here is an overview of Richard A Epstein's review of Robert reich's economic fantasies part one Robert reich's economic fantasies he believes that implementing progressive tax policies and supporting labor unions would be beneficial for those who are economically disadvantaged how optimistic the United States is now experiencing a decline in its overall condition the country's political and economic structure is deteriorating yet there is a lack of consensus on the most effective way to progress in my view the primary causes of sluggish Economic Development and societal dissatisfaction are the elevated levels of taxes and regulation which deplete the creative Vitality of society currently the post is held by a small number of people a loud contingent of progressive intellectuals are advocating for the opposite approach with Robert Reich former Secretary of Labor under Bill Clinton a significant figure among them in his latest publication saving capitalism for the many not the few he advocates for a series of reforms that will severely weaken the American economy a more suitable title for his book may be the inevitable decline of capitalism affecting all Reich is unequivocal in his Central argument which is to advocate for a proactive government that increases taxes on the affluent allocates the resulting funds towards high quality education and other resources necessary for individuals to succeed and distributes resources to those in need according to his perspective the restoration of the prosperous era experienced by his father when union members provided a comfortable life for their children can only be achieved via implementing these changes and further undisclosed methods Reich does not offer any rationale for the occurrence of the Fall still he is satisfied with condemning the myth of the free market and the notion that the government should refrain from interfering in the Affairs of its inhabitants Reich Begins by asserting that it is a fallacy to believe that a free market can exist independently of government intervention to establish property rights regulate monopolies and enforce contractual agreements however he neglects to mention that this same roster of Duties is precisely what classical liberals such as myself attribute to the government as well indeed his list is insufficiently long initially he disregards the significance of government in regulating crime and pollution furthermore he fails to address the constraints that need to be placed on the subsidization of some Enterprises by others moreover he disregards the complex inquiries about the construction and funding of of public infrastructure and the administration of public resources ironically Reich appears to have a limited understanding that a good government is far broader in scope the fundamental distinctions between progressives such as Reich and classical liberals like myself lie in the recognition that markets rely on various forms of State assistance instead the dispute lies in the methods used to produce societal advancements Reich consistently fails in this aspect regarding property rights it is commendable that Reich opposes slavery however it is concerning how he disregards the freedom of individuals to decide which employment offers to accept in the free market the focal point of the matter arises about the minimum wage where Reich optimistically argues that a substantial rise in the minimum wage to $15 per hour from its current rate of $7.25 will primarily result in a redistribution of wealth from affluent CEOs and their shareholders to workers workers can then utilize this additional income to reduce their Reliance on public assistance please like And subscribe to learn more