax
1306
01:10:16,489 --> 01:10:18,558
on people who make
lots of money.
1307
01:10:18,559 --> 01:10:21,394
More class warfare
from an affable billionaire.
1308
01:10:21,395 --> 01:10:23,996
Is he completely a socialist?
1309
01:10:31,072 --> 01:10:33,805
Is Warren Buffett a socialist?
1310
01:10:35,176 --> 01:10:38,978
You really have no clue
what socialism is, do you?
1311
01:10:38,979 --> 01:10:41,214
CEOs and Wall Street
have been doing terribly...
1312
01:10:41,215 --> 01:10:42,514
you know, enormously well.
1313
01:10:42,515 --> 01:10:44,651
Why should they get
continued tax cuts
1314
01:10:44,652 --> 01:10:48,153
when, in fact, we have a huge
deficit way down the line?
1315
01:10:48,154 --> 01:10:49,589
Robert Reich.
You know Robert Reich?
1316
01:10:49,590 --> 01:10:51,023
- I do indeed.
- He's a Communist.
1317
01:10:51,024 --> 01:10:53,326
- You know that, right?
- Communist/socialist.
1318
01:10:53,327 --> 01:10:55,261
- Okay.
- Confused. He's a confused.
1319
01:10:55,262 --> 01:10:56,929
The guy secretly adores
Karl Marx
1320
01:10:56,930 --> 01:10:59,264
and is up there in Cambridge...
1321
01:10:59,265 --> 01:11:00,599
Can I just be clear about this?
1322
01:11:00,600 --> 01:11:03,569
I am not, nor have I ever been,
1323
01:11:03,570 --> 01:11:06,505
a member of the Communist Party
or a Communist.
1324
01:11:06,506 --> 01:11:08,175
A lot of people are
watching Fox, and I like Fox.
1325
01:11:08,176 --> 01:11:10,643
I like appearing with you,
and I like you personally.
1326
01:11:10,644 --> 01:11:12,511
I used to be on O'Reilly's show.
1327
01:11:12,512 --> 01:11:13,880
In fact, I even substituted
1328
01:11:13,881 --> 01:11:15,848
for Bill O'Reilly
a couple of times.
1329
01:11:15,849 --> 01:11:17,283
He asked me.
1330
01:11:17,284 --> 01:11:18,984
I was on Fox quite a lot.
1331
01:11:18,985 --> 01:11:21,020
Joining us now
is former labor secretary,
1332
01:11:21,021 --> 01:11:22,221
our good friend Robert Reich.
1333
01:11:22,222 --> 01:11:23,724
Secretary, how are you,
my friend?
1334
01:11:23,725 --> 01:11:24,823
Good see you.
1335
01:11:24,824 --> 01:11:26,358
But no longer.
1336
01:11:26,359 --> 01:11:28,728
They don't ask.
1337
01:11:28,729 --> 01:11:30,662
The football field
of American politics
1338
01:11:30,663 --> 01:11:33,633
has kept on shifting
to the right.
1339
01:11:33,634 --> 01:11:36,702
I just... you know,
basically I just stand here.
1340
01:11:36,703 --> 01:11:38,772
I've watched it move.
1341
01:11:38,773 --> 01:11:40,907
I used to be
something of a centrist.
1342
01:11:40,908 --> 01:11:44,778
In fact, my first job
was in the Ford administration.
1343
01:11:44,779 --> 01:11:45,879
Hello.
1344
01:11:45,880 --> 01:11:47,746
That's a Republican
administration.
1345
01:11:47,747 --> 01:11:51,283
You know, were considered
conservative in the 1990s.
1346
01:11:51,284 --> 01:11:52,785
Yeah.
1347
01:11:52,786 --> 01:11:56,555
You almost became the
majority leader of the Senate.
1348
01:11:56,556 --> 01:11:58,724
I could have been king.
1349
01:11:58,725 --> 01:12:01,461
Our staffs
were not terribly happy
1350
01:12:01,462 --> 01:12:02,995
that we were getting together.
