California Free Press

A Message From Bernie

One of the great crises facing the global community today is that democracy, the right of ordinary people to control their own lives, is on the defensive while authoritarianism is growing stronger.

And at its root is the fact that a handful of incredibly wealthy people are exerting enormous economic and political power over the planet. Unbelievably, in the global economy today, the top 1 percent owns more wealth than the bottom 99 percent, and a handful of billionaires own more than the bottom half of people around the world — that’s 3.7 billion people.

That is the reality.

People in our own country, and around the world, are angry and betrayed, and they feel that nobody is listening to their pain.

And one of the results of that reality is that in Europe, in Russia, in the Middle East, in Asia and elsewhere we are seeing movements led by demagogues who exploit people’s fears, prejudices and grievances to achieve and hold on to power.

Next week, Donald Trump is set to welcome one of those leaders into the White House: Hungary’s far-right authoritarian Prime Minister, Viktor Orbán.

Now, I have always found it very strange that Trump has such a hard time getting along with leaders of the world’s major democracies but feels very comfortable with authoritarians like Orbán, Putin, Xi Jinping, Bolsonaro and Mohammad bin Salman.

But the truth is, while they all differ in some respects, they share a number of key attributes: hostility toward democratic norms, antagonism toward a free press, intolerance toward ethnic and religious minorities, and a belief that government should benefit their own selfish financial interests.

This trend certainly did not begin with Trump, but there’s no question that authoritarian leaders around the world have drawn inspiration from the fact that the leader of the world’s oldest and most powerful democracy seems to delight in shattering democratic norms.

Other authoritarian states are much farther along this kleptocratic process. In Russia, it is impossible to tell where the decisions of government end and the interests of Vladimir Putin and his circle of oligarchs begin. They operate as one unit. Similarly, in Saudi Arabia, there is no debate about separation because the natural resources of the state, valued at trillions of dollars, belong to the Saudi royal family. In Hungary, far-right authoritarian leader Viktor Orbán is openly allied with Putin in Russia. In China, an inner circle led by Xi Jinping has steadily consolidated power, clamping down on domestic political freedom while it aggressively promotes a version of authoritarian capitalism abroad.

So the question is: Where do we go from here?

To effectively oppose right-wing authoritarianism, we cannot simply go back to the failed status quo of the last several decades. In order to fight this trend, we need to strengthen the global coalition of progressive democrats.

While authoritarians promote division and hatred, we promote unity, inclusion, and an agenda based on economic, social, racial, and environmental justice.

The people of the world must come together to end the absurdity of rich and multinational corporations stashing over $21 trillion in offshore bank accounts to avoid paying their fair share of taxes and then demanding that their respective governments impose an austerity agenda on their working families.

It is not acceptable that the fossil fuel industry continues to make huge profits while their carbon emissions destroy the planet for our children and grandchildren.

It is not acceptable that a handful of multinational media giants, owned by a small number of billionaires, largely control the flow of information on the planet.

It is not acceptable that trade policies that benefit large multinational corporations and encourage a race to the bottom hurt working people throughout the world as they are written out of public view.

It is not acceptable that, with the Cold War long behind us, countries around the world spend over $1 trillion a year on weapons of destruction, while millions of children die of easily treatable diseases.

In order to effectively combat the rise of the international authoritarian axis, we need a global progressive movement that mobilizes behind a vision of shared prosperity, security and dignity for all people and that addresses the massive inequality that exists, not only in wealth but in political power as well.

Such a movement must be willing to think creatively and boldly about the world that we would like to see.

We must take the opportunity to reconceptualize a genuinely progressive global community based on human solidarity, that recognizes that every person on this planet shares a common humanity, that we all want our children to grow up healthy, to have a good education, have decent jobs, drink clean water, breathe clean air, and live in peace.

Our job is to reach out to those in every corner of the world who share these values and who are fighting for a better world.

In a time of exploding wealth and technology, we have the potential to create a decent life for all people. Our job is to build on our common humanity and do everything that we can to oppose all of the forces, whether unaccountable government power or unaccountable corporate power, who try to divide us up and set us against each other.

We know that those forces work together across borders. We must do the same.

Thank you for reading.

In solidarity,

Bernie Sanders

Sanders Says Biden's "Middle Ground" Approach to Climate Crisis Would "Doom Future Generations"

Published on Friday, May 10, 2019

by Common Dreams

The Vermont senator and 2020 presidential candidate said the U.S. must commit to "fully transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels"

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

26 Comments

"There is no 'middle ground' when it comes to climate policy," said Sen. Bernie Sanders, a 2020 presidential candidate. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

Without mentioning Joe Biden by name, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Friday slammed the centrist climate policy reportedly being crafted by the former vice president's 2020 campaign as a dangerously inadequate approach that would "doom future generations."

"There is no 'middle ground' when it comes to climate policy," the Vermont senator tweeted, quoting from a Reuters report on Biden's efforts to develop a climate plan that would leave the door open to so-called "fossil fuel options."

"If we don't commit to fully transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels, we will doom future generations," wrote Sanders, who is also a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. "Fighting climate change must be our priority, whether fossil fuel billionaires like it or not."

There is no “middle ground” when it comes to climate policy. If we don't commit to fully transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels, we will doom future generations. Fighting climate change must be our priority, whether fossil fuel billionaires like it or not.

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) May 10, 2019

As Common Dreams reported in April, Sanders won praise from environmental groups after he unveiled a sweeping climate agenda calling for a Green New Deal, an end to oil exports, a complete ban on fracking, and a moratorium on all new fossil fuel infrastructure projects.

Environmentalists were not pleased with reports of Biden's middle-of-the-road approach to confronting the climate crisis, which has pushed a million species to the brink of extinction and threatens the future of human civilization.

Echoing Sanders and the chorus of green groups voicing their concerns, Greenpeace USA climate campaigner Charlie Jiang said in a statement, "There is no such thing as a middle ground on climate change."

"We either doom millions of people to climate catastrophe or we don't," said Jiang.

Author and climate activist Naomi Klein also weighed in, tweeting, "there is bold, transformative action or there is sinking ground, burning ground, and churning ground."

No Joe, there is no "middle ground" on climate breakdown - there is bold, transformative action or there is sinking ground, burning ground and churning ground. "Presidential hopeful Biden looking for ‘middle ground’ climate policy" https://t.co/8q2WPzU7w0

— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) May 10, 2019

Climate scientists joined environmentalists in criticizing what is known of Biden's draft plan—which will reportedly center around re-joining the Paris Climate Agreement—as insufficient to the task of dramatically curbing carbon emissions, as the scientific evidence says is necessary to avert planetary disaster.

"The greatest fault in his proposal is the suggestion that natural gas can be part of the solution," Michael Mann, head of the Earth System Science Center at Pennsylvania State University, told HuffPost. "The solution to a problem created by burning fossil fuels cannot be the burning of fossil fuels."

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New CBO Report on Medicare for All Is a Serious and Positive Contribution

Published on Saturday, May 04, 2019

by Common Dreams

Contrary to some press reports, the CBO study should be seen as useful and encouraging to advocates of Medicare for All

by Robert Pollin

 

0 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks while introducing healthcare legislation titled the "Medicare for All Act of 2019" with Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Jeff Merkley (D-Ore.) during a news conference on Capitol Hill, on April 9, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

The Congressional Budget Office issued a report on May 1, 2019 titled "Key Design Components and Considerations for Establishing a Single-Payer Health Care System." This report reviews a range of considerations as regards the design and implementation of a single- payer system as applied to the United States. The Medicare for All bills currently before both the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate, as introduced by Representative Pramila Jayapal and Senator Bernie Sanders respectively, both advocate the adoption of a single-payer system for the U.S.

The CBO report (pdf) properly examines both the positive potential as well as matters of concern in establishing a single-payer system in the U.S. As the report states, "A single-payer system would present both opportunities and risks for the health care system."

Overall, the CBO report, as with all such analyses, needs to address two fundamental issues with respect to the establishment of a single-payer system for the U.S. These are: 1) Is a single-payer system capable of providing good-quality care to all U.S. residents; and 2) Is a single-payer system capable of significantly reducing overall U.S. health care costs while still delivering universal good-quality care? The report does not provide explicit answers, yes or no, to these questions. But it does present a framework for understanding how the U.S. could, in fact, establish a successful single-payer system.

"A single-payer system would provide coverage for the 114 million U.S. residents who are presently either uninsured or underinsured. Healthcare outcomes for these 114 million people—35 percent of the U.S. population—will therefore almost certainly improve under a single-payer system."

 

It is crucial to provide some context for recognizing the potential of a U.S. single- payer system as presented within the CBO report. It is especially illuminating to consider some basic indicators on the operations of the current U.S. health care system in comparison with those of other high-income economies. Thus, as of 2017, the U.S. spent $3.3 trillion on health care. This equaled 17 percent of US GDP, with average spending at about $10,000 per person. By contrast, Germany, France, Japan, Canada, the UK, Australia, Spain and Italy spent between 9 – 11 percent of GDP on health care, averaging between $3,400 - $5,700 per person. Yet, by most measures—including those based on the “amenable mortality rate,” which tracks medically preventable deaths—average health outcomes in all of these countries are superior to those in the UnitedStates.

