The Biggest Economic Lies We’re Told | Robert Reich

The High Cost of Living in America

This section discusses the high cost of living in America and how it affects people's ability to afford basic necessities.

The Cost of Cars and Housing

• Big oil companies are making record profits while Americans pay high prices for gas.

• The average price of a new non-luxury car is over $44,000, which is much higher than it used to be even accounting for inflation.

• The median price for a house is now over $440,000 compared to under $200,000 in 1972.

Basic Necessities Are Unaffordable

• People who work full-time minimum wage jobs cannot afford rent on a one-bedroom apartment anywhere in the United States.

• After paying for basic living expenses like food, housing, and utilities, there is often little left from the paycheck.

• Using credit cards to cover monthly costs has become more expensive due to interest rate hikes.

Flawed Measures of Economic Success

• Standard measures like jobs, the stock market, and GDP do not show how well the economy is doing or who benefits from it.

• Productivity has grown nearly four times as fast as hourly pay over the past 40 years.

• More economic growth going to the richest 1% does not benefit everyone equally.

• Corporations have record profits while working Americans are paid less despite being more productive than ever before.

Monopolies Drive Up Prices

• Giant corporations monopolizing their markets can easily coordinate price hikes and enjoy bigger profits.

• Just four firms control 85% of all beef, 66% of all pork, and 54% of all poultry production.

• Weak antitrust enforcement has allowed companies to become powerful enough to raise their prices across the entire food industry.

• Giant companies like Procter and Gamble blame price hikes on increased costs while their profit margins soar.

Kitchen Table Economics

• Traditional measures of economic health do not reflect everyday concerns like income earned from jobs or quality of life.

The Concentration of Wealth

In this section, the speaker discusses how wealth has concentrated at the top over the last 40 years and how it leads to political power.

Wealth Concentration

• Over the last 40 years, wealth has concentrated more and more at the very top.

• With wealth comes political power.

Economic Growth and Its Costs

In this section, the speaker talks about how economic growth should not be measured solely by GDP but also by its costs.

Measuring Economic Growth

• Instead of looking just at economic growth, we need to look at what that growth is costing us.

• Subtracting the costs of climate crisis, bad health, no paid leave, and all stresses on our lives that economic growth is demanding.

• We need to look at the quality of our lives - all our lives.

Quality of Life

• We need to look at how many of us are adequately housed and clothed and fed.

• How many kids are getting a good education?

• How many of us live in safety or in fear?

Conclusion: Measuring Economic Success

In this section, the speaker concludes by stating that measuring economic success should involve going to kitchen tables across America.

Measuring Economic Success

• To measure economic success, go to kitchen tables across America.