1351
01:12:02,996 --> 01:12:07,867
My staff said, "Don't have lunch
with this right-winger."
1352
01:12:07,868 --> 01:12:09,602
- From Wyoming.
- From Wyoming.
1353
01:12:09,603 --> 01:12:11,871
"There's nothing in it."
1354
01:12:11,872 --> 01:12:13,973
We were approached
about doing a show.
1355
01:12:13,974 --> 01:12:15,006
Mmhmm.
1356
01:12:19,345 --> 01:12:21,179
- Hello, Robert.
- Good to see you again.
1357
01:12:21,180 --> 01:12:22,348
- Good evening.
- Yeah, here.
1358
01:12:22,349 --> 01:12:25,352
Oh, thank you so much.
1359
01:12:25,353 --> 01:12:27,554
You're now considered
a moderate,
1360
01:12:27,555 --> 01:12:29,589
if not lefty.
1361
01:12:29,590 --> 01:12:31,825
- Commie.
- What happened?
1362
01:12:31,826 --> 01:12:34,359
They came in,
and they brought with them
1363
01:12:34,360 --> 01:12:37,029
an antigovernment hatred.
1364
01:12:37,030 --> 01:12:40,233
And you don't have adversaries
anymore.
1365
01:12:40,234 --> 01:12:42,167
You have enemies.
1366
01:12:42,168 --> 01:12:44,804
There does seem to be
a strong correlation
1367
01:12:44,805 --> 01:12:48,474
between political polarization
on the one hand
1368
01:12:48,475 --> 01:12:52,278
and widening
economic inequality.
1369
01:12:52,279 --> 01:12:54,412
Researchers measured
the distance
1370
01:12:54,413 --> 01:12:56,049
between the median
voting patterns
1371
01:12:56,050 --> 01:12:57,950
of one party
and the other party,
1372
01:12:57,951 --> 01:13:02,621
and what they found is that
in times of high inequality,
1373
01:13:02,622 --> 01:13:06,826
you have the highest degree
of polarization.
1374
01:13:06,827 --> 01:13:09,667
It almost tracks exactly.
1375
01:13:13,667 --> 01:13:17,871
You see how totally integrated
and connected
1376
01:13:17,872 --> 01:13:21,273
the issue of inequality is
to our democracy.
1377
01:13:21,274 --> 01:13:25,144
And you see how the ultimate
guardians of our democracy...
1378
01:13:25,145 --> 01:13:26,813
if Congress doesn't do it
1379
01:13:26,814 --> 01:13:28,781
and if the executive
doesn't do it,
1380
01:13:28,782 --> 01:13:31,923
the ultimate guardians
are up here.
1381
01:13:36,923 --> 01:13:41,027
In 2010, the Supreme Court
in Citizens United
1382
01:13:41,028 --> 01:13:44,363
decided that corporations
are people.
1383
01:13:44,364 --> 01:13:47,166
And as Citizens United
was interpreted by lower courts,
1384
01:13:47,167 --> 01:13:49,368
it basically said
that corporations,
1385
01:13:49,369 --> 01:13:52,572
wealthy individuals,
anybody who has a lot of money,
1386
01:13:52,573 --> 01:13:54,840
can flood the political system,
1387
01:13:54,841 --> 01:13:58,044
can basically inundate
our democracy
1388
01:13:58,045 --> 01:13:59,582
with their money.
1389
01:14:02,582 --> 01:14:04,084
Mr. Wertheimer?
1390
01:14:04,085 --> 01:14:06,620
- Robert, how are you?
- How are you?
1391
01:14:06,621 --> 01:14:11,489
The idea that a corporation
could spend $1 billion
1392
01:14:11,490 --> 01:14:14,660
in an election
to elect a president
1393
01:14:14,661 --> 01:14:17,229
and it would not have
the capacity
1394
01:14:17,230 --> 01:14:20,233
to have a corrupting influence
over government decisions...
