Editing Robert Reich (section)

== Political stances ==
{{Progressivism sidebar|commentators}}
[[File:Robert Reich, Policy Network, April 6 2009, detail.jpg|thumb|right|Reich speaking in 2009]]

In an interview with ''[[The New York Times]]'' in 2008, Reich explained that "I don't believe in [[redistribution of wealth]] for the sake of redistributing wealth. But I am concerned about how we can afford to pay for what we as a nation need to do [...] [Taxes should pay] for what we need in order to be safe and productive. As [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Jr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]] once wrote, 'taxes are the price we pay for a civilized society.{{'"}}<ref name=freakonomics>{{cite news|url=http://freakonomics.blogs.nytimes.com/2008/05/01/robert-reich-answers-your-labor-questions/ | work=The New York Times | title=Robert Reich Answers Your Labor Questions | first=Stephen J. | last=Dubner | date=May 1, 2008 | access-date=May 22, 2010}}</ref>

In response to a question as to what to recommend to the incoming president regarding a fair and sustainable income and wealth distribution, Reich said: "Expand the [[Earned income tax credit|Earned Income Tax Credit]]—a wage supplement for lower-income people, and finance it with a higher marginal income tax on the top five percent. For the longer term, invest in education for lower income communities, starting with early-childhood education and extending all the way up to better access to post-secondary education."<ref name=freakonomics />

Reich is pro-[[trade union|union]], saying: "Unionization is not just good for workers in unions, unionization is very, very important for the economy overall, and would create broad benefits for the United States."<ref>{{ Cite news | first=Robert | last=Reich |url=http://robertreich.org/post/257310148 | title=Why We Need Stronger Unions and How to Get Them | work=Robert Reich's blog | date=January 27, 2009 | access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref> Writing in 2014, he stated that he favors raising the federal minimum wage to $15/hr across three years, believing that it will not adversely impact big business, and will increase higher value worker availability.<ref>{{ cite web | first=Robert | last=Reich | title=Why The Minimum Wage Should Really Be Raised To $15 An Hour |url=http://robertreich.org/post/82134788482 | date=April 8, 2014 | access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref>

Reich also supports an unconditional and [[universal basic income]].<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/3/26/1287365/-Robert-Reich-Universal-Basic-Income-In-The-US-Almost-Inevitable|title=Robert Reich: Universal Basic Income In The US 'Almost Inevitable'|publisher=[[Daily Kos]] |access-date=May 18, 2017}}</ref> On the eve of a [[2016 Swiss referendums#Basic income referendum|June 2016 popular vote in Switzerland on basic income]], he declared that countries will have to introduce this instrument sooner or later.<ref>{{cite news|url=http://www.tagesanzeiger.ch/wirtschaft/der-mittelstand-wird-verschwinden/story/25271560|title=Ohne Grundeinkommen wird es nicht gehen|first=Mit Robert Reich sprach Michael|last=Soukup|date=February 5, 2016|access-date=May 18, 2017|via=www.tagesanzeiger.ch|newspaper=Tages-Anzeiger}}</ref>

