Bernie Sanders, Fear or Love him?

To feel or not to feel the Bern? Do you love or fear him, the topics he addresses, the labels he’s been given, or is it really just what he represents? What’s the value of true integrity in the current political landscape? Decades of proven, unquestionable civil activeness. Unshaken values, stances and beliefs, that have always been ahead of our ever-changing society. Standing and speaking against racial inequality, sexual discrimination, economic corruption, environmental negligence, failing healthcare, a corrupt justice system along with many other very relevant and pressing issues.  As time has pressed on, since his years behind Martin Luther King Jr., we have seen society catching up to his long held ideals. It continues to progress slowly, but surely. His fight, a shared fight, for Civil Rights has come far, just not far enough.Let’s go ahead and establish that Bernie Sanders carries Democratic Socialist principles but lets not attempt to label him a 3rd world Socialist. And YES, there is a defined and cognitive difference. For the record, I do not subscribe to a political party.

Democratic socialists along with vast and diverse array of Bernie Sanders supporters do not want to create an all-powerful government bureaucracy. They do not want big corporate bureaucracies to control our society either. They believe that the workers and consumers who are entirely affected by economic institutions should own and help direct them.

They generally do not agree with the current capitalist practice that poverty or greed are the primary reasons people work. People can enjoy their work if it is meaningful and improves their lives. Rather a combination of social, economic and moral incentives can easily motivate people to work. The responsibility should be placed on the employer to make work desirable by raising wages, offering benefits,  home/work balance and improving the work environment. Enriching the lives of employees creates better employees. Happy, empowered employees increase quality of work as well as higher levels of productivity.

With that being said, everyone has their own mix of ideals. We can’t truly generalize or paint whole groups or even individuals in broad strokes, though we always seem to try. That goes for most anything, in our world of establishing labels and choosing sides. Forced to play the name game one way or another. It’s a powerful divisive tool.

Democracy and socialism, by most examples, go hand in hand. Throughout the world, wherever the idea of democracy has taken root, ideals of socialism have taken hold along with it. But in the United States, we have been groomed differently. We utilize it but have been told to fear it at the same time. In the U.S., capitalist elites have no choice but to fear democratic socialist ideals, humanist ideals. It threatens the very kingdoms they have built on the backs of the many. Because of this, many false ideas about democratic socialist ideals, labeling anything of the sort as socialism, They have purposefully been nurtured in our society for decades. This however is not saying there isn’t benefit to capitalism, surely it has its merits. But capitalist oppression is another thing, and it is a living, breathing problem.

Bernie Sanders shares Capitalist ideals coupled with the wisdom that the destructive excesses of extremely rich and powerful men, who control the economy virtually un-ruled with no consequential accountability, need drastic regulation/oversight. With the belief that Trickle Down Economics, tax breaks for the rich, the hoarding of wealth and free reign over economic influence is not working for society or our economy. Can we agree on that?Between 1949-1953, the top 10% of the population held 20% of the wealth, with the remaining 90% possessing 80% of the wealth. Now, the top 10% own over 120% of the wealth. In just over 60 years look how the scales have tipped. This is supposed to be sound economics? Does it not seem that government use of OUR tax money as well as, economic control and distribution of wealth need to be re-designed, channeled into more fruitful, just, wise and balanced placement? In a way that actually benefits and supports WE THE PEOPLE, the entire economy, infrastructure and social climate of this country? Which is, by most opinions, in peril.

As a country we have the need, responsibility and should have the desire to create more opportunities for success, to raise the minimum wage and secure equal pay regardless of gender/sex. To invest in higher education, quality healthcare, healthy food, a balanced judicial system and police oversight. Need we not take bigger steps in moving from fossil fuel to renewable energy, breaking up the big banks, implementing tax reform to close corporate loopholes/profiteering and so on? Rather than allowing a corrupted Wall Street along with Big Banks, Oversized Corporations and compromised politicians to continue as they have?
Corporate Welfare: Since 2000, the government has given over $68 Billion in business grants and tax credits. 2/3 of that has gone to large corporations, with transportation and energy being the biggest beneficiaries.

Some of the largest corporations (Ex. Walmart) encourage their employees to use food stamps and various social programs. Because they can’t afford to pay a living wage?

Walmart made 482.2 billion after taxes and overhead in 2015. That’s enough to buy 3,213,333 houses at $150,000 a piece and if they do this every year, in a decade they could purchase over 32,000,000 homes or pay 6 month’s rent (at $700.00 a month) for every family in America. If Walmart paid every American minimum wage employee $15 an hour they would still clear $438,329,000,000. If they included oversea employees they would still net $416,480,000,000. Imagine, that’s paying 2.1 million employees $15 an hour and still clearing over 416 billion dollars.

How’s that for capitalism? Socialist programs are fine with the rich as long as it benefits the rich?! Our country is being run like a corporation.

Minimum Wage Verses Living Wage

The living wage is a wage allowing a person to live affordably without state or federal assistance. Minimum wage is the minimal wage an employer can pay an employee. There is a federal minimum wage of $7.50 an hour, leaving the option for each state to raise their minimum wage above the federal standard. Minimum wage would be equalized by basing it on the cost of living in each state. A living wage should have an automatic increase based on the the cost of living increase.