The most basic cause of this poor U.S. performance is inadequate access to good- quality care. Roughly 9 percent of the U.S. population, 28 million people, are uninsured. Another 26 percent, 86 million people, are underinsured—i.e. they have insurance but are unable to access medical care because their deductibles or co-pays are prohibitively high. A large share of the remaining 65 percent of the population who are adequately insured still face high costs as well as anxiety over whether they could manage financially when they face any serious health issue.

Within this context, how, then, does the CBO assess the prospects for a U.S. single-payer system delivering good-quality universal coverage as well as significantly reduced overall health-care spending? We can summarize their perspectives briefly.

Good-quality universal coverage

The CBO is clear, first of all, that a single-payer system would achieve universal coverage, in dramatic contrast with our present system. The report states, "People who are currently uninsured would receive coverage and some people who are currently insured could receive additional benefits under the single-payer system, depending on its design." In other words, a single-payer system would provide coverage for the 114 million U.S. residents who are presently either uninsured or underinsured. Healthcare outcomes for these 114 million people—35 percent of the U.S. population—will therefore almost certainly improve under a single-payer system.

The CBO does not take an explicit position as to whether a single-payer system will also deliver benefits for the 65 percent of the population which presently has full health-insurance coverage. On the one hand, the report does note both the prospects for both improved outcomes as well as reduced costs as regards this population cohort, observing that:

Unlike private insurers, which can experience substantial enrollee turnover over time, a single-payer system without that turnover would have a greater incentive to invest in measures to improve people’s health and in preventive measures that have been shown to reduce costs.

It is also the case that both the Jayapal and Sanders bills offer more extensive coverage than is currently provided under a typical employer-sponsored policy, including significant support for long-term care. Expanding coverage in such ways should further improve overall health outcomes for those already insured. But the CBO also recognizes that the expansion of coverage to the uninsured and underinsured will entail increased overall demands on the country’s supply of health care resources. It is therefore possible, as the report notes, that this could produce shortages in terms of availability of providers, which, in turn, could mean reductions in quality of care. This is a legitimate issue which the CBO has properly highlighted.

More specifically, the single-payer system will need to be capable of establishing measures through which the provision of provider services can increase to match the increased demand resulting from universal coverage. I examined this question in depth in a 200-page peer-reviewed study with co-authors released last November, "Economic Analysis of Medicare for All." In our study, we conclude that a single-payer system will produce major reductions in the administrative burdens throughout the whole health-care system. The CBO report also recognizes this prospect for major reductions in administrative burdens under single-payer. These dramatic cuts in administration will then mean significantly less paperwork for doctors and nurses, freeing them to spend more time treating patients. On balance, our study concluded that this effective increase in the providers’ available time to treat patients should roughly match the increased demand for their services resulting from universal coverage.

Reducing Health-Care Costs

Much of the CBO report is focused around specific issues in designing the payment system. These include: provider payment methods; global budgets; capitated payments; payment rates for providers; and the setting of prescription drug prices. These are all critical concerns, and the CBO report is now a valuable resource in summarizing them. But the report does not take a position as to whether a U.S. single-payer system will be able to successfully control costs. Rather, the study concludes that:

The cost of a single-payer system would depend on various design choices such as the services covered, cost-sharing requirements, and provider payment rates.

In addition to those design choices, policymakers could consider using two other techniques to contain the growth of government spending on the single-payer plan and total health care spending: global budgets and utilization management. (p.26)

The CBO assessment here is indisputable. It is therefore incumbent on the designers of a single-payer system to consider the range of design choices with great care, to achieve the potential cost savings that are available through a well-designed system. It is evident from comparing the U.S. health care system with those of other high-income economies that there is massive potential for cost savings in the U.S. system, with, as noted above, the comparison countries spending between 9 – 11 percent of GDP on health care while the U.S. spends 17 percent. Within the present U.S. economy, every percentage point of GDP amounts to roughly $200 billion. Thus, even reducing our current health care spending by 2 percentage points relative to GDP would yield an astronomical $400 billion in savings, even while our healthcare system budget, as a share of GDP, would remain far above those of other advanced economics.

The CBO study is therefore to be commended for describing a range of measures through which a U.S. single-payer system can successfully implement significant cost savings while still delivering good-quality care for all residents. As such, the CBO study makes a positive contribution toward understanding the possibilities for creating a fair and workable health care system in the United States.

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Off the Top of My Head

Medicare For All (Who Want It)

by John Lawrence, April 29, 2017

Bernie Sanders and other progressives want to change the health care system to a single payer system - Medicare For All. The main blowback by the health insurance and pharmaceutical corporations who like things just the way they are is that half of all Americans have employer provided health care and they like it just like that. So to finesse the whole issue I'm suggesting that what Bernie and other progressives should be talking about is Medicare for All Who Want It. In other words if someone like the health care they currently have, let them keep it. The Medicare system is already set up. It would be so easy to just accept more people under that umbrella with minimal disruption.

What could be simpler? You let the current system exist, but you open up the possibility that anyone can opt in to the Medicare system if they should so desire. You are not creating a new health care system from scratch. You are not imposing it on anyone. Obama said, if we were creating a health care system from scratch, he would be in favor of single payer. But since we were not, he and other Democrats came up with the fatally flawed system of Obamacare whose main strong point was that no one could be refused health care because of preexisting conditions. All well and good, but Obamacare had no cost containment features. I wouldn't be surprised if a Medicare for All Who Want It system were set up - and it could be implemented by  simply changing of the law in Congress - that a lot of people would abandon their employer based health care system and join it.

Sanders proposed plan is almost too generous which is out of line with other countries that have universal health care. Vox reported:

The biggest difference between this plan and the version Sanders introduced in 2017 is the addition of a long-term care benefit that would cover care for Americans with disability at home or in community settings. This benefit was also added into the House version of the Medicare-for-all bill earlier this year.

The plan is significantly more generous than the single-payer plans run by America’s peer countries. The Canadian health care system, for example, does not cover vision or dental care, prescription drugs, rehabilitative services, or home health services. Instead, two-thirds of Canadians take out private insurance policies to cover these benefits. The Netherlands has a similar set of benefits (it also excludes dental and vision care), as does Australia.

What’s more, the Sanders plan does not subject consumers to any out-of-pocket spending on health aside from prescriptions drugs. This means there would be no charge when you go to the doctor, no co-payments when you visit the emergency room. All those services would be covered fully by the universal Medicare plan.

Bernie's plan is not the last word. Most other universal health care systems have co-pays. There's no reason why a Medicare for All system shouldn't have them too. I and Frank Thomas have written extensively about the health care system in the Netherlands which is a universal system, but is not government provided health care. You can read about it here. I am not that concerned about paying for a Medicare for All system. We have no problem paying for a trillion dollar defense budget which is not even capable of defending our borders. Of course, the wealthy should be taxed more, but the point is that there are myriad ways of paying for it especially if it is adopted incrementally which a Medicare For All Who Want It system would be. It could be set up in such a way that only so many would be let in every year so as not to overwhelm the system. Maybe we should start with 55 to 65 year olds first.

'That Backfired': Watch Bernie Sanders Counter Right-Wing Talking Point, Make Case for Medicare for All on Fox News

Published on Tuesday, April 16, 2019 by Common Dreams

The Fox town hall audience cheered when moderator Bret Baier polled support for transitioning to a single-payer system

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

22 Comments

 Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) participates in a Fox News town hall on April 15, 2019, in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania. (Photo: Mark Makela/Getty Images)

During a town hall hosted by Fox News Monday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders countered one of the most common right-wing talking points against Medicare for All and made the case for transitioning to a single-payer system—sparking applause from the Bethlehem, Pennsylvania audience.

"Democratic socialism, to me, is creating a government and an economy and a society which works for all, rather than just the top one percent."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders

 

"Millions of people, every single year, lose their health insurance. You know why? They get fired. Or They quit. And they go to another employer," said the Vermont senator and 2020 presidential contender after Fox moderator Bret Baier suggested 180 million Americans with employer-provided insurance would lose coverage under Medicare for All.

"Every year, millions of workers wake up in the morning and their employer has changed the insurance that they have," Sanders added. "So this is not new... Now what we're talking about actually is stability. That when you have a Medicare for All [program] it is there now and it will be there in the future."

Bernie counters talk-point about losing employer-based insurance. Points out that Medicare For All would provide everyone with long-term health care stability. #Bernie #BernieFoxTownHall #berniesanderstownhall pic.twitter.com/rdzZ7oB7Hh

— Digital Left (@DigitalLeft) April 16, 2019

When Baier polled the town hall audience to gauge support for switching to a Medicare for All system, most hands shot up and many cheered.

