Posted on 08/20/2026 7:38:55 AM PDT by Presbyterian Reporter
Dear Scott (if I may).
Last Monday, you criticized me, arguing that McDonald’s problems are instead due to competition from rivals like Burger King.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent @SecScottBessent McDonald's problem is called Burger King, Professor. No wonder Bill Clinton fired you.
UC Berkeley should too, if that’s what passes for “research.” Robert Reich @RBReich 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.
(By the way, Scott, Bill Clinton didn’t fire me and Berkeley won’t, either. But your boss has a well-recorded tendency to fire his Cabinet secretaries, so I’d be careful if I were you.)
In a recent interview on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” you even declared that the U.S. economy is no longer in a K shape: “I got sick of hearing about this K-shaped economy. I can say here definitively, the K-shaped economy is over.”
As a former Cabinet secretary, I hope you won’t mind if I’m candid with a current one. Scott, your analysis is full of shite. It’s still a K-shaped economy.
Lower-income workers continue to struggle with stagnant wages and inflation, while high-income workers are riding high on the wealth effects of the stock market. Real wages may be growing slightly more for low income than high income, but the booming stock market is mostly benefiting the high income.
Widening inequalities are partly due to policies you and your boss in the Oval Office have been pursuing — especially your tariffs and war in Iran, both of which have been pushing prices upward and imposing a far greater burden on lower-income than high-income Americans.
(Excerpt) Read more at robertreich.substack.com ...
----
I noted in Reich's rant that he NEVER mentioned the invasion of low-income workers into the USA during the Biden regime.
The low income workers in the USA were clobbered by the Biden invasion.
Whereas, the high income workers in the USA benefited from the Biden invasion by employing cheap housemaid, gardeners, and other low skill jobs.
Here is Bessant’s response to Reich’s Rant-—
“””Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent
Treasury Department
@SecScottBessent
Once again, the professor has come up short…
His latest screed is an impressive display of economic prestidigitation.
He concedes that wages are growing faster for low-income workers and then attempts to bury that dispositive fact beneath nearly 2,000 words.
Bank of America data show that spending among lower- and middle-income households has converged toward levels at the top as they lead labor market gains.
Professor Reich has a documented history of “inventing dialogue” when the truth doesn’t fit his narrative, a habit that forced him to rewrite his memoir after the media exposed his fabrications. Burger King appears not to be the only one who peddles “Whoppers.”
As I do not like “punching down,” this will be the last response to his four-decade pattern of packaging falsehoods as fact.””””
Dude’s a delusional Clintonian Commie.
Has Bessent responded yet? If he does, it will be one for the ages. Stephen Miller would have fun with it too.
Scott Bessent’s response:
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent @SecScottBessent
·
23h
Once again, the professor has come up short…
His latest screed is an impressive display of economic prestidigitation.
He concedes that wages are growing faster for low-income workers and then attempts to bury that dispositive fact beneath nearly 2,000 words.
Bank of America data show that spending among lower- and middle-income households has converged toward levels at the top as they lead labor market gains.
Professor Reich has a documented history of “inventing dialogue” when the truth doesn’t fit his narrative, a habit that forced him to rewrite his memoir after the media exposed his fabrications. Burger King appears not to be the only one who peddles “Whoppers.”
As I do not like “punching down,” this will be the last response to his four-decade pattern of packaging falsehoods as fact.
https://x.com/SecScottBessent/status/2090097968158278106?s=20
Robert B Reiccchhhhssshh?
Who knew this Oompa Loompa was still alive?
Oops...I’m too slow this morning.
Notice in Reich’s data that the gap trend stalled shortly after Trump 45 and started to reverse immediately prior to COVID-19, then took off again with COVID-19 and Biden - and now looks like it might be stalling again - hopefully to reverse. But, hey, let’s blame it on people not buying McDonalds. Brilliant.
How about we raise the minimum wage and give those struggling workers "access to the middle class" - as Gavin Newsom promised when he raised the minimum wage for fast food workers to $20/hour.
Federal Data Reports: "Seasonally adjusted data from the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) has been cited in reports showing losses ranging from 10,000 to over 36,000 jobs between the law's signing in September 2023 and mid-2025."
“Come up short”
“Punching down”
Bessent is a troll master LOL.
Sorry Robert, but as always, your case comes up a little short.
All 57 inches of him!
Otoh, Bessent’s retort was biting, hilarious and spot on.
https://twitchy.com/gordon-k/2026/08/19/diminutive-commie-cut-down-to-size-scott-bessent-takes-robert-reich-down-a-notch-n2431455
Did he really say “come up short” ?
Cantillon effect: Big Government problem
Most people think of inflation as a uniform event: prices rise, and everyone feels it equally. The Cantillon Effect challenges that assumption. When new money enters an economy, it doesn’t appear in every bank account simultaneously. It flows in through specific channels, typically banks, government contractors, and financial institutions, and then spreads outward over time. The people and institutions closest to that entry point get to spend the new money before prices adjust. They’re effectively buying goods and assets at yesterday’s prices with tomorrow’s money.
By the time the money reaches ordinary workers and consumers through wages, small business revenue, and everyday spending, prices have already risen to reflect the larger money supply. The later you receive the new money, the less it’s worth when it finally reaches you. This is the core of Cantillon’s insight: changes in the money supply don’t wash evenly across the economy. They ripple outward step by step, redistributing wealth along the way.”
There is no end to the imagination of Big Government on ways to spend money they don’t have. Endless proposals for grants for programs to address all our problems yet very little reaches to root cause. Folks closest to the source are making all the money.
Add to that the Democrats' preference for more expensive energy, i.e. they love expensive "green" electric power over cheap coal and nat gas and oppose oil drilling which lowers gasoline prices. Generally, Democrats love massive regulations that increase the prices of many things. Take a look at California as a proof of the effects of massive regulations. Those are the elephants in the room that the Reich ignores.
Reich also ignores the little detail that inflation hit the highest level in decades under Biden.
Nice takedown by Bessent!
Robert Reiiiiiiccccccccccccchhhhhhh uh. I miss Limbaugh.
Robert Reich spoke to a seminar class in the 1990’s. He had a basic script. Once Q&A began, he was lost. The majority of questions were “softballs” that he stumbled with. Difficult and informed questions were completely over his head.
It was embarrassing at several levels. Later, even our generally liberal professor sort of laughed as he made excuses for Reich’s poor showing.
Read his name as pronounced by Rush Limbaugh.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.