The map above shows the hourly wage a full-time worker would need to afford rent for a 2-bedroom unit in every state. The government calculates poverty, inflation, and benefits on the presumption that renters will spend 30% of their income on housing cost. If you rent in the U.S., there’s a strong likelihood you’re actually spending above 30% of your income on rent.

The map below shows how many hours a person would need to work, per week, at the federal minimum wage to afford rent for a 1-bedroom unit in each state. These numbers calculated by Out Of Reach, a program from the National Low-Income Housing Coalition. They have been focused on the problem of rent affordability since 1989.

Wall Street Bailout – The Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008

After Wall Street nearly crumbled the economy, this act authorized the United States Secretary of the Treasury to spend up to $700 billion to purchase distressed assets, especially mortgage-backed securities, and supply cash directly to banks.

Both foreign and domestic banks were included in the program. Paid for by U.S, Tax Dollars. It was proposed by, then Treasury Secretary, Henry Paulson during the global financial crisis of 2008. It was signed into law by President George W. Bush on October 3, 2008.

The price tag for the Wall Street bailout was put at $700 billion—the size of the Troubled Assets Relief Program. But, TARP is just the head of the body of money paid out or set aside by the Treasury Department and Federal Reserve. By October of 2009, only one year later, the total cost of the bailout reached $14.4 Trillion.

Which translates to our tax dollars bailing out wealthy criminals after they virtually destroyed the economy, bankrupted people and ruined lives. Yet they suffered barely a slap on the wrist, no real judicial consequence, carried on with their amassing wealth and power. Corporate executives only have to answer to themselves and a few wealthy stockholders, while making basic economic decisions affecting millions of people, potentially the world. Resources being used to amass wealth for the top of the capitalist food chain, rather than to meet the human and societal needs of our country.

WE pay for destructive corruption on Wall Street and in corporations, with OUR tax money and our consumer habits. While we pay to invade other countries, sacrificing our young in foreign lands and damaging families back home for political and financial gain of the higher ups. Exploiting poverty and the offer of the GI Bill to pool a majority of military enlistees. We are ALL culpable for the well being of our fellow people and communities, as humans and members of society. Whether we heed the call or not.The American Creed, No? Generally, Democratic Socialists possess the belief that society, as well as the economy, should be run more democratically, via uncorrupted democratic process. Co-existing and governing to meet the needs of all of our society, not just the wants of millionaires and billionaires.

1% of the wealthiest men in the world own 42% of the nations wealth. The democratic socialist opposes this logic, as do most of the general public, this is not a radical view. That view isn’t even scary, what we are living in NOW is scary.

8 of the Forbes Top 12 Best Countries for Business operate a Democratic Socialist system: Denmark #1, New Zealand #3, Sweden #5, Canada #6, Norway #7, Finland #10, Netherlands #11, Belgium #12. (The U.S. ranked #18)

The biggest spenders on Welfare? Denmark #1, Sweden #2, Switzerland #6, Finland #8, Netherlands #9.

A majority of Democratic Socialist share the belief that everyone who works deserves a living wage. That veterans, the sick & disabled, elderly and abandon need to be taken care of. The belief that every student deserves a quality education, that every person has the legitimate opportunity to go to college (without debt). That every person pays their suitable share of taxes, that American interest comes first in our trade policies and outsourcing jobs is not in the interest of the people.

We already operate socialist programs throughout our system. Franklin D. Roosevelt (a democratic socialist and perhaps the most popular president in the history of the U.S.), who introduced The New Deal (Unemployment Insurance, Social Security), and Lyndon Johnson instituted things we already utilize but may neglect to recognize the socialist benefits of.

Followed by the 1938 Fair Labor Standards Act – Minimum Wage baseline for pay, 40 Hour Work Week, Child Labor Laws.

 As well, All government, EMS, fire, police, military, hospitals, amber alerts, air travel, driving, water, public schools, public street lights, streets, highways, bridges, public parks, Big Bank bailouts, public libraries, federal disaster relief, Insurance, Money, Patents, Corporate subsidies, department of agriculture, department of transportation, sewer systems, garbage collection, public landfills, public housing, vaccines, welfare, healthcare, Medicaid, veteran healthcare, public defenders, jails/prisons, FEMA, border patrol, the court system, the FCC, the FBI, NASA, Secret Service, Peace Corps, the FDA, federal student loans (that carry high interest that benefit the government and banks), public museums, national monuments, department of energy, national weather service, the EPA, public beaches, PBS, etc. have socialist root.