While affordable housing has been a central issue in Reich's activism, in July 2020 Reich opposed a high-density development project in his own neighborhood in Berkeley.<ref>{{Cite web|last=Yelimeli|first=Supriya|date=2020-08-07|title=Landmarking fails for 130-year-old Berkeley house in passionate debate over housing, history|url=https://www.berkeleyside.com/2020/08/07/landmarking-fails-for-130-year-old-berkeley-house-in-passionate-debate-over-housing-and-history|access-date=2020-09-18|website=Berkeleyside|language=en-US}}</ref> He supported making a 120-year-old triplex a landmark to prevent the construction of a 10-apartment building, one of which would be [[Covenant (law)|deed restricted]] to be rented to a low income tenant, citing "the character of the neighborhood".<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_LPC/2020-08-06_LPC_ATT%204_1915%20Berryman_Correspondence%20Received.pdf |archiveurl=https://web.archive.org/web/20210618233012/https://www.cityofberkeley.info/uploadedFiles/Planning_and_Development/Level_3_-_LPC/2020-08-06_LPC_ATT%204_1915%20Berryman_Correspondence%20Received.pdf |archivedate=2021-06-18 |title=Preservation of the Payson House |author=Robert B. Reich |work=Correspondence received for 1915 Berryman Landmark Designation application|publisher=City of Berkeley|page=27|date=July 22, 2020|access-date=August 5, 2020 |quote=The character of the neighborhood is anchored by the Payson House [...] If historic preservation means anything, it means maintaining enough of the character of an older neighborhood to remind people of its history and provide continuity with the present. Development for the sake of development makes no sense when it imposes social costs like this.}}</ref> During an interview with [[W. Kamau Bell]] the following month, Reich reaffirmed his support for affordable housing "in every community I've been involved in", and critiqued the development for replacing the house with "condos selling for one and a half million dollars each".<ref>{{cite AV media |title=The Reshaping of the Democratic Party: W. Kamau Bell and Robert Reich |url=https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fudqd2lfjQc | archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/varchive/youtube/20211117/fudqd2lfjQc| archive-date=2021-11-17 | url-status=live|publisher=Youtube |minutes=13:50 |quote=I'm a big advocate for affordable housing in every community I've been involved in. You got some developers down my street that are posing as affordable housing developers but actually what they're doing is taking down old buildings and putting up these high rises or townhouses and condos selling for one and half million dollars each and pretending they're low income[...] Those old buildings had renters who were low income, and replacing them with these townhouses selling well over a million dollars and getting subsidies? When is 1.4 million dollars affordable? [...] I am for affordable housing in Berkeley, and I've spent a huge amount of time and effort trying to push for affordable housing, and I'm pushing the Mayor for affordable housing, but I am not for developers who are pretending to be about affordable housing. |date=August 5, 2020}}{{cbignore}}</ref><ref>{{cite web
 |url=https://github.com/kevinburke/1915-berryman/blob/master/2020-05-26-initial-project-application.pdf
 |title=Zoning Project Application for 1915 Berryman St.
 |date=May 26, 2020
 |via=[[GitHub]]
 |page=29
 |publisher=City of Berkeley Planning Department
 |access-date=August 6, 2020
 }}</ref>

Although a supporter of Israel, Reich has criticized Israel's [[Israeli settlement|settlement building]] in the occupied [[Palestinian territories]].<ref>{{cite news |title=Former US secretary: Netanyahu speech 'poisoning' ties |url=https://www.timesofisrael.com/former-us-secretary-netanyahu-speech-poisoning-ties/ |work=The Times of Israel |date=1 March 2015}}</ref> More recently, Reich has spoken out against the "bloodbath" in Gaza, and declared "we must restrict U.S. arms sales to Israel."<ref>{{Cite AV media |url=https://www.facebook.com/RBReich/videos/why-we-must-restrict-us-arms-sales-to-israel/933933118514673/ |title=25K views · 1.6K reactions {{!}} Why We Must Restrict U.S. Arms Sales to Israel {{!}} There comes a time when America must stand up even to our closest allies when those allies are in the wrong. That time is now. {{!}} By Robert Reich {{!}} Facebook |language=en |access-date=2024-10-21 |via=www.facebook.com}}</ref>{{better source needed|date=January 2025}}

In September 2005, Reich testified against [[John G. Roberts|John Roberts]] at his confirmation hearings for [[Chief Justice of the United States Supreme Court]].

