A lot of attention has been going to social values - abortion, gay rights, other divisive issues - but economic values are equally important.

In 2003 he was elected the Professor of the Year by the undergraduate student body. In 2008 Time Magazine named him one of the Ten Best Cabinet Members of the century and The Wall Street Journal in 2008 placed him sixth on its list of the "Most Influential Business Thinkers". In it Reich explained how America's widening inequality had contributed to the great recession and made it difficult for the economy to recover by undermining the purchasing power of the middle class relative to the nation's productive capacity.

He has also been a contributing editor of The New Republic The American Prospect (also chairman and founding editor) Harvard Business Review The Atlantic The New York Times and The Wall Street Journal. The Robert Reich - Jacob Kornbluth film "Inequality for All" won a U. Reich is a political commentator on programs including Hardball with Chris Matthews This Week with George Stephanopoulos CNBC's Kudlow & Company and APM's Marketplace.