1395
01:14:20,234 --> 01:14:21,533
That's absurd.
I mean...
1396
01:14:21,534 --> 01:14:24,373
Is a concept
from another planet.
1397
01:14:27,373 --> 01:14:29,541
The money isn't new.
1398
01:14:29,542 --> 01:14:32,379
The quantity of the money
is new.
1399
01:14:32,380 --> 01:14:34,013
In the last
presidential election,
1400
01:14:34,014 --> 01:14:36,950
we saw for the first time
in this country
1401
01:14:36,951 --> 01:14:37,950
billionaires...
1402
01:14:37,951 --> 01:14:40,419
I mean,
a handful of billionaires...
1403
01:14:40,420 --> 01:14:42,855
contributing huge sums of money
1404
01:14:42,856 --> 01:14:44,189
to individual candidates,
1405
01:14:44,190 --> 01:14:46,760
basically keeping
those candidates going.
1406
01:14:49,229 --> 01:14:51,430
I mean, is this America?
1407
01:14:51,431 --> 01:14:52,765
Not in my mind.
1408
01:14:52,766 --> 01:14:55,026
I think
it's absolutely stupefying.
1409
01:14:57,570 --> 01:14:59,805
I think, if you keep going,
1410
01:14:59,806 --> 01:15:01,407
in the next presidential
election,
1411
01:15:01,408 --> 01:15:05,344
it will be, "Have you got
$300 million in your pocket?
1412
01:15:05,345 --> 01:15:07,681
'Cause you can buy a president."
1413
01:15:08,681 --> 01:15:11,718
There are liberal billionaires.
1414
01:15:11,719 --> 01:15:14,187
There are conservative
billionaires.
1415
01:15:14,188 --> 01:15:21,126
So if you see someone
buying a result that you like,
1416
01:15:21,127 --> 01:15:24,496
someone else can buy a result
that you're gonna hate
1417
01:15:24,497 --> 01:15:27,099
if they can give
a huge amount of money.
1418
01:15:27,100 --> 01:15:30,141
You cannot have government
on the auction block.
1419
01:15:35,141 --> 01:15:37,977
When we see the contrast
between the values we share
1420
01:15:37,978 --> 01:15:40,278
and the realities we live in,
1421
01:15:40,279 --> 01:15:44,716
that is the fundamental
foundation for social change.
1422
01:15:44,717 --> 01:15:48,153
You work for us!
You work for us!
1423
01:15:49,288 --> 01:15:50,857
The Tea Party movement
1424
01:15:50,858 --> 01:15:53,827
was born in the wake
of the Wall Street bailout.
1425
01:15:53,828 --> 01:15:55,795
We want to make sure
that the government
1426
01:15:55,796 --> 01:15:57,429
is doing what's right
for all people,
1427
01:15:57,430 --> 01:15:59,232
not just for some of the people.
1428
01:15:59,233 --> 01:16:02,801
An everyday Tea Partier
is an American citizen
1429
01:16:02,802 --> 01:16:04,469
that is frustrated
with the direction
1430
01:16:04,470 --> 01:16:05,871
the country's going.
1431
01:16:05,872 --> 01:16:09,375
The banks got bailed out.
We got sold out.
1432
01:16:09,376 --> 01:16:10,809
The banks got bailed out.
1433
01:16:10,810 --> 01:16:13,279
The Occupy movement
has focused its wrath
1434
01:16:13,280 --> 01:16:15,514
on Wall Street
and big corporations.
1435
01:16:15,515 --> 01:16:18,184
The White House is really
in the pockets of the banks.
1436
01:16:18,185 --> 01:16:21,120
It's a plutocracy, basically.
1437
01:16:21,121 --> 01:16:24,056
It's not about the money
and how much money people have.
1438
01:16:24,057 --> 01:16:27,794
It is about people
not having their voices heard.
