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"Most Americans Are Getting Poorer": Robert Reich on Inequality & the Failures of Corporate Democrats

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent attacked former labor secretary Robert Reich over his comments on the K-shaped economy, but Reich argues that economic inequality is very much alive and most Americans are experiencing stagnant wages while facing rising inflation.

August 26, 2026

Earlier this month, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent publicly attacked the former labor secretary under President Clinton, Robert Reich. Reich wrote in a post online that "Trump Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said this week the K-shaped economy — the widening economic gap between the rich and the poor — is 'dead.' Hogwash. Not only is the K-shaped economy very much alive, even CEOs are admitting it's a problem." The treasury secretary went on to suggest the University of California, Berkeley should fire Reich.

"There's something in this administration," says Reich. "It's almost a kind of testosterone poisoning in which everybody has to be really nasty, put down everybody else."

Reich goes on to discuss economic inequality, pointing out that while inflation is on the rise, "most Americans are finding that their wages are stagnant … which means that most Americans are getting poorer."

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