Explain what Reich means by "Virtuous and Vicious Cycles." 

1.  
2. Find one example of anecdotal evidence, one of statistical evidence, and one of expert evidence, and describe how Reich uses each of these types of evidence to prove a point. Please integrate short quotes from the film to strengthen your point. To respond to this question, you will need to review the Lecture on Rhetoric and Types of Evidence page mentioned above.
3.  
4. Are you convinced by Reich's thesis? Explain why or why not.
5.  
6. Does he put too much faith in capitalism?
7.  

Some of the statistics that he quotes in the film have changed dramatically since 2013. For example, a study released last year concluded that three men now possess more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans combined. These kinds of stats are always interesting to discuss!

Here's a link to a short article (with links to recent studies and updated stats on wages): https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/aug/17/american-chief-executive-pay-wages-workers?CMP=Share_iOSApp_OtherLinks to an external site.

A good quote from the article:

"Rather than succumb to mainstream accounts that our "labor shortage" is the consequence of welfare-induced idleness, we should have an honest discussion about how we've allowed the essential workers who uphold our standard of living to be abused for so long while the mega-wealthy billionaires whom they work for realize their infantile fantasies of starting colonies in space."

Here's another on income inequality: https://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2020/02/07/6-facts-about-economic-inequality-in-the-u-s/Links to an external site.

Most of us know about this inequality, but Reich asks, "Why is it harmful?"

Economists like Reich have also questioned the need for interest rate hikes to "cool" the economy, stating that the actual reason for rising prices is monopolies; after all, major corporations have been raking in record profits for each of the last three years!