# Robert Reich nails it: This is what this election is about **URL:** \ **Category:** Politics & Elections\ **Created:** [January 27, 2016, 7:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399 "2016-01-27T19:09:58Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 9
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/161 "2016-02-02T21:29:02Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > But in those cases rights were expanded. In this case the proposed amendment would be the first ever to _restrict_ constitutionally protected rights. Wouldn’t take an amendment, merely a reinterpretation, i.e., a reversal of _Buckley v. Valeo._ Which is always a possibility, and no constitutional outrage. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/162 "2016-02-02T21:29:11Z")
I think it also has to do with the fact that most of the actual crimes would have been committed by lower level people. The CEO doesn’t make decisions on what financial instruments to buy or sell. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:30pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/163 "2016-02-02T21:30:31Z")
> [@BrainGlutton](#): > > Wouldn’t take an amendment, merely a reinterpretation, i.e., a reversal of _Buckley v. Valeo._ Which is always a possibility, and no constitutional outrage. There would be plenty of outrage, since it would require liberals to basically overturn themselves for no other reason than that they wanted a certain result. THe 1976 court was not a conservative court. Overturning Citizens United just requires one liberal justice. Overturning Buckley would require a revolution in liberal jurisprudence. Such a court would more accurately be called a “statist court”, not a liberal court. Any justices willing to do such violence to the Buckley precedent would probably also be willing to countenance government regulations on abortion, strike down Miranda, etc. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/164 "2016-02-02T21:38:39Z")
> [@](#): > > …Sure its tough to prove that these incredibly smart guys didn’t know they were buying crap, repackaging it and then selling it again but if you only take the easy cases then you only catch the stupid criminals. (post shortened to demonstrate the use of ellipsis (…). You’re welcome.) A conspiracy of ignorance and stupidity. All those guys saw all those other guys making a bundle selling stuff that they knew was crap. Then their boss calls to ask why they aren’t making him any money. Then the ratings say that its triple A solid gold, sell it to your grandmother with a clear conscience. Great, now fiduciary types with pension funds to nourish could get in on the action! When was it, perzackly? When economics geeks were fretting about signs of an economic slowdown, and Geedub came out with “Not to worry! The real estate market is _gangbusters_, get in now before you lose your chance! Free money, and lots of it! Going like a house afire!..” ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:39pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/165 "2016-02-02T21:39:24Z")
However you spin it, Bernie authored an amendment that, if enacted, would be the first ever to restrict constitutionally protected rights. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/166 "2016-02-02T21:40:29Z")
Not to mention it was self-nullifying because it included a press exemption. Sanders evidently doesn’t know that all Americans have freedom of the press. Unless of course he meant the corporate media, which would pretty much expose modern leftism for the insane contradiction it is. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:42pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/167 "2016-02-02T21:42:27Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > I think it also has to do with the fact that most of the actual crimes would have been committed by lower level people. The CEO doesn’t make decisions on what financial instruments to buy or sell. Really? Wow, didn’t know that. But you do! I guess that settles that, then. ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/168 "2016-02-02T21:45:37Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > (post shortened to demonstrate the use of ellipsis (…). You’re welcome.) > > A conspiracy of ignorance and stupidity. All those guys saw all those other guys making a bundle selling stuff that they knew was crap. Then their boss calls to ask why they aren’t making him any money. Then the ratings say that its triple A solid gold, sell it to your grandmother with a clear conscience. Great, now fiduciary types with pension funds to nourish could get in on the action! > > When was it, perzackly? When economics geeks were fretting about signs of an economic slowdown, and Geedub came out with “Not to worry! The real estate market is _gangbusters_, get in now before you lose your chance! Free money, and lots of it! Going like a house afire!..” Don’t leave out the consumers who signed up for loans they should have known would never be paid back. It wasn’t hard to convince people to use their homes as magic money machines. In the Mid West, in 2006, you could hardly turn around without tripping over a pack of brand new $35,000 Harley Davidsons. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/169 "2016-02-02T21:52:41Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Really? Wow, didn’t know that. But you do! I guess that settles that, then. Yes, the CEO micromanaged his Fortune 500 company to the extent that he was making decisions on buying and selling literally thousands, perhaps millions, of financial instruments. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/170 "2016-02-02T21:53:44Z")
