Robert Reich: Customers Create Jobs
on Monday, November 3, 2014Former Secretary of Labor Robert Reich Money Quotation saying that the lie of trickle-down theory was effective until we learned it didn’t work. Robert Reich said:
“Corporations don’t create jobs, customers do. So when all the economic gains go to the top, as they’re doing now, the vast majority of Americans don’t have enough purchasing power to buy the things corporations want to sell — which means businesses stop creating enough jobs” — Robert Reich
In this quote, Robert Reich is arguing that businesses do not create jobs primarily due to their own initiative or generosity, but rather because there is sufficient customer demand for their products and services.
He asserts that when economic gains are disproportionately concentrated at the top of income distribution, as has been occurring, most Americans do not have adequate purchasing power to buy what corporations are selling.
Reich implies this lack of purchasing power from average consumers then leads businesses to scale back on job creation since the market for their goods and services is diminished.
Overall, he is contending that inequality is problematic not just as a social or moral issue, but also from an economic perspective since it can undermine job growth if the wealthiest citizens become the sole economic engine driving corporate revenues and employment.