The Real Bernie Sanders Tax Brackets

Under Bernie’s 10 Year Economic Plan

As you can see, tax raises are directed higher up on the food chain. Not lower. Starting at the $250,00+ range. Even at that, t’s minor increments until the $1 million plus range. There are plenty of people in those ranges who don’t seem to mind it either. If executed as proposed, a long line of economists project:

• Median Income up by $22, 000
• Unemployment down to 3.8% (from 4.9%)
• Poverty down to 6% (from 14.8%)
• Annual GDP Growth up to 5.8% (from 2.4%)

Bernie’s Stance on Major Issues:

1. Campaign Finance – Supports overturning Citizens United. Would require companies to disclose donations to Super PAC’s.
2. Minimum Wage – Supports raising the federal minimum wage to $15 and hour.
3. Immigration – Supports path to citizenship. Supports the DREAM Act. Supports expanding President Obama’s executive actions on immigration.
4. Keystone Pipeline – Opposes it.
5. Climate Change – Proposes eliminating tax breaks for fossil-fuel companies. Wants to tax coal-powered plants. In 2010, proposed providing incentives to create 10 Million roofs with 1 solar panels by 2020.
6. Healthcare – Supports replacing Obamacare with a single-payer healthcare system. Calls for allowing Medicare to negotiate drug prices with pharmaceutical companies. Calls for restoring prescription-drug discounts for seniors. Would allow drug imports from Canada.
7. Gun Control -Supports background checks. Has opposed legislation that allows victims of gun violence to sue manufacturers.
8. College- Wants to make all public colleges tuition-free by taxing Wall Street speculation. Wants to eliminate federal government profit on student-debt repayment.
9. Campus Sex Assault- Calls for sexual-assault prevention programs in high schools and colleges. Co-sponsored a 2015 bill that aims to expand victims’ rights on campus.
10. Marijuana – Supports states right to legalize marijuana without federal intervention.
11. Criminal Justice – Wants to require public reports on police shootings or deaths that happen while in police custody. Wants new rules on “allowable use of force” by police. Wants to abolish private prisons.
12. Body Cameras – Supports mandating body cameras for all officers.
13. Social Security – Wants to expand Social Security by raising marginal income tax-rate.
14.  Finance – Supports reinstating legislation similar to the Glass Steagall Act.
15. Wall Street – Supports taxing speculative trading to fund tuition-free college. Supports breaking major financial institutions.
16. Trans Pacific – Opposes it.
17. Isis – Has said that the onus is on countries in those regions to deal with the problem.
18. Syria – Opposes training Syrian rebels to fight ISIS. Opposes a no-fly zone.
19. Afghanistan – Calls for withdrawing troops.

Amidst the anti-Bernie social chatter, is the notion that he is only supported by “spoiled”, “self entitled” millennial’s and people looking for handouts. In reality, the spectrum of his supporters is comprised of a wide impressive range of incomes, ages, walks of life, ethnicity, religious beliefs and levels of education. It’s ironic that for so many years, society had struggled with inspiring young people to vote. To motivate people to be involved in the political process. Now that it is coming to fruition, young people are being labeled entitled and stupid for who they agree/identify with? I remember my generation recognizing the failures of the preceding and the things we would have to overcome. We are standing in it now. So what many of these young people see is what is coming next if it keeps going the way it has. They have to live in the world we create.

Whether or not an individual likes or dislikes Bernie Sanders or the people who identify with him, if we don’t listen to the voices of the next generation, their concerns, their insights, their struggles and their hopes, we are failing the future and our legacy. If we don’t listen to the voices of the elder generations, then we may fail to learn from their lessons and mistakes. It seems that amongst all of the political pandemonium, two ways of thinking pose stealthily; Survival of the Fittest/Everyman for Himself or All for One & One for All/Take Care of Each Other. I guess it’s the baseline of principles and morals each person operates on. The great divide.

Some Known and Influential Bernie Supporters:

• Mark Ruffalo – Actor
• Rosario Dawson – Actress
• Spike Lee – Director
• Neil Young – Musician
• Sarah Silverman – Comedian/Actress
• Will Ferrell – Actor
• Susan Sarandon – Actress/Activist
• Mike “Killer Mike” Render – Rapper/Activist
• Shailene Woodley – Actress
• Terrance “Scarface” Jordan – Rapper
• Steve Wozinack – Co-founder of Apple
• Danny DeVito – Actor
• Josh Hutcherson – Actor
• Luis Guzman – Actor
• David Koechner – Actor
• John C. Reilly – Actor
• Adam McKay – Screenwriter
• Patton Oswalt – Television Personality
• Liz Winstead – Daily Show Writer
• Ben Foster – Actor
• Jon Foster – Actor/Musician
• Ezra Miller – Actor
• Zoe Kravitz – Actress
• Jeremy Piven – Actor
• George Wendt – Actor
• Chris Shiflett – Foo Fighter Guitarist
• Red Hot Chili Peppers – Flea, Anthony Kiedis, Chad Smith and Josh Klinghoffer
• Belinda Carlisle – Singer
• Bonnie Raitt – Singer
• Lucinda Williams – Singer
• Nicholas Britell – Composer (12 Years a Slave)
• Hans Zimmer – Composer (The Lion King, The Dark Knight etc.)
• Jeff Tweedy – Wilco
• Thurston Moore – Sonic Youth
• Cornel West – Philosopher
• Patch Adams – Physician who inspired the Robin Williams movie
• Ben Cohen – Activist/Entrepreneur
• Juliette Lewis  Actress
• Justin Long  Actor
• Breckin Meyer  Actor
• Zach Sciacca  DJ Z-Trip
• Serj Tankian  System of a Down