1439
01:16:27,795 --> 01:16:29,495
There's so many people
who've lost their jobs.
1440
01:16:29,496 --> 01:16:32,465
There's so many people
who've lost their homes.
1441
01:16:32,466 --> 01:16:35,166
It's just totally unfair.
1442
01:16:35,167 --> 01:16:37,202
You've got a lot of people
who feel like
1443
01:16:37,203 --> 01:16:38,938
the game is stacked
against them.
1444
01:16:38,939 --> 01:16:40,339
Can you hear us now?
1445
01:16:40,340 --> 01:16:41,374
The game is rigged.
1446
01:16:41,375 --> 01:16:42,809
Can you hear us now?
1447
01:16:42,810 --> 01:16:45,946
We need to get lobbyists,
Goldman Sachs,
1448
01:16:45,947 --> 01:16:50,515
George Soros, Merrill Lynch,
everyone out of our politics.
1449
01:16:50,516 --> 01:16:51,651
Whoo!
1450
01:16:51,652 --> 01:16:53,152
Why should they be allowed
1451
01:16:53,153 --> 01:16:55,153
to throw millions
at politicians?
1452
01:16:55,154 --> 01:16:57,157
They're supposed
to be our voice,
1453
01:16:57,158 --> 01:16:58,957
not their voice.
1454
01:16:58,958 --> 01:17:01,894
Losers of rigged games
can become very angry.
1455
01:17:01,895 --> 01:17:03,094
You don't love America.
1456
01:17:03,095 --> 01:17:04,797
You don't love the Constitution.
1457
01:17:04,798 --> 01:17:06,800
You don't love anything
but your stupid,
1458
01:17:06,801 --> 01:17:08,968
smarmy-ass, taking little self.
1459
01:17:17,478 --> 01:17:19,045
Health care.
1460
01:17:19,046 --> 01:17:22,081
Kill the bill!
Kill the bill!
1461
01:17:22,082 --> 01:17:24,684
Most people are still worried
about their jobs.
1462
01:17:24,685 --> 01:17:26,353
They are angry.
They are frustrated.
1463
01:17:26,354 --> 01:17:29,354
They're looking
for people to blame.
1464
01:17:29,355 --> 01:17:32,892
We think the Muslims
are moving in and taking over.
1465
01:17:32,893 --> 01:17:34,760
Go back home!
1466
01:17:34,761 --> 01:17:38,229
Go back home!
Go back home!
1467
01:17:38,230 --> 01:17:41,733
One nation under God,
not Allah!
1468
01:17:41,734 --> 01:17:43,937
These trends are dangerous.
1469
01:17:48,641 --> 01:17:53,412
We're seeing an entire society
that is starting to pull apart.
1470
01:17:53,413 --> 01:17:55,281
Education must be free.
1471
01:17:55,282 --> 01:17:56,314
No costs!
1472
01:17:56,315 --> 01:17:57,416
No fees!
1473
01:17:57,417 --> 01:17:58,818
Education must be...
1474
01:18:05,692 --> 01:18:07,158
Oh, my God.
1475
01:18:07,159 --> 01:18:09,862
At Cal Berkeley,
after being beaten by police
1476
01:18:09,863 --> 01:18:12,331
and cleared out
of their protest site,
1477
01:18:12,332 --> 01:18:14,733
Occupy Cal was back
with a full day
1478
01:18:14,734 --> 01:18:17,370
of protest activities today.
1479
01:18:17,371 --> 01:18:20,706
Joining us now is Cal Berkeley
professor Robert Reich.
1480
01:18:20,707 --> 01:18:23,443
Well, on campus,
there is a kind of mood
1481
01:18:23,444 --> 01:18:25,411
of restlessness and uncertainty.
1482
01:18:25,412 --> 01:18:26,845
A lot of the students
don't know
1483
01:18:26,846 --> 01:18:28,916
if the police
are coming back in.