As activist Jordan Uhl put it, Baier's question "backfired spectacularly." According to recent polling, a majority of Republican voters support Medicare for All.

That backfired... #BernieTownHall pic.twitter.com/NCKNDIQauZ

— DSA for Medicare for All (@dsam4a) April 15, 2019

In addition to highlighting specific planks of his policy platform—from Medicare for All to tuition-free public college to a living wage—Sanders also used his Fox News town hall to explain his broader vision of a more egalitarian U.S. society, in which wealth and political power are not concentrated at the very top:

Democratic socialism, to me, is creating a government and an economy and a society which works for all, rather than just the top one percent. It means ending the absurd inequalities that exist today. And I want to lay this out, because you're not going to hear this much on Fox. And you're not going to hear this much in the media in general. And the American people have got to conclude whether we think it is appropriate, and what America is about... to have three families owning more wealth than the bottom half of American society—160 million people. Whether it's appropriate for the top one percent to own more wealth than the bottom 92 percent. 

Senator Bernard Sanders of Vermont on Fox News: "Democratic socialism to me is creating a governor and an economy that works for all rather than just the top 1%.. we want to create a political system based on one person one vote not billionaires buying elections" #BernieTownHall pic.twitter.com/NzBjhisfux

— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) April 15, 2019

Sanders closed his Fox appearance with call-and-response with the town hall audience on a broad array of issues, including infrastructure, wages, and taxes on the ultra-wealthy:

.@BernieSanders closing statement at #BernieTownHall on @FoxNews pic.twitter.com/mrpB9jTgwn

— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) April 15, 2019

Watch the full town hall:

Part 1

Part 2

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Off the Top of My Head

Democrats Could Lose to Trump if They Don't Play Their Cards Right

by John Lawrence, April 16, 2019

Big article about Joe Biden in Time magazine. Only nothing mentioned about the fact that he cast a vote taking bankruptcy protection away from student loan debtors and he never met a credit card company he didn't like. After all his state, Delaware, is where they're all incorporated. In the media it's all about Biden's touchy-feeliness which is irrelevant. Biden's too old and too associated with the status quo. I don't care if he's the most popular Democrat. He'll lose to Trump.

The fact is that the Republican base - about 30% - will vote for Trump even if he takes out his dong in the middle of Fifth Avenue and waves it around, let alone shooting somebody as he has stated. The same holds for the Democratic base. So the game is about peeling away just those voters who voted for Obama in 2012 and then turned around and voted for Trump in 2016. As Trump has been a disrupter so should the Democrat be a disrupter in the 2020 election. The best person to do that is Bernie Sanders. He sticks to a very simple economic message which is what the Democrats should be all about. They should forget all the peripheral issues, but they're prone to getting all tied up in them because the media prefers that and the Republicans would prefer that. Bernie has a clear message: Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. That's it.

Democrats also need to co-opt Trump's main issue: immigration. They need to take a realistic look and realize that Trump is right about some things. The asylum situation is a mess and smugglers are actively recruiting people in Guatemala, Honduras and El Salvador to come to the US and seek asylum. They are organizing bus rides to the border. This is the reality, not some figment of Trump's imagination. The Democrats need to make this their issue as well and nullify Trump's appeal based on this single issue. Instead they are for the most part taking the totally unpopular side on this and letting the Republicans and the hate talkers define them as "open borders." Come on, Democrats, get real. I'm for humane treatment of immigrants and asylum seekers, but the point is that they are being professionally organized with only one thing in mind - to overwhelm the asylum system and thereby effectively gain permanent entry into the US.

The choice for Bernie's running mate is very important. Elizabeth Warren is great but she's too much like Bernie. Too much of a policy wonk and a firebrand. We need someone more mild and appealing but someone who has the same values as Bernie. Someone like Kamala Harris. Kamala is a very appealing person. First of all she's a beautiful woman, and, let's face it, beauty and personal appeal count for a lot in politics and in life. She's mixed race and did I say she's a woman. She would be a great contrast and a great balance for Bernie. She's young, and that's a point in her favor also. She's everything Bernie's not in terms of personal appearance, but they're both on the same wavelength politically.

I hope the Democratic establishment does not screw this up. We need Medicare for All and a Green New Deal. Stick to the economic issues and leave the peripheral and cultural issues for another day. The Left is going to vote for a Democrat anyway just like the Right will vote for Trump. The Democratic candidate for President in 2020 needs to be someone who can peel away enough Trump voters to win, and it will not be someone like Joe Biden running as a status quo candidate.

'I Felt Americans Needed to Know': Insurance Industry Whistleblower Gives Glimpse of Effort to Crush Medicare for All

Published on

Friday, April 12, 2019

by

Common Dreams

"The business model of for-profit health insurance depends on denying care to people who need it. These corporations can't be reasoned with, only defeated."

 

 

 

by

 Jake Johnson, staff writer

 50 Comments

"When the people begin organizing against private insurance, the lonely insurance executives turn to their only friends: the elected officials beholden to their cash," said Medicare for All campaigner and policy expert Tim Faust. (Image: Miami Business School)

In an effort to inform the public about the corporate forces working to crush Medicare for All, an employee at the insurance giant UnitedHealthcare leaked a video of his boss bragging about the company's campaign to preserve America's for-profit healthcare system.

"I felt Americans needed to know exactly who it is that's fighting against the idea that healthcare is a right, not a privilege." 
—whistleblower

Stein reported on Friday, UnitedHealthcare CEO Steve Nelson boasted about how much his company is doing to undermine Medicare for All, which is rapidly gaining support in Congress.

"One of the things you said: 'We're really quiet' or 'It seems like we're quiet.' Um, we've done a lot more than you would think," Nelson said. "We are advocating heavily and very involved in the conversation. Part of it is trying to be thoughtful about how we enter in the conversation, because there's a risk of seeming like it's self-serving."

According to the Post, which did not publish the video of Nelson's remarks, the executive said his company "opposes Medicare for All because it excludes the private sector, which he said does a better job of delivering healthcare than the government, and said he doubted how a single-payer system could be funded or effectively administered."

The UnitedHealth employee who leaked The Post this video says: “I felt Americans needed to know exactly who it is that’s fighting against the idea that healthcare is a right, not a privilege."https://t.co/fQAXmVTmdf

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) April 12, 2019

Nelson's remarks were leaked just days after Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), a 2020 presidential contender, unveiled his improved Medicare for All bill with the support of 14 Democratic senators and over 60 progressive organizations representing nurses, physicians, and consumer advocates.

Sanders called out insurance and pharmaceutical industry greed in a statementfollowing the introduction of his bill, which would virtually eliminate the private insurance industry and provide comprehensive healthcare to every American.

"When the people begin organizing against private insurance, the lonely insurance executives turn to their only friends: the elected officials beholden to their cash." 
—Tim Faust

"In my view, the current debate over Medicare for All really has nothing to do with healthcare. It's all about greed and profiteering," said the Vermont senator. "It is about whether we maintain a dysfunctional system which allows the top five health insurance companies to make over $20 billion in profits last year."

On Friday, Sanders took to Twitter to send Nelson a message.

"When we are in the White House your greed is going to end," Sanders wrote.

 

The UnitedHealth employee who leaked The Post this video says: “I felt Americans needed to know exactly who it is that’s fighting against the idea that healthcare is a right, not a privilege."https://t.co/fQAXmVTmdf

— Jeff Stein (@JStein_WaPo) April 12, 2019

UnitedHealth Group, the parent company of United Healthcare, raked in around $17 billion in profits and "spent about $8 million on lobbying efforts" in 2018, Stein reported.

UnitedHealthcare's fight against single-payer, Stein noted, comes "amid a broader push from the health insurance industry to prevent legislation to enact Medicare for All from getting off the ground, including by trying to direct Democrats toward more centrist efforts and reject plans that would effectively legislate many of the companies out of existence."

"[A]bout half a dozen representatives of lobbying firms said they had pushed for meetings with Democrats over single-payer and other proposed government expansions of healthcare," according to Stein.

In a statement to the Post, Medicare for All campaigner and policy expert Tim Faust said, "When the people begin organizing against private insurance, the lonely insurance executives turn to their only friends: the elected officials beholden to their cash."

The business model of for-profit health insurance depends on denying care to people who need it.

These corporations can't be reasoned with, only defeated: https://t.co/YY6K6xawzU #MedicareForAll

— SocialSecurityWorks (@SSWorks) April 12, 2019

One of the industry-backed groups leading the fight against Medicare for All is the Partnership for America's Health Care Future, which is comprised of major pharmaceutical and insurance interests.

The Partnership launched a six-figure ad campaign against Medicare for All earlier this year, warning the popular proposal "would cause massive disruption to the current healthcare system."

After the Partnership launched its first digital ad against Medicare for All in January, Wendell Potter—an insurance industry executive-turned-whistleblower—said, "It's almost impressive how many lies they're able to fit into such a short clip."

