Posted on 02/13/2002 3:47:32 AM PST by Lance Romance
`Reformer' Reich made $750G on big-biz speeches
Democrat Robert Reich bounded from boardroom to boardroom at $30,000 an hour last year - a speaker's circuit fixture netting more than $750,000 straight from the deep pockets of corporate America, records show. Almost every other week, Reich - who bills himself as a reform-minded outsider in the race for governor - was jetting to big-city conferences for major investment, insurance and consulting firms as the top-dollar featured speaker, his speaking schedule shows. ``I do the speeches because it's very, very easy money,'' the former Clinton administration labor secretary said. ``I am utterly amazed the businesses are willing to pay so much for my economic expertise . . . but, if they want to pay that much, it's a free market, I'm delighted.'' Reich, who released the records at the request of the Herald, usually pocketed $32,000 for a 60-minute speech in addition to first-class airfare, hotel accommodations and meals - all put on the tab of big business. The total payday last year: $752,000 for 25 speeches. As his campaign fashioned a ``grassroots'' bid, Reich was pocketing dough from Ford Motors, Panasonic, Merrill Lynch and Aenta Financial Services. Though several of the companies operate in Massachusetts, Reich campaign manager Mark Longabaugh said there's no conflict. ``I think it's created no obligation on Robert Reich's part and I don't think it would affect his decision-making as governor one iota,'' Longabaugh said. However, the speaking engagements have already interfered with his campaign. On Jan. 26, the Brandeis University economics professor skipped out on a debate hosted by his employer to speak before an IBM business conference in New Orleans. Reich angered the four Democrats in the race by picking the $40,000 speaking gig over the early debate test. At the time, Reich's handlers said the paid speeches show Bay State voters are getting a deal if they elect him to the $135,000-a-year post since he could make that in three hours. But, the records provided to the Herald show he did much more. From Jan. 3 to Dec. 6, Reich traveled to 11 states, including New York, California, Virginia, Illinois and Pennsylvania. Many of his bookings were at the behest of financial service companies. Among them:
Ford brought Reich to Westport, Conn., and Merrill Lynch & Co. got him to San Francisco while Panasonic flew him to its suburban New York City site and investment adviser Capital Resource Advisors brought him to Chicago. Smaller firms also ponied up - including the International Dairy-Deli-Bakery Association and the Greater Washington Society of Association Executives. The former labor secretary said he's been on the speaking circuit since the mid-1980s, always doing about two-dozen per year. Reich declined a Herald request for previous years' speaking fees. Reich's campaign said they couldn't provide an accounting for the airfare, hotels and other costs since they are billed directly to the client by the speaker's bureau. Reich said that all flights for the engagements are first class and that he always stays at ``top hotels,'' certainly adding hundreds of dollars to each out-of-town booking. He said he is booked directly through the Washington Speakers Bureau - a top-flight syndicate with clients from former President Jimmy Carter to Magic Johnson. He said he insists that they book him for no more than 25 speeches each year so that he can teach and write. He was quick to point out that for the 25 paid speeches, he also gave 43 unpaid addresses last year - to groups as small as the Atlanta History Museum and the New York Public Library. He was also keynote speaker at events for MIT and the New England Newspaper Association, of which the Herald is a member. Reich said he doesn't feel beholden to the special interests. ``All I did was give one speech to them, I have no relationship to them whatsoever,'' Reich said. ``I come the night before, I go out, give a speech for an hour and I leave.''
by David R. Guarino
Wednesday, February 13, 2002
It just dawned on me that this is about the corporations covering their bases in the event of ( Ugh ) a Hillary Clinton Presidency in 2004. The thought of that turns my stomach!
His writings are shallow, predicatable, pedantic, and free of any use.
Corporations booking him to speak for stratospheric fees are either stupid (with their shareholders' funds) or believe they are gaining some "edge" in backroom game they have no chance of actually benefiting from.
Either way, they are fools.
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