1484
01:18:30,384 --> 01:18:33,885
The irony of all of this is that
instead of allowing people
1485
01:18:33,886 --> 01:18:37,157
to peaceably assemble
to express their outrage
1486
01:18:37,158 --> 01:18:40,026
at how much money
is now going into politics,
1487
01:18:40,027 --> 01:18:41,760
we've got mayors
and other officials
1488
01:18:41,761 --> 01:18:43,462
all over the country
who are saying,
1489
01:18:43,463 --> 01:18:44,563
"You can't assemble.
1490
01:18:44,564 --> 01:18:46,165
"You can't express yourself.
1491
01:18:46,166 --> 01:18:48,233
"But we are going to listen
to the money
1492
01:18:48,234 --> 01:18:52,103
"from the big corporations
that now are basically
1493
01:18:52,104 --> 01:18:54,375
engulfing American politics."
1494
01:18:56,577 --> 01:19:00,880
We are losing
equal opportunity in America.
1495
01:19:00,881 --> 01:19:04,450
We are losing
the moral foundation stone
1496
01:19:04,451 --> 01:19:07,653
on which this country
and our democracy are built.
1497
01:19:09,890 --> 01:19:11,991
It undermines our democracy
1498
01:19:11,992 --> 01:19:14,059
when all that money
can come down
1499
01:19:14,060 --> 01:19:16,327
from the wealthy,
from the corporations.
1500
01:19:16,328 --> 01:19:18,465
When there are no limits
to the amount of money...
1501
01:19:18,466 --> 01:19:21,332
money they can infect
and undermine
1502
01:19:21,333 --> 01:19:25,470
and corrupt our democracy,
then what do we have left?
1503
01:19:25,471 --> 01:19:27,674
What do we have left?
1504
01:19:30,043 --> 01:19:34,080
If you can permit me
a personal note.
1505
01:19:34,081 --> 01:19:36,447
Because I was always
short for my age
1506
01:19:36,448 --> 01:19:39,718
and I was always very short...
in fact...
1507
01:19:41,087 --> 01:19:44,189
When I was a little boy,
I was even shorter...
1508
01:19:46,292 --> 01:19:48,335
I was always getting beat up.
1509
01:19:55,335 --> 01:19:58,603
When I was a kid,
the bigger boys
1510
01:19:58,604 --> 01:20:00,273
would pick on me.
1511
01:20:00,274 --> 01:20:02,474
You know,
that was what you did.
1512
01:20:02,475 --> 01:20:05,277
That's what is done.
1513
01:20:05,278 --> 01:20:08,447
So I got an idea
that I would make alliances
1514
01:20:08,448 --> 01:20:09,747
with older boys,
1515
01:20:09,748 --> 01:20:11,350
you know, like, just one or two
1516
01:20:11,351 --> 01:20:13,189
who would be my protectors.
1517
01:20:16,189 --> 01:20:18,991
The summer when I was about ten,
1518
01:20:18,992 --> 01:20:21,193
one of the older boys
who I depended on
1519
01:20:21,194 --> 01:20:25,665
to kind of be a protector,
his name was Michael Schwerner.
1520
01:20:25,666 --> 01:20:30,435
In the summer of '64,
I learned that Mickey
1521
01:20:30,436 --> 01:20:37,376
had been in Mississippi
registering voters.
1522
01:20:37,377 --> 01:20:41,913
And he and two other people
who had been with him
1523
01:20:41,914 --> 01:20:45,718
registering voters were...
1524
01:20:45,719 --> 01:20:48,056
were tortured and murdered.
1525
01:20:51,056 --> 01:20:54,193
And when I heard
that my protector
1526
01:20:54,194 --> 01:21:01,002
had been murdered
by the real bullies...
1527
01:21:03,002 --> 01:21:06,138
I think it changed my life.
1528
01:21:06,139 --> 01:21:10,108
I had to protect people
from the bullies,
1529
01:21:10,109 --> 01:21:12,344
the people who would
beat them up economically
1530
01:21:12,345 --> 01:21:15,480
or the people who would
subject them and their families
1531
01:21:15,481 --> 01:21:18,082
to real harm.