Watch Potter's breakdown of the Partnership's ad:

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With Trillions in Safety Net Cuts, Bernie Sanders Says Trump Budget 'Breathtaking in Its Degree of Cruelty'

Published on Monday, March 11, 2019 by Common Dreams

"This is a budget for the military industrial complex, for corporate CEOs, for Wall Street, and for the billionaire class."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

65 Comments

Copies of volume 1 of President Donald Trump's new budget for Fiscal Year 2020 that has been delivered to the House Budget Committee, on March 11, 2019 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Mark Wilson/Getty Images)

If a budget is a statement of values and priorities, President Donald Trump's proposal for fiscal year 2020 clearly displays his commitment to enriching the wealthy at the expense of ordinary Americans.

"Make no mistake about it: Trump's budget is a massive transfer of wealth from working class families to the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in America."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders

 

That was how Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) characterized Trump's $4.7 trillion budget request on Monday after the White House released details of the plan, which includes a massive increase in military spending and trillions of dollars in total cuts to Medicare, Medicaid, and Social Security.

"The Trump budget is breathtaking in its degree of cruelty and filled with broken promises," Sanders, the ranking member of the Senate Budget Committee, said in a statement. "Donald Trump promised the American people that he would be a different type of Republican, that he would be a champion of the working American and that he would not cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. But his budget does the exact opposite of what he promised the American people."

Over the next decade, Trump's budget—officially titled "A Budget for a Better America"—would slash Medicaid by $1.5 trillion, Medicare by $845 billion, and Social Security by $25 billion, according to Sanders' office. The president's blueprint also requests $8.6 billion in border wall funding.

"This is a budget for the military industrial complex, for corporate CEOs, for Wall Street, and for the billionaire class," Sanders said. "It is dead on arrival."

This is a budget for the military-industrial complex, for corporate CEOs, for Wall Street and for the billionaire class.

We don’t need billions of dollars for a wall that no one wants. We need a budget that works for all Americans, not just Trump and his billionaire friends. https://t.co/qKf8iXpYzF

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 11, 2019

Giving the Pentagon "even more than it hoped for," Trump's budget calls for an $861 billion increase in base military spending over the next ten years.

That sum, Sanders said, "could make public colleges and universities tuition-free over the next decade."

Warren Gunnels, Sanders' staff director, tweeted: "We don't need a magic wand or a genie to make public colleges free. We need to get our priorities right."

Over the next 10 years, Trump's budget would cut:
- $1.5 trillion from Medicaid
- $845 billion from Medicare
- $25B from Social Security
- $207B from college education
- $220B from food stamps

While base defense spending would increase by $861 billion https://t.co/o7IW4SQIMq

— Warren Gunnels (@GunnelsWarren) March 11, 2019

As the Washington Post's Jeff Stein and Amy Goldstein reported, Trump's budget proposal calls for coverting Medicaid into a block-grant system and handing states the power to set coverage rules—a move that would endanger the healthcare of millions of low-income Americans.

"Make no mistake about it: Trump's budget is a massive transfer of wealth from working class families to the wealthiest people and most profitable corporations in America," Sanders concluded.

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To Defeat Trump With People-Powered Political Revolution, Bernie Sanders Announces 2020 Run

Tuesday, February 19, 2019

 

What's going to be different this time? "We're going to win," said the Senator from Vermont

 

 

Jon Queally, staff writer

 

 164 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) announced his 2020 run on Tuesday morning. "We began the political revolution in the 2016 campaign," he told Vermont Public Radio, "and now it's time to move that revolution forward." (Image: USAmurica)

With an interview with Vermont Public Radio that aired early Tuesday morning, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) officially announced his candidancy for president in 2020, telling listeners in his home state he is determined to defeat President Donald Trump while building a grassroots-style campaign—with a network of "at least a million people"—designed to win Medicare for All, a national $15 minimum wage, reduced student debt, bold climate action, criminal justice and immigration reform, and create a political and economic system that works for the many and not just the few.

"If we are prepared to stand together, there is no limit to what the great people of our nation can accomplish." —Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)"I wanted to let the people of the state of Vermont know about this first," Sanders told VPR's Bob Kinzel. "And what I promise to do is, as I go around the country, is to take the values that all of us in Vermont are proud of—a belief in justice, in community, in grassroots politics, in town meetings—That's what I'm going to carry all over this country."

Sanders added, "We began the political revolution in the 2016 campaign, and now it's time to move that revolution forward."

Shortly after his radio appearance, Sanders released the following campaign video via Twitter:

I'm running for president. I am asking you to join me today as part of an unprecedented and historic grassroots campaign that will begin with at least 1 million people from across the country. Say you're in: https://t.co/KOTx0WZqRf pic.twitter.com/T1TLH0rm26

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 19, 2019

Highlighting some of the key issues he has fought for throughout his political career—and notable victories he has achieved as a lawmaker in the Senate—the video concludes with a unifying theme and a voiceover of Sanders declaring, "If we are prepared to stand together, there is no limit to what the great people of our nation can accomplish."

In his interview with VPR, Sanders explained he was running for president for two basic reasons: "Number one, I think the current occupant of the White House is an embarrassment to our country. I think he is a pathological liar, everyday telling one lie after another—and it gives me no pleasure to say that. I also think he is a racist, a sexist, a homophobe, a xenophobe, somebody who is gaining cheap political points by trying to pick on minorities, often undocumented immigrants."

Sanders said that he "cannot recall—certainly not in my lifetime or in modern history—that we've had a president that actually goes out of his way to try and divide the American people up based on where we were born or the color of our skin or our gender or whatever it may be. I think what a president has got to do is bring our people together and not divide us up."

The second reason, he added, is to complete the progress he started in the 2016 campaign by bringing serious solutions to the table—solutions once said to be too radical but, in fact, supported by large majorities of the American people.

In a letter sent to supporters, Sanders declared: "Together we can create a nation that leads the world in the struggle for peace and for economic, racial, social and environmental justice.  And together we can defeat Donald Trump and repair the damage he has done to our country."

Asked by CBS News in a separate interview that will air Tuesday what would be different in 2020 compared to 2016, Sanders said: "We're going to win."

In addition to vowing victory, Sanders said his campaign is going to "launch what I think is unprecedented in modern American history and that is a grassroots movement."

Powerful special interests may have the money, but we have the people. Supporters from all 50 states have donated to our unprecedented grassroots campaign. Say you're in: https://t.co/4YhCuNlKEk pic.twitter.com/d32UxxRi9q

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) February 19, 2019

Though not unexpected—with speculation rife in recent days and weeks about making his decision known—Sanders' status as the former candidate who won a number of state primaries and caucuses in 2016 and still the most popular elected lawmaker in the country, according to many polls, puts him in a strong position as the crowded Democratic field comes into further focus.

Supporters of Sanders who have been waiting patiently for the official announcement, celebrated the news:

IT'S HAPPENING: @BernieSanders is running.

Let's do this. Together: https://t.co/SVwNxmzZNs #FeelTheBern #Bernie2020 pic.twitter.com/ueKyirZNK8

— People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) February 19, 2019

He's running! #Bernie2020 pic.twitter.com/GgBLfQBTGl

— #Bernie2020 (@OFB2020) February 19, 2019

Norman Solomon, national coordinator of the independent Bernie Delegates Network in 2016 and now a coordinator of the relaunched Bernie Delegates Network, said Sanders is by far the most exciting candidate now in the running, especially because of his long history as a champion of grassroots campaigning and a proven commitment to transformative change.

"For decades he has made it clear he understands that the transformational power we need isn't handed down from on high—it's gained through grassroots activism and organizing to challenge injustice and the vast numbers of ills related to corporate power." 
—Norman Solomon, Bernie Delegates Network"Bernie is the only candidate for the Democratic nomination who has always been part of progressive movements," Solomon told Common Dreams. "For decades he has made it clear he understands that the transformational power we need isn't handed down from on high—it's gained through grassroots activism and organizing to challenge injustice and the vast numbers of ills related to corporate power."

Despite the virtues of other candidates in the Democratic field, Solomon believes Sanders "is qualitatively way ahead" of them all.

"The Bernie Sanders 2020 campaign offers us a much deeper and more sweeping vision of a humanistic society, in which great wealth and huge corporations will not only be strictly regulated—they'll also be compelled to serve the common good instead of the drive to maximize profits," Solomon said. "Whether the goal is Medicare for All, truly progressive taxation, tuition-free public college or absolute dedication to environmental protection, Bernie has been there first—and, by far, he remains the clearest, most authentic and most trustworthy candidate. For progressives, he's the real deal, not someone trying on progressive garb because of current political fashion."

Will it be easy? Not even close, Solomon acknowledged.

"Hold onto your hat," he warned. "The anti-Bernie mass media onslaught will become gale force. The only way to overcome that manifestation of corporate power will be via people power."

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Frank Thomas' comment:

Speaking about people power to defeat Trump, Nate White, an articulate, witty writer from England, wrote this magnificent response to the question:

WHY DO SOME BRITISH PEOPLE NOT LIKE DONALD TRUMP?