> [@Hank\_Beecher](#): > > Don’t leave out the consumers who signed up for loans they should have known would never be paid back. It wasn’t hard to convince people to use their homes as magic money machines. In the Mid West, in 2006, you could hardly turn around without tripping over a pack of brand new $35,000 Harley Davidsons. Well, then, a stern moral lesson is learned! Luckily, the guys who sold it to them didn’t need a stern moral lesson, lot of them took an Ethics class in business school. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:54pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/171 "2016-02-02T21:54:36Z")
And the guys who sold it to them were the CEOs themselves! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 9:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/172 "2016-02-02T21:55:55Z")
> [@adaher](#): > > Yes, the CEO micromanaged his Fortune 500 company to the extent that he was making decisions on buying and selling literally thousands, perhaps millions, of financial instruments. Wasn’t talking about reviewing every piece of paper in the office. But you knew that, and said it anyway. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:02pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/173 "2016-02-02T22:02:03Z")
I agree that CEOs could be subject to criminal liability, but prosecutors would be on much firmer ground prosecuting actual crimes committed by people who actually defrauded other people or organizations. But that’s not glamorous, plus I doubt the public has much stomach for sending thousands of people to jail. We want scapegoats, dammit, not real justice! ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 10:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/174 "2016-02-02T22:03:40Z")
What happened to the other **adaher**? ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 11:04pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/175 "2016-02-02T23:04:44Z")
It’s not fair that the Catholic Church can reach more people than a Satanic Cult. Outside of flapping your gums most of the rights redundantly protected by the 1st and 10th amendments require some money or labor to exercise. Religion, press, assembly, and petition can’t be made strictly equal for each individual. Nor should the attempt be made. ---
**Author:** ![elucidator](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/8edcca/32.png) [@elucidator](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/elucidator)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 11:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/176 "2016-02-02T23:12:47Z")
Well, OK, if not strictly equal how about roughly equal? Unless you don’t like that either, then why say “strictly”? ---
**Author:** ![Hank\_Beecher](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hank_beecher/32/7275_2.png) [@Hank\_Beecher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Hank_Beecher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 11:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/177 "2016-02-02T23:16:17Z")
Because there has to be some strict definition of “roughly equal” for your government censor to eyeball off of. ---
**Author:** ![adaher](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/dec6dc/32.png) [@adaher](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/adaher)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 11:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/178 "2016-02-02T23:21:49Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Well, OK, if not strictly equal how about roughly equal? Unless you don’t like that either, then why say “strictly”? It’s a ridiculous concept. You’d have to show me where some other country managed that, because all I see is government media and private media. ---
**Author:** ![octopus](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/octopus/32/3716_2.png) [@octopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/octopus)\ **Post date:** [February 2, 2016, 11:29pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/179 "2016-02-02T23:29:31Z")
> [@elucidator](#): > > Well, OK, if not strictly equal how about roughly equal? Unless you don’t like that either, then why say “strictly”? Don’t like roughly equal either if it’s the government responsible for ensuring that outcome. With the internet practically everyone has a world wide platform. at most I’d advocate universal access to the Internet. ---
**Author:** ![BrainGlutton](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/82dd89/32.png) [@BrainGlutton](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrainGlutton)\ **Post date:** [February 3, 2016, 12:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399/180 "2016-02-03T00:04:41Z")
> [@octopus](#): > > It’s not fair that the Catholic Church can reach more people than a Satanic Cult. Like there’s a difference? 😉 [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399.md?page=8) [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robert-reich-nails-it-this-is-what-this-election-is-about/744399.md?page=10)