“As public schools deteriorate, the upper-middle class and wealthy send their kids to private ones. As public pools and playgrounds decay, the better-off buy memberships in private tennis and swimming clubs. As public hospitals decline, the well-off pay premium rates for private care.”

American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator

Robert Reich is an American professor, author, lawyer, and political commentator. He served in the administrations of Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter, and later as secretary of labor under President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1997. He was also a member of Barack Obama’s economic transition advisory board. In 2008, Time named him one of the Ten Most Effective Cabinet Members of the century, and The Wall Street Journal ranked him sixth on its list of Most Influential Business Thinkers.