"A few things come to mind.
Trump lacks certain qualities which the British traditonally esteem.
For instance, he has no class, no coolness, no credibility, no compassion, no wit, no warmth, no wisdom,no subtlety, no sensittivity, no self-awareness, no humility, no honor and no grace - all qualties, funnily enough, with which his predecessor Mr. Obama was generally blessed.
So for us, the stark contrast does rather throw Trump’s limitations into sharp relief.
Plus, we like a laugh. And while Trump may be laughable, he has never once said anything wry, witty, or even faintly amusing - not once ever.
I don’t say that rhetorically. I mean it quite literally; not once, not ever. And that fact is particularly disturbing to the British sensibility - for us, to lack humour is almost inhuman.
But with Trump, it’s a fact . He doesn’t even seem to understand what a joke is - his idea of a joke is a crass comment, an illiterate insult, a casual act of cruelty.
Trump is a troll. And like all trolls, he is never funny and he never laughs; he only crows or jeers.
And scarily, he doesn’t just talk in crude, witless insults, - he actually thinks in them. His mind is a simple bot-like algorithm of petty prejudices and knee-jerk nastiness.
There’s never an under-layer of irony, complexitity, nuance or depth. It’s all surface.
Some Americans may see this as refreshingly upfront.
Well, we don’t. We see it as having no inner world, no soul.
And in Britain we traditionally side with David, not Goliath. All our heros are plucky underdogs: Robin Hood, Dick Whittington, Oliver Twist.
Trump is neither plucky, nor an underdog. He is the exact opposite of that.
He’s not even a spoiled rich-boy, or a greedty fat-cat.
He’s more a fat white slug. A Jabba the Hutt of privelege.
And worse, he is that most unforgivable of all things to the British: a bully.
That is, except when he is among bullies; then he suddenly transforms into a sniveling side kick instead.
There are unspoken rules to this stuff - the Queensberry rules of basic decency - and he breaks them all. He punches downwards - which a gentleman should, would, could never do - and every blow he aims is below the belt. He paticularly likes to kick the vulnerable or voiceless - and he kicks them when they are down.
So the fact that a significant minority - perhaps a third - of Americans llook at what he does, listen to what he says, and then think ‘Yeah, he seems like my kind of guy’ is a matter of some confusion and no little stress to British people, given that:

• Americans are supposed to be nicer to us, and mostly are.
• You don’t need a particularly keen eye for detail to spot a few flaws in the man.

This last point is what especially confuses and dismays British people, and many other people too; his faults seem pretty bloody hard to miss.
After all, it’s impossible to read a single tweet, or hear him speak a sentence or two, without staring deep into the abyss. He turns being artless into an art form; he is a Picasso of pettiness; a Shakespeare of shit. His faults are fractal: even his flaws have flaws, and so on ad infinitum.
God knows there have always been stupid people in the world, and plenty of nasty people too. But rarely has stupidity been so nasty, or nastiness so stupid.
In fact, if Frankenstein decided to make a monster assembled entirely from human flaws - he would make Trump.
And a remorseful Doctor Frankenstein would clutch out big clumpfuls of hair and scream in anguish:
‘My God … what … have… I… created?’
If being a twat was a TV show, Trump would be the boxed set.

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A brilliant, humourously crunching critique of Trump’s character written in a typically British self-deprecating style to point out personal weaknesses and shortcomings - this time to put down our president’s self-obsessed, self-immortalizing, megalomaniacal qualities.

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Medicare for All Has Been Embraced by 2020 Democrats for One Key Reason: Bernie Sanders

Published on Sunday, February 03, 2019 by Al-Jazeera English

Just a few years ago Sanders' call for 'Medicare far all' was deemed too extreme, but things are very different now.

by Cristina Tzintzun

 

7 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) speaks during a health care rally at the 2017 Convention of the California Nurses Association/National Nurses Organizing Committee on September 22, 2017 in San Francisco, California. (Photo: Justin Sullivan/Getty Images)

When all is said and done, there may be as many as two dozen Democratic hopefuls for the 2020 presidential nomination. But nearly all of them will have one thing in common: they'll be trumpeting one of Bernie Sanders' signature causes - upending our healthcare system in favour of a single payer system. We progressives call it, Medicare for All.

Since 2016, when the Independent senator from Vermont used his White House bid to call for Medicare for All so that all Americans have access to high-quality healthcare, the Democratic Party has bolted to the left. Nearly all of the candidates who have, up to now, announced their intentions to run for president in 2020 - and many of those who seem to be preparing to enter the race - support Medicare for All. 

"Nearly every American has experienced up-close the failures of our current system. That's why Bernie's initiatives on healthcare have taken hold with voters and the cast of Democratic hopefuls."

 

Julian Castro has said that passing Medicare for All would be his first priority as president. Elizabeth Warren has declared that she supports Medicare for All so "everyone gets covered and no one goes broke" because of the cost of healthcare. And Beto O'Rourke has said, "Medicare for All is the best way to get people covered."

It wasn't that long ago that advocating for a single payer system was thought to be political suicide. Yet, today, running on Medicare for All is one of the most popular positions. A recent poll showed that 70 percent of Americans supported Medicare for All. 

Ultimately, providing affordable healthcare for every American will be an uphill battle for any presidential candidate. In fact, some may still question the viability of a healthcare for all system. But the undeniable truth is that our current system has failed. It has left millions of Americans uninsured and struggling to get the healthcare they need even if they have insurance.

I ought to know. I live in the state with the highest uninsured rate in the country - Texas. While our state's elected leaders have long touted the expansive benefits of the so-called "Texas economic miracle", that miracle apparently did not include access to basic things like healthcare. You see, one in six Texans don't have health insurance.

Medicare for All could be an effective rallying cry for Democratic candidates. After all, Americans are tired of footing the bill for the most expensive healthcare in the world that still leaves millions of them uninsured. While Obamacare helped close the uninsured gap significantly, it didn't go far enough. The costs of healthcare are still soaring, and millions of Americans still don't have healthcare coverage. 

Nearly every American knows someone who doesn't have healthcare. My mother is one of the estimated 27 million that don't have health insurance. She has diabetes, and she is forced to cut her $12 pills in half to manage the disease because she can't afford the full cost for the medication she needs. When she is sick, she is afraid to go to the doctor because she can't afford it. Yet, she also can't afford to not get the medical care she needs.

Even if you are lucky enough to have health insurance, it is a bureaucratic nightmare of a system that often still leaves you owing thousands of dollars after an illness or injury.

Of course, some say that - because healthcare makes up one-sixth of the US economy - the issue is too challenging to tackle. But who are we kidding? An inefficient and expensive healthcare system is crippling our economy. Besides, surely, the most prosperous nation in the world can do a better job of caring for the citizens who helped make it so prosperous in the first place. 

Nearly every American has experienced up-close the failures of our current system. That's why Bernie's initiatives on healthcare have taken hold with voters and the cast of Democratic hopefuls. Those candidates have to know that it won't be enough in 2020 to simply say that you want to reform our current system or just try or make prescription drugs more affordable. Voters aren't looking to make gains on the margins, they are looking to end a system that they believe has wholly failed them. That's why we need Medicare for All. 

In 2016, Sanders' ideas were thought to be too extreme for the Democratic Party establishment. But, just a few years later, they are now the mainstream. It's unclear whether Sanders will once again enter the race for President. But this much is clear: his ideas have already won it.

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© 2019 Al-Jazeera English

A Bold, Progressive Agenda for a Happier and Healthier New Year

Published on

Tuesday, January 01, 2019

by

Common Dreams

In the New Year, let us resolve to fight like we have never fought before for a government, a society and an economy that works for all of us, not just those on top.

 

by 

Bernie Sanders

 

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 44 Comments

A bird lands on then Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders podium as he spoke on March 25, 2016 in Portland, Oregon. Sanders spoke to a crowd of more than eleven thousand about a wide range of issues, including getting big money out of politics, his plan to make public colleges and universities tuition-free, combating climate change and ensuring universal health care. (Photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images)

The following is a New Year's Day email message sent to supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on January 1, 2019.

Dear friends,

Jane and I want to take this opportunity to wish you and yours a very healthy and happy new year.

It goes without saying that 2019 will be a pivotal and momentous time for our country and the entire planet. As you know, there is a monumental clash now taking place between two very different political visions. Not to get you too nervous, but the future of our country and the world is dependent upon which side wins that struggle.

The bad news is that in the United States and other parts of the world, the foundations of democracy are under severe attack as demagogues, supported by billionaire oligarchs, work to establish authoritarian type regimes. That is true in Russia. That is true in Saudi Arabia. That is true in the United States. While the very rich get much richer these demagogues seek to move us toward tribalism and set one group against another, deflecting attention from the real crises we face.

"Our job... is not only to oppose Trump but to bring forth a progressive and popular agenda that speaks to the real needs of working people."

