Robert Reich endorses Bernie Sanders
Robert Reich, a political economist who served as secretary of labor in Bill Clinton's administration, endorsed Bernie Sanders for president on Friday.
In a statement, Reich commended Sanders' call for a "political revolution" to "get the nation back from the moneyed interests that now control so much of our economy and democracy."
Reich's endorsement comes after Sanders' domestic policy proposals have come under fire from other former Clinton and Obama administration economists. Four former chairs of the White House Council of Economic Advisers wrote an open letter earlier this month chiding the Sanders campaign for making unrealistic assertions about the impact of his tax and health care plans.
"We are concerned to see the Sanders campaign citing extreme claims... about the effect of Senator Sanders's economic plan -- claims that cannot be supported by the economic evidence," the letter said. "These claims undermine the credibility of the progressive economic agenda and make it that much more difficult to challenge the unrealistic claims made by Republican candidates."
It was signed by Alan Krueger, Austan Goolsbee, and Christina Romer and Laura D'Andrea Tyson.
Reich, meanwhile, said in his statement that the "extraordinary concentration of income, wealth, and political power at the very top imperils all else." He added, "I have the deepest respect and admiration for Hillary Clinton, and if she wins the Democratic primary I'll work my heart out to help her become president. But I believe Bernie Sanders is the agent of change this nation so desperately needs."