1532
01:21:18,083 --> 01:21:19,751
Because if you don't
have a voice,
1533
01:21:19,752 --> 01:21:21,120
if you don't have power,
1534
01:21:21,121 --> 01:21:23,956
if you are vulnerable
economically in society,
1535
01:21:23,957 --> 01:21:27,033
you don't have anybody
to protect you.
1536
01:21:34,033 --> 01:21:37,536
There's no single magic bullet
1537
01:21:37,537 --> 01:21:38,871
to solving this problem.
1538
01:21:38,872 --> 01:21:40,540
I mean, I've written
a lot of books.
1539
01:21:40,541 --> 01:21:43,442
I've come up with a lot
of policy ideas.
1540
01:21:43,443 --> 01:21:47,248
I'm not alone.
Policy ideas are plentiful.
1541
01:21:49,248 --> 01:21:52,684
Remember, we make the rules
of the economy.
1542
01:21:52,685 --> 01:21:56,658
And we have the power
to change those rules.
1543
01:21:57,658 --> 01:22:00,960
You've got to mobilize.
You've got to organize.
1544
01:22:00,961 --> 01:22:04,196
You've got to energize
other people.
1545
01:22:04,197 --> 01:22:08,033
Politics is not out there.
1546
01:22:08,034 --> 01:22:10,873
It starts here.
1547
01:22:13,873 --> 01:22:16,774
Today's our last...
our last class.
1548
01:22:16,775 --> 01:22:18,544
Whoo!
1549
01:22:21,680 --> 01:22:23,782
I'll try that again.
1550
01:22:23,783 --> 01:22:25,451
Today's our last class.
1551
01:22:28,255 --> 01:22:29,788
Remember the first part
of the course,
1552
01:22:29,789 --> 01:22:32,825
we looked at the dynamics
of wealth and poverty,
1553
01:22:32,826 --> 01:22:34,260
and many of you...
many of you
1554
01:22:34,261 --> 01:22:38,163
were a little bit down
after that?
1555
01:22:38,164 --> 01:22:40,700
And some of you worried
that that dynamic
1556
01:22:40,701 --> 01:22:42,667
was inevitable.
1557
01:22:42,668 --> 01:22:44,769
Is this going to be
just a partisan fight?
1558
01:22:44,770 --> 01:22:48,806
Are we just going to have
class warfare in this country?
1559
01:22:48,807 --> 01:22:50,175
No.
1560
01:22:50,176 --> 01:22:53,246
The rich actually do better
1561
01:22:53,247 --> 01:22:56,014
with an economy
that is growing faster,
1562
01:22:56,015 --> 01:22:58,084
when everybody else
is doing better.
1563
01:22:58,085 --> 01:23:01,754
This is not a zero-sum game.
1564
01:23:01,755 --> 01:23:08,094
History is on the side
of positive social change:
1565
01:23:08,095 --> 01:23:11,162
Unemployment insurance,
social security,
1566
01:23:11,163 --> 01:23:14,233
civil rights,
and voting rights,
1567
01:23:14,234 --> 01:23:16,001
environmental protection,
1568
01:23:16,002 --> 01:23:17,536
the Environmental
Protection Act,
1569
01:23:17,537 --> 01:23:20,906
signed into law
by Richard Nixon,
1570
01:23:20,907 --> 01:23:22,174
of all people.
1571
01:23:24,176 --> 01:23:27,412
Any one of you
who feels cynical
1572
01:23:27,413 --> 01:23:30,581
about the possibility
of social progress,
1573
01:23:30,582 --> 01:23:37,389
just consider
where we have been.
1574
01:23:37,390 --> 01:23:40,992
Roger.
Eagle's undocked.
1575
01:23:40,993 --> 01:23:43,398
Which sort of comes to you.
1576
01:23:45,398 --> 01:23:47,368
To you.