The good news is that, all across this country, people are getting politically involved and are fighting back. They are standing up for economic, political, social and racial justice.

In the last year we saw courageous teachers, in some of the most conservative states in the country, win strikes as they fought for adequate funding for education.

We saw low paid workers at Amazon, Disney and elsewhere undertake successful struggles to raise their wages to a living wage – at least $15 an hour.

We saw incredibly courageous young people, who experienced a mass shooting in their school, lead successful efforts for commonsense gun safety legislation.

We saw diverse communities stand together in the fight against mass incarceration and for real criminal justice reform.

We saw tens of thousands of Americans, from every walk of life, take to the streets and demand that politicians respond to the global crisis of climate change.

As we enter 2019, it seems to me that we must mount a two-pronged offensive. First, we must vigorously take on the lies, bigotry and kleptocratic behavior of the most irresponsible president in the modern history of our country. In every way possible, we must stand up to the racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and religious intolerance of the Trump administration.

But fighting Trump is not enough.

The truth is that despite relatively low unemployment, tens of millions of Americans struggle daily to keep their heads above water economically as the middle class continues to shrink.

While the rich get richer, 40 million live in poverty, millions of workers are forced to work two or three jobs to pay the bills, 30 million have no health insurance, one in five cannot afford their prescription drugs, almost half of older workers have nothing saved for retirement, young people cannot afford college or leave school deeply in debt, affordable housing is increasingly scarce, and many seniors cut back on basic needs as they live on inadequate Social Security checks.

"It is imperative that the American people stand up and demand real solutions to the major economic, social, racial and environmental crises that we face."

Our job, therefore, is not only to oppose Trump but to bring forth a progressive and popular agenda that speaks to the real needs of working people. We must tell Wall Street, the insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry, the military-industrial complex, the National Rifle Association and the other powerful special interests that we will not continue to allow their greed to destroy this country and our planet.

Politics in a democracy should not be complicated. Government must work for all of the people, not just the wealthy and the powerful. As a new House and Senate convene next week, it is imperative that the American people stand up and demand real solutions to the major economic, social, racial and environmental crises that we face. In the richest country in the history of the world, here are some (far from all) of the issues that I will be focusing on this year. What do you think? How can we best work together?

Protect American democracy: Repeal Citizens United, move to public funding of elections and end voter suppression and gerrymandering. Our goal must be to establish a political system that has the highest voter turnout in the world and is governed by the democratic principle of one person - one vote.

Take on the billionaire class: End oligarchy and the growth of massive income and wealth inequality by demanding that the wealthy start paying their fair share of taxes. We must rescind Trump's tax breaks for billionaires and close corporate tax loopholes.

Increase Wages: Raise the minimum wage to $15 an hour, establish pay equity for women and revitalize the trade union movement. In the United States, if you work 40 hours a week, you should not live in poverty.

Make health care a right: Guarantee health care for everyone through a Medicare-for-all program. We cannot continue a dysfunctional healthcare system which costs us about twice as much per capita as any other major country and leaves 30 million uninsured.

Transform our energy system: Combat the global crisis of climate change which is already causing massive damage to our planet. In the process, we can create millions of good paying jobs as we transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and into energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

Rebuild America: Pass a $1 trillion infrastructure plan. In the United States we must not continue to have roads, bridges, water systems, rail transport, and airports in disrepair.

Jobs for All: There is an enormous amount of work to be done throughout our country – from building affordable housing and schools to caring for our children and the elderly. 75 years ago, FDR talked about the need to guarantee every able-bodied person in this country a good job as a fundamental right. That was true in 1944. It is true today.

Quality Education: Make public colleges and universities tuition free, lower student debt, adequately fund public education and move to universal childcare. Not so many years ago, the United States had the best education system in the world. We much regain that status again.

Retirement Security: Expand Social Security so that every American can retire with dignity and everyone with a disability can live with security. Too many of our elderly, disabled and veterans are living on inadequate incomes. We must do better for those who built this country.

Women's rights: It is a woman, not the government, who should control her own body. We must oppose all efforts to overturn Roe v. Wade, protect Planned Parenthood and oppose restrictive state laws on abortion.

Justice for All: End mass incarceration and pass serious criminal justice reform. We must no longer spend $80 billion a year locking up more people than any other country. We must invest in education and jobs, not jails and incarceration.

Comprehensive immigration reform: It is absurd and inhumane that millions of hardworking people, many of whom have lived in this country for decades, are fearful of deportation. We must provide legal status to those who are in the DACA program, and a path to citizenship for the undocumented.

Social Justice: End discrimination based on race, gender, religion, place of birth or sexual orientation. Trump cannot be allowed to succeed by dividing us up. We must stand together as one people.

A new foreign policy: Let us create a foreign policy based on peace, democracy and human rights. At a time when we spend more on the military than the next ten countries combined, we need to take a serious look at reforming the bloated and wasteful $716 billion annual Pentagon budget.

In the New Year, let us resolve to fight like we have never fought before for a government, a society and an economy that works for all of us, not just those on top.

Wishing you a wonderful new year,

Bernie Sanders

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'The Civil Rights Movement of Our Time': Climate Action Advocates and Progressive Leaders Join Sanders for Latest Town Hall

Published on Tuesday, December 04, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Instead of spending well over a trillion dollars on weapons of destruction to figure out how we kill each other, think about making that investment in transforming our energy system. Think about how we can bring the entire world together in common cause."

by Julia Conley, staff writer

 

1 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday night hosted a town hall dedicated to discusssing bold solutions to the climate crisis, including a Green New Deal. (Photo: @DanielJCamacho/Twitter)

With the corporate news media devoting only a tiny fraction of its coverage of California's recent wildfires to the climate crisis, which set the stage for the historically destructive blazes, hundreds of thousands of Americans on Monday night turned to Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and a panel of climate experts and activists for a discussion on the stark reality of the crisis and bold proposals to help avert further catastrophe.

In his latest town hall sponsored by progressive media companies including NowThis News and The Young Turks, Sanders and his panelists made the case for the Green New Deal and a sustainable economy, outlined bipartisan efforts that have so far succeeded in shifting toward renewable energy, and spoke of the climate crisis as a top issue that young voters, people of color, and low-income communities must unite to defeat as they decide who will lead the country in 2020.

"We are living in a moment in history that has never existed," Sanders said. "Instead of spending well over a trillion dollars on weapons of destruction to figure out how we kill each other, think about making that investment in transforming our energy system. Think about how we can bring the entire world together in common cause."

"This is going to be the Great Society, the moon shot, the civil rights movement of our generation," Rep.-elect Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.) added. "That is the scale of the ambition that this movement is going to require."

Fighting climate change is the Civil Rights movement of our generation! @Ocasio2018 #ClimateTownHall #climatechange #ClimateChangeIsReal #ClimateJustice pic.twitter.com/4BaZBPIXEH

— Jake Turner (@Astro_journey) December 4, 2018

Dr. Brenda Ekwurzel, head of the Union for Concerned Scientists (UCS), stressed that Americans are already facing the effects of the climate crisis, with California's wildfires burning through more than three million acres, increasingly powerful hurricanes causing more than $200 billion in damage, and the country's first known climate refugees being forced to flee parts of Louisana.  

"You have a diaspora in the country moving to other states," Ekwurzel said. "They may be temporary, they may be long term. These people are on the move, creatures are on the move, adapting to climate change. But it doesn't have to be that bad."

350.org founder Bill McKibben, activists Shailene Woodley and Xiuhtezcatl Martinez, and Republican Mayor Dale Ross of Georgetown, Texas, who has embraced renewable energy, were also among the panelists.

The town hall came as Ocasio-Cortez and other progressive politicians have been fighting to form a House Select Committee whose mandate would include proposing a Green New Deal. The proposal would shift the U.S. to a renewable energy economy by 2035, working toward zero carbon emissions by 2050—and creating at least 10 million jobs in order to build the new infrastructure. So far, grassroots pressure from the youth-led Sunrise Movement has forced 18 representatives to endorse the Green New Deal.

"The core of a Green New Deal is simple: leave no person behind," said Ocasio-Cortez. "We cannot move forward into our future until every single American is part of that future."

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Why Vote? Bernie Sanders Offers Simple Last-Minute Reminder: The GOP Agenda Is Horrific

Published on Monday, November 05, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Our plan: make health care a right to all. Stop giving tax breaks to billionaires. Protect and expand Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Transition to sustainable energy and leave behind a livable planet for our children."

by Common Dreams staff

 

25 Comments

On the eve of national midterm elections in the United States, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was not alone as he participated in the frenzied effort of final campaign pitches and tried his best to make sure people get to the polls on Tuesday to defeat the GOP and issue a resounding to the agenda of President Donald Trump.

In a tweet on Monday, Sanders' final get-out-the-vote message was simple: the Republican Party's policy goals represent an unmitigated disaster for families, working people, and the planet while the alternative being offered by Democrats and progressive candidates in races nationwide would supplant those attacks with sensible and far-reaching set of solutions to the nation's most pressing problems.

