This guy is as wacky as NJ.
Serious policy should be based on facts, not on anecdotes cherry-picked to match a political agenda. Before sweepingly concluding that the "fabulously wealthy" who "have never worked" are "undermining the moral foundations of American capitalism," Reich should do his homework. His only offered evidence is that "six of today's ten wealthiest Americans [most notably the Wal-Mart Waltons] are heirs to prominent fortunes." Reich, in his usual fashion, simply assumes what he says is true. This is the second time I have had to take Mr. Reich to the woodshed for bad economics.
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Kaplan and Rau study the Forbes 400 richest individuals in the country ranked by Forbes magazine over a third of a century. They find that:Only 32% of the Forbes 400 in 2011 belonged to very rich families, down from 60% in 1982.Those who didn't grow up wealthy but had some money in the family rose by about the same proportions as those from rich families fell.Those who grew up poor remained constant at roughly 20% throughout the same period.Some 69% started their own business in the 2011 survey compared with only 40% in 1982.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/04/16/taking-on-robert-reich-and-the-myth-of-the-non-working-rich/
Serious policy should be based on facts, not on anecdotes cherry-picked to match a political agenda. Before sweepingly concluding that the "fabulously wealthy" who "have never worked" are "undermining the moral foundations of American capitalism," Reich should do his homework. His only offered evidence is that "six of today's ten wealthiest Americans [most notably the Wal-Mart Waltons] are heirs to prominent fortunes." Reich, in his usual fashion, simply assumes what he says is true. This is the second time I have had to take Mr. Reich to the woodshed for bad economics.
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Kaplan and Rau study the Forbes 400 richest individuals in the country ranked by Forbes magazine over a third of a century. They find that:Only 32% of the Forbes 400 in 2011 belonged to very rich families, down from 60% in 1982.Those who didn't grow up wealthy but had some money in the family rose by about the same proportions as those from rich families fell.Those who grew up poor remained constant at roughly 20% throughout the same period.Some 69% started their own business in the 2011 survey compared with only 40% in 1982.
http://www.forbes.com/sites/realspin/2015/04/16/taking-on-robert-reich-and-the-myth-of-the-non-working-rich/