1577
01:23:48,368 --> 01:23:50,669
You don't necessarily
need to be elected
1578
01:23:50,670 --> 01:23:53,270
president of the United States
or be a secretary of labor
1579
01:23:53,271 --> 01:23:55,344
to have a huge impact.
1580
01:23:57,344 --> 01:24:00,246
You can be a leader
1581
01:24:00,247 --> 01:24:03,685
in many, many different spheres.
1582
01:24:05,685 --> 01:24:08,957
There are a lot of other things
I could be doing.
1583
01:24:10,957 --> 01:24:14,593
But I choose to be here
1584
01:24:14,594 --> 01:24:17,196
in this course
1585
01:24:17,197 --> 01:24:21,500
because I believe in you.
1586
01:24:21,501 --> 01:24:24,836
I believe that some of you
1587
01:24:24,837 --> 01:24:28,874
are going to change
1588
01:24:28,875 --> 01:24:33,782
the community, our society,
maybe even the world.
1589
01:24:35,782 --> 01:24:38,117
One final word.
1590
01:24:38,118 --> 01:24:42,286
May your lives
be filled with passion,
1591
01:24:42,287 --> 01:24:46,125
and also,
may your days be filled
1592
01:24:46,126 --> 01:24:47,727
with wonder and happiness.
1593
01:24:47,728 --> 01:24:50,897
May you do great things
with your life,
1594
01:24:50,898 --> 01:24:56,702
and may you have a wonderful,
exuberant, brilliant career.
1595
01:24:56,703 --> 01:24:57,868
Thank you.
1596
01:25:10,350 --> 01:25:13,051
♪ Tumble out of bed
and stumble to the kitchen ♪
1597
01:25:13,052 --> 01:25:14,920
♪ Pour myself
a cup of ambition ♪
1598
01:25:14,921 --> 01:25:20,026
♪ And yawn and stretch
and try to come to life ♪
1599
01:25:20,027 --> 01:25:22,594
♪ Jump in the shower
and the blood starts pumpin' ♪
1600
01:25:22,595 --> 01:25:24,630
♪ Out on the street
the traffic starts jumpin' ♪
1601
01:25:24,631 --> 01:25:29,201
♪ With folks like me
on the job from nine to five ♪
1602
01:25:29,202 --> 01:25:31,569
♪ Working nine to five ♪
1603
01:25:31,570 --> 01:25:33,904
♪ What a way to make a living ♪
1604
01:25:33,905 --> 01:25:36,075
♪ Barely getting by ♪
1605
01:25:36,076 --> 01:25:39,144
He inspired me, actually,
personally
1606
01:25:39,145 --> 01:25:41,179
to really want to go out
and make a difference.
1607
01:25:41,180 --> 01:25:45,017
Going to Brazil to work
with an NGO in the Favelas.
1608
01:25:45,018 --> 01:25:46,218
Oh, you can get a hug.
1609
01:25:46,219 --> 01:25:47,786
I know my wife definitely...
1610
01:25:47,787 --> 01:25:49,589
Erika wants to go to school too
1611
01:25:49,590 --> 01:25:51,624
now that she sees
that it's possible.
1612
01:25:51,625 --> 01:25:53,626
I wanted to become a lawyer.
1613
01:25:53,627 --> 01:25:55,327
You know,
I've thought about it a lot.
1614
01:25:55,328 --> 01:25:57,395
I wrote a couple of books
on this stuff.
1615
01:25:57,396 --> 01:25:59,464
♪ Move ahead
but the boss... ♪
1616
01:25:59,465 --> 01:26:01,032
If I knew what to do,
I would...
1617
01:26:01,033 --> 01:26:04,269
on my weekends, I would take
a day off to start, okay,
1618
01:26:04,270 --> 01:26:05,304
not a revolution.
1619
01:26:05,305 --> 01:26:06,639
I...
But you know what?