The Republican agenda is clear.

Our plan: make health care a right to all. Stop giving tax breaks to billionaires. Protect and expand Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Transition to sustainable energy and leave behind a livable planet for our children. pic.twitter.com/cUCp1N5oI9

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) November 5, 2018

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'Are You Kidding Me?' Outrage as Democrats Push 'Incremental Steps' Over Bold Agenda Needed to Save Planet from Climate Catastrophe

Published on Thursday, October 18, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Gradualism is fundamentally incompatible with protecting civilization and the natural world. It's pathetic that the Democrats are continuing to pursue this approach."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

33 Comments

"The first and most important things Democrats should do is stop feeding the beast that's gotten us in this climate mess," David Turnbull, strategic communications director at Oil Change International, told Common Dreams. (Photo: Dursun Aydemir/Anadolu Agency/Getty Images)

Hundreds of mammal species have been wiped out due to human activity, planetary warming has sparked a "bugpocalypse" that is horrifying scientists, and United Nations experts are warning that the international community has just 12 years to transform global energy systems in order to avert climate catastrophe—but House Democrats are reportedly brushing aside widespread demands for urgent action in favor of "more incremental steps and hearings."

"Dems make chicken-shit (and out-dated) short-game political calculations while the worst planetary crisis humanity has ever faced accelerates."
—Alex Steffen

 

"Democrats are unlikely to pursue major climate change legislation if they win the House majority, despite a growing body of evidence suggesting time is running out to address the issue," The Hill reported on Wednesday, citing House members who believe a piecemeal approach to climate policy will be more "pragmatic" in the face of GOP and White House denialism.

Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), co-chair of the Sustainable Energy and Environment Coalition, told The Hill that if Democrats retake the House in next month's midterms, they will "focus on the practical and the opportunistic" steps available while vaguely keeping in mind "the aspirational goals."

Environmentalists were quick to make clear that such a passive approach is unacceptable—and tantamount to climate denial—given that humanity has just a dozen years to enact fundamental changes to the world economy and energy production before the climate crisis inflicts catastrophic and irreversible damage.

While The Hill titled its news story, "Dems damp down hope for climate change agenda," author and climate activist Alex Steffen argued a more appropriate and accurate headline would have been: "Dems make chicken-shit (and out-dated) short-game political calculations while the worst planetary crisis humanity has ever faced accelerates."

In an email to Common Dreams, Margaret Klein Salamon, founder and director of The Climate Mobilization, added, "Gradualism is fundamentally incompatible with protecting civilization and the natural world. It's pathetic that the Democrats are continuing to pursue this approach."

The sentiment that the Democratic Party's business-as-usual incrementalism is simply not going to cut it in the fight against the human-caused climate crisis was echoed by author and environmentalist Naomi Klein, who offered a one-line, all-caps response to House Democrats' reported plans: "ARE YOU KIDDING ME?"

ARE YOU KIDDING ME? https://t.co/1Cp6w8GYqq

— Naomi Klein (@NaomiAKlein) October 17, 2018

But while establishment Democrats indicate that they are ill-prepared to fight for the kinds of policies that are necessary to rapidly reduce carbon emissions, environmentalists said reasons for hope can be found in the young and growing progressive wing of the Democratic Party.

"Thankfully," said Salamon of The Climate Mobilization, "there is a bright spot in Congress: [New York congressional candidate] Alexandria Ocasio Cortez and her fellow Justice Democrats."

Any climate plan that doesn't stand up to the fossil industry and address the massive fossil fuel production the Trump administration is pushing would be incomplete at best, a wasteful distraction at worst."
—David Turnbull, Oil Change International

Any climate plan that doesn't stand up to the fossil industry and address the massive fossil fuel production the Trump administration is pushing would be incomplete at best, a wasteful distraction at worst."
—David Turnbull, Oil Change International

"Ocasio Cortez acknowledges the climate crisis as an existential threat demanding a WWII scale mobilization," Salamon told Common Dreams. "She understands the need to dedicate everything we have to the mission; to spend without limit to protect as much life as possible. This is such a fundamentally different approach from the mainstream Democrats, and so much more inspiring and heroic, I think its going to send a shockwave through Congress and win tremendous popular support."

Julian NoiseCat of 350 Action expressed a similar hope in a statement to Common Dreams, noting that the U.N. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) report earlier this month—which warned that humanity must cut carbon emissions in half by 2030 to avoid the worst of the climate crisis—"shows that incremental steps to climate change are not an option."

"We have a little over a decade to shift our economy to clean energy. But that's also an opportunity: an opportunity to put millions of Americans to work in good, green, union jobs supporting families and creating prosperous communities," NoiseCat noted. "We are excited to work with ambitious progressives in Congress who understand the enormity of this moment and opportunity."

In addition to being absolutely necessary for the survival of the planet, recent polls have shown an ambitious climate agenda would be electorally beneficial for Democrats, who are favored to take back the House—and a longshot to take the Senate—in next month's midterm elections.

According to a Pew Research survey released earlier this week, 72 percent of Democratic voters view climate change as a "very big" problem, and research by the progressive polling shop Data for Progress found that Democratic voters enthusiastically support an agenda of green jobs and a just transition to 100 percent renewable energy.

"The first and most important things Democrats should do is stop feeding the beast that's gotten us in this climate mess," David Turnbull, strategic communications director at Oil Change International, told Common Dreams. "That means ending fossil fuel subsidies and starting a managed and just decline of fossil fuel production in our country."

As Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), among the lawmakers in Congress who has called for a bold and rapid transition away from oil, coal, and gas, declared earlier this month in the wake of the IPCC report:

The good news is that we have the technology to transform our energy system away from fossil fuels.

The bad news is that Congress and the White House lack the political will to stand up to the fossil fuel industry. Together, you and I will change that. https://t.co/XnmxGef10l

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) October 8, 2018

"Any climate plan that doesn't stand up to the fossil industry and address the massive fossil fuel production the Trump administration is pushing would be incomplete at best, a wasteful distraction at worst," Turnbull concluded. "In the context of ever worsening predictions, we need bold leadership, not half measures."

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In Rebuke to Trumpian Division and Authoritarianism, Bernie Sanders Champions 'Unity' and 'Common Humanity' in Visionary Speech

Published on Wednesday, October 10, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Our job is to build on our common humanity and do everything that we can to oppose all of the forces, whether unaccountable government power or unaccountable corporate power, who try to divide us up and set us against each other."

by Jon Queally, staff writer

 

16 Comments

U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) speaks to protestors rallying against Supreme Court nominee Judge Brett Kavanaugh on Capitol Hill, October 4, 2018 in Washington, DC. (Photo: Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

While Donald Trump took to the editorial page of USA Today on Wednesday to spew new lies about key social programs like Medicare and sow fresh divisions with unhinged rantings about the "radical socialist plans" of the Democratic Party, Sen. Bernie Sanders on Tuesday offered a scathing and far-reaching rebuke to Trump's brand of politics by tackling head-on the threat posed by the president's penchant for authoritarianism and his consistent stoking of social divisions.

"Authoritarians seek power by promoting division and hatred. We will promote unity and inclusion."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)In a speech delivered at the John Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies, Sanders told the small audience that he wanted to "say a few words about a troubling trend in global affairs that gets far too little attention," as he proceeded to describe a trend that both describes the America under Trump, but one also seen in nations across the globe.

"There is currently a struggle of enormous consequence taking place in the United States and throughout the world," Sanders declared in his speech. "In it we see two competing visions. On one hand, we see a growing worldwide movement toward authoritarianism, oligarchy, and kleptocracy. On the other side, we see a movement toward strengthening democracy, egalitarianism, and economic, social, racial, and environmental justice."

Sanders continued by drawing a picture in which an increasingly wealthy and powerful set of elites—not just in the U.S., but in Europe, Russia, the Middle East, South America, Asia, and elsewhere—are actively fomenting anti-democratic angst while butressed by the rise of "demagogues" who, like Trump domestically, "exploit people's fears, prejudices and grievances to gain and hold on to power."

In response to such forces, argued Sanders, "Those of us who believe in democracy, who believe that a government must be accountable to its people and not the other way around, must understand the scope of this challenge if we are to confront it effectively."

And so, he added, "We need to counter oligarchic authoritarianism with a strong global progressive movement that speaks to the needs of working people, that recognizes that many of the problems we are faced with are the product of a failed status quo. We need a movement that unites people all over the world who don't just seek to return to a romanticized past, a past that did not work for so many, but who strive for something better."

With a direct hit on the Trumpian mantra of "Make America Great Again," Sanders warned that looking backwards, though valuable in some respects, is not where a better, more equitable world is to be found.

Instead, he said, what the world needs if it wants to defeat "the forces of global oligarchy and authoritarianism" is a powerful and organized "international movement that mobilizes behind a vision of shared prosperity, security and dignity for all people, and that addresses the massive global inequality that exists, not only in wealth but in political power."