On April 18, 2008, Reich endorsed [[Barack Obama]] for President of the United States.<ref>{{cite web |title=Obama for President |url=http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-for-president.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080421040320/http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/04/obama-for-president.html |work=Robert Reich's Blog |via=BlogSpot |date=April 18, 2008 |archive-date=April 21, 2008 |access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref> During the 2008 primaries, Reich published an article that was critical of the Clintons, referring to Bill Clinton's attacks on Barack Obama as "ill-tempered and ill-founded", and accusing the Clintons of waging "a smear campaign against Obama that employs some of the worst aspects of the old politics".<ref>{{cite web |title=Bill Clinton's Old Politics |url=http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/01/bill-clintons-old-politics.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080127104359/http://robertreich.blogspot.com/2008/01/bill-clintons-old-politics.html |work=Robert Reich's Blog |via=BlogSpot |date=January 24, 2008 |archive-date=January 27, 2008 |access-date=July 29, 2018}}</ref>
[[File:Robert Reich - 2021.jpg|thumb|Reich in 2021]]
Reich endorsed [[Bernie Sanders]] for President of the United States in 2016, and both Sanders and [[Elizabeth Warren]] in 2020.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/robert-reich-bernie-sanders-endorsement-bill-clinton-hillary-secretary-of-labor|title=Former secretary of labor endorses Sanders|work=TheHill|date=February 27, 2016|access-date=February 27, 2016|archive-date=February 28, 2016|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160228044146/http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/presidential-races/robert-reich-bernie-sanders-endorsement-bill-clinton-hillary-secretary-of-labor|url-status=dead}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=America's Next President: Warren Sanders |url=https://robertreich.org/post/189708348725 |work=Robert Reich's Blog |date=December 16, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite tweet |last=Reich |first=Robert |user=RBReich |number=1232771608739074048 |title=The best way for Democrats to defeat Trump's fake anti-establishment populism is with the real thing, coupled with an agenda of systemic reform. This is what @BernieSanders offers.|date=February 26, 2020 |access-date=August 5, 2020}}</ref> After Sanders ended his 2016 campaign, Reich urged Sanders's supporters to back eventual Democratic nominee Hillary Clinton.<ref name="DEMOCRACYNOW">{{cite web |url=http://www.democracynow.org/2016/8/4/as_green_party_convention_opens_watch | title=Chris Hedges vs. Robert Reich on Clinton, Third Parties, Capitalism & Next Steps for Sanders Backers | work=[[Democracy Now!]] | date=August 4, 2016 | access-date=January 8, 2019}}</ref>

On May 31, 2020, Reich declared that "by having no constructive response to any of the monumental crises now convulsing America, [[Donald Trump|Trump]] has abdicated his office."<ref>Reich, Robert, ''[https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2020/may/31/donald-trump-coronavirus-pandemic-george-floyd-minneapolis-tweets Fire, pestilence, and a country at war with itself: the Trump presidency is over]'', The Guardian, May 31, 2020</ref> Since at least 2021, Reich has publicly supported President [[Donald Trump]]'s removal from [[Twitter]] and other social media platforms.<ref name="ReichGuardian">{{cite web |last1=Reich |first1=Robert |title=Elon Musk's vision for the internet is dangerous nonsense|url=https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2022/apr/12/elon-musk-internet-twitter |website=The Guardian |language=en |date=12 April 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last1=Reich |first1=Robert |title=Accountability for the Attempted Coup (VIDEO) |url=https://yubanet.com/opinions/robert-reich-accountability-for-the-attempted-coup-video/ |website=YubaNet |date=12 January 2021}}</ref> In an April 2022 op-ed published on ''[[The Guardian]]'', he criticized [[Elon Musk]]'s [[Elon Musk purchase of Twitter|efforts to take over Twitter]], opining that the "[[libertarian]] vision of an 'uncontrolled' internet" is "dangerous rubbish".<ref name="ReichGuardian" />

In 2022, Reich called [[Florida governor|Florida Governor]] [[Ron DeSantis]] a "[[Fascism|fascist]]".<ref>{{Cite web |last=Black |first=Eric |date=2022-08-31 |title=A liberal's experiment in calling DeSantis a 'fascist' and what it says about labels |url=https://www.minnpost.com/eric-black-ink/2022/08/a-liberals-experiment-in-calling-desantis-a-fascist-and-what-it-says-about-labels/ |access-date=2022-09-01 |website=MinnPost |language=en-US}}</ref>

In October 2023, Reich authored ''The last adult in the room''. In the essay, he characterized [[Joe Biden]] as, "shrewd, careful, and calibrated" and expressed gratitude that Biden "is in charge" at a time "when the kids are on a rampage".<ref>Reich, Robert, ''[https://robertreich.substack.com/p/the-last-adult-in-the-room The last adult in the room]'', Robert Reich Daily Newsletter, Substack, October 19, 2023</ref>