"Coming Up Short": Robert Reich on His Memoir, Rising U.S. Inequality & Fighting Against Bullies

Aug 6, 2025 | We speak with former Labor Secretary Robert Reich about his new memoir, "Coming Up Short," which tells his life story alongside the growth of inequality in America. Reich was born in 1946 as part of the baby-boom generation that enjoyed unprecedented levels of prosperity and social mobility in the decades after World War II. But he says those conditions were squandered as wealth concentration grew worse, labor unions were gutted and wages stagnated — helping to give rise to Donald Trump's brand of authoritarianism. "We allowed big money to take over," says Reich. "We, the baby boomers, although we did a lot of good things, we took for granted what we were given. … And Donald Trump is kind of the essence of what you do when you take your eyes off the prize."

The American economic system in the western capitalist world is the SHITTIEST economic system of all. It is capitalism heavy, corrupt, and raw. And it shows! — © Mark Alexander