In the end, Sanders observed,  "Authoritarians seek power by promoting division and hatred. We will promote unity and inclusion."

And, he concluded, "In a time of exploding wealth and technology, we have the potential to create a decent life for all people. Our job is to build on our common humanity and do everything that we can to oppose all of the forces, whether unaccountable government power or unaccountable corporate power, who try to divide us up and set us against each other. We know that those forces work together across borders. We must do the same. "

---

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Medicare for All's Time Has Come

Published on

Thursday, August 16, 2018

by

CNN

If every major country on earth can guarantee healthcare to all and achieve better health outcomes, while spending substantially less per capita than we do, it is absurd for anyone to suggest that the United States of America cannot do the same.

by

Bernie Sanders

 

 24 Comments

Supporters of Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) hold signs during an event on healthcare September 13, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC. Sen. Sanders held an event to introduce the Medicare for All Act of 2017. (Photo by Alex Wong/Getty Images)

Let's be clear. The American people are increasingly tired of a healthcare system that works for Wall Street investors, insurance companies and the pharmaceutical industry—but ignores their needs. They want real change, and poll after poll shows that they want to move toward a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system. And for good reason.

"The ongoing failure of our healthcare system is directly attributable to the fact that—unique among major nations—it is primarily designed not to provide quality care to all in a cost-effective way."

Today, the United States has the most expensive, inefficient, and bureaucratic healthcare system in the world. Despite the fact that we are the only major country on earth not to guarantee healthcare for all—and have 30 million uninsured and even more who are underinsured—we now spend more than twice as much per capita on healthcare as the average developed country.

According to a recent Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development analysis, we spend more than $10,300 per capita on healthcare. Meanwhile, Canada spends just $4,826, France spends $4,902, Germany spends $5,728, and the United Kingdom spends $4,264.

Further, despite this huge expenditure, which now constitutes almost 18% of our GDP, our healthcare outcomes are worse than most of these other countries. For example, our life expectancy is 2.5 years lower than Germany's and our mortality rate for children under the age of 19 is at the top of the list compared to other developed countries.

The ongoing failure of our healthcare system is directly attributable to the fact that—unique among major nations—it is primarily designed not to provide quality care to all in a cost-effective way. Instead, the system makes maximum profits for health insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry and medical equipment suppliers.

The Medicare-for-all legislation that I wrote, which now has 16 co-sponsors in the Senate, would provide comprehensive healthcare to every man, woman and child in our country—without out-of-pocket expenses. No more insurance premiums, deductibles or co-payments. Further, it would expand Medicare coverage to include dental and vision care. In other words, this plan would do exactly what should be done in a civilized and democratic society. It would allow all Americans, regardless of their income, to get the healthcare they need when they need it.

Under the current system, while thousands of Americans die each year because they lack access to the healthcare they desperately need, the top five health insurance companies last year made $21 billion in profits, led by the UnitedHealth Group, which made $10.56 billion.

As tens of thousands of American families face bankruptcy and financial ruinbecause of the outrageously high cost of healthcare, the CEOs of major insurance companies receive disgustingly high levels of compensation. According to Axios, in 2017, the CEO of UnitedHealth Group, Dave Wichmann, received $83.2 million; the CEO of Aetna, Mark Bertolini, received $58.7 million, and the CEO of Cigna, David Cordani, received $43.9 million.

Today, as an indication of how dysfunctional our current system is, about one out of every five Americans cannot afford to fill the prescriptions given to them by their doctors because we pay, by far, the highest price in the world for prescription drugs. A 2013 study showed that in 2010, the United States paid, on average, about double what was paid in the United Kingdom, Australia, and Switzerland for prescription drugs. Since 2014, the cost of 60 drugs commonly taken has more than doubled, and 20 of them have at least quadrupled in price.

While millions of Americans are unable to afford the medicine they desperately need, or are forced to cut their pills in half in order to save money, five top drug companies made over $50 billion in profits last year and, in 2015, 10 prescription drug CEOs made a combined $327 million in total compensation.

"The insurance companies, the drug companies, Wall Street and the Koch brothers will undoubtedly spend billions on lobbying, campaign contributions and television ads to defeat Medicare for all. But they are on the wrong side of history."

Would a Medicare-for-all healthcare system be expensive? Yes. But, while providing comprehensive healthcare for all, it would be significantly less costly than our current dysfunctional system because it would eliminate an enormous amount of the bureaucracy, administrative costs and misplaced priorities inherent in our current for-profit system.

Instead of doctors and nurses spending a significant part of their day filling out forms and arguing with insurance companies, they could be using their time to provide care to their patients. We'd be able to save up to $500 billion annually in billing and administrative costs. That money could be used to greatly expand primary care in this country and make certain that all Americans got the healthcare they needed when they needed it—saving billions on expensive emergency room care and hospital visits. Instead of paying the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs, we could save hundreds of billions over a 10 year period through tough negotiations with the drug companies.

The benefits of a Medicare-for-all, single-payer system are so obvious that even a recent study done by the right-wing Mercatus Center estimated that it would save Americans more than $2 trillion over a decade, reducing the projected cost of healthcare between 2022 and 2031 from $59.7 trillion to $57.6 trillion. Needless to say, that wasn't the point the study attempted to emphasize. Rather, the author of the study was hoping the headline—"Medicare for All costs the federal government $32.6 trillion" —would frighten the American people and get them to oppose it.

While opponents of Medicare for all focus their criticism on the increased taxes the American people will have to pay, they conveniently ignore the fact that ordinary people and businesses will no longer have to pay sky-high premiums, co-payments and deductibles for private health insurance.

At a time when healthcare in 2018 for a typical family of four with an employer-sponsored PPO plan now costs more than $28,000, according to the Milliman Medical Index, the reality is that a Medicare-for-all system would save the average family significant sums of money.

A recent study by RAND found that moving to a Medicare-for-all system in New York would save a family with an income of $185,000 or less about $3,000 a year, on average. Even the projections from the Mercatus Center suggest that the average American could save about $6,000 under Medicare for all over a 10-year period.

A Medicare-for-all system not only benefits individuals and families, it would benefit the business community. Small- and medium-sized businesses would be free to focus on their core business goals instead of wasting precious energy and resources navigating an incredibly complex system to provide health insurance to their employees.

Needless to say, there is huge opposition to this legislation from the powerful special interests that profit from the current wasteful system. The insurance companies, the drug companies, Wall Street and the Koch brothers will undoubtedly spend billions on lobbying, campaign contributions and television ads to defeat Medicare for all. But they are on the wrong side of history.

Here is the bottom line: If every major country on earth can guarantee healthcare to all and achieve better health outcomes, while spending substantially less per capita than we do, it is absurd for anyone to suggest that the United States of America cannot do the same.

 

 

Terrified by Progressive Enthusiasm Sweeping the Nation, Corporate Democrats Have Begun Planning a 'Counterrevolution'

Published on Sunday, July 22, 2018 by Common Dreams

"A reminder that these are the same people who tried to cut Social Security under Obama. Anyone who associates with Third Way is part of a plan to do it under the next president."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

129 Comments

Democratic leaders "need to wake up and pay attention to what people actually want. There are so many progressive policies that have widespread support that mainstream Democrats are not picking up on, or putting that stuff down and saying, 'That wouldn't really work,'" said social worker Rachel Conner. (Photo: Jaime Green/The Wichita Eagle via AP)

Corporate Democrats are extremely worried about the wave of progressive enthusiasm that is sweeping the country in red and blue states alike, and—according to a report by NBC News on Sunday—they are beginning to organize a "counterrevolution" to beat it back.

Ignoring survey after survey showing that progressive priorities like Medicare for All, a living wage, and tuition-free public college are overwhelmingly popular among the American public, Democratic politicians and operatives with the notorious think-tank Third Way used an invite-only event in Columbus, Ohio on Friday to tout an alternative agenda that centers on "opportunity" and access rather than equality—a platform that explicitly avoids alienating the ultra-wealthy.

"You're not going to make me hate somebody just because they're rich. I want to be rich!" Rep. Tim Ryan (D-Ohio) said during last week's closed-door event, which was titled "Opportunity 2020."

"Once again," added Third Way president Jon Cowan, "the time has come to mend, but not end, capitalism for a new era."

Real headline should be: "Democratic leaders: How can we keep preventing the things Democratic voters actually want?" https://t.co/TkYEeENEE0

— Will Bunch (@Will_Bunch) July 22, 2018

Polls show stuff like Medicare for All, $15 minimum wage & debt-free college are mainstream. One of the most Orwellian tactics is to nonetheless label the corporate Dems who oppose these things as “mainstream.” They arent — polls show they are the fringe. https://t.co/uwYA7kZ8Wc pic.twitter.com/7kmbSrPkbm

— David Sirota (@davidsirota) July 22, 2018

Heartening tale of a closed-door “safe space” strategy session for Third Way Dems determined to save humanity by putting a stop to unhelpful billionaire-bashing (“I want to be rich!” sez Tim Ryan). https://t