1620
01:26:06,640 --> 01:26:08,941
Maybe we do need
something like that.
1621
01:26:10,577 --> 01:26:13,011
♪ They let you dream
just to watch them shatter ♪
1622
01:26:13,012 --> 01:26:15,447
♪ You're just a step
on the boss man's ladder ♪
1623
01:26:15,448 --> 01:26:20,085
♪ But you got dreams
he'll never take away ♪
1624
01:26:20,086 --> 01:26:22,621
♪ In the same boat
with a lot of your friends ♪
1625
01:26:22,622 --> 01:26:24,622
♪ Waiting for the day
your ship will come in ♪
1626
01:26:24,623 --> 01:26:26,259
♪ And the tide's gonna turn ♪
1627
01:26:26,260 --> 01:26:29,327
♪ And it's all
gonna roll your way ♪
1628
01:26:29,328 --> 01:26:31,395
♪ Working nine to five ♪
1629
01:26:31,396 --> 01:26:33,933
♪ What a way to make a living ♪
1630
01:26:33,934 --> 01:26:36,201
♪ Barely getting by ♪
1631
01:26:36,202 --> 01:26:38,403
♪ It's all taking
and no giving ♪
1632
01:26:38,404 --> 01:26:40,672
♪ They just use your mind ♪
1633
01:26:40,673 --> 01:26:42,773
♪ And you never
get the credit ♪
1634
01:26:42,774 --> 01:26:47,946
♪ It's enough to drive you crazy
if you let it ♪
1635
01:26:47,947 --> 01:26:49,480
♪ Nine to five ♪
1636
01:26:49,481 --> 01:26:52,084
♪ Yeah, they got you
where they want you ♪
1637
01:26:52,085 --> 01:26:54,286
♪ There's a better life ♪
1638
01:26:54,287 --> 01:26:56,554
♪ And you think about it
don't you ♪
1639
01:26:56,555 --> 01:26:59,090
♪ It's a rich man's game ♪
1640
01:26:59,091 --> 01:27:01,160
♪ No matter what they call it ♪
1641
01:27:01,161 --> 01:27:03,327
♪ And you spend your life ♪
1642
01:27:03,328 --> 01:27:05,997
♪ Putting money in his wallet ♪
1643
01:27:05,998 --> 01:27:07,733
♪ Nine to five ♪
1644
01:27:07,734 --> 01:27:10,035
♪ What a way to make a living ♪
1645
01:27:10,036 --> 01:27:12,304
♪ Barely getting by ♪
1646
01:27:12,305 --> 01:27:14,572
♪ It's all taking
and no giving ♪
1647
01:27:14,573 --> 01:27:16,742
♪ They just use your mind ♪
1648
01:27:16,743 --> 01:27:18,743
♪ And they never
give you credit ♪
1649
01:27:18,744 --> 01:27:23,982
♪ It's enough to drive you crazy
if you let it ♪
1650
01:27:23,983 --> 01:27:25,451
♪ Nine to five ♪
1651
01:27:25,452 --> 01:27:27,752
♪ Yeah, they got you
where they want you ♪
1652
01:27:27,753 --> 01:27:29,955
♪ There's a better life ♪
1653
01:27:29,956 --> 01:27:32,389
♪ And you dream about it,
don't you ♪
1654
01:27:32,390 --> 01:27:34,993
♪ It's a rich man's game ♪
1655
01:27:34,994 --> 01:27:36,761
♪ No matter what they call it ♪
1656
01:27:36,762 --> 01:27:39,031
♪ And you spend your life ♪
1657
01:27:39,032 --> 01:27:42,000
♪ Putting money in his wallet ♪
1658
01:27:42,001 --> 01:27:43,434
♪ Nine to five ♪
1659
01:27:43,435 --> 01:27:45,636
♪ Ooh, working nine to five ♪
1660
01:27:45,637 --> 01:27:48,277
♪ Working nine to five ♪
1661
01:29:57,778 --> 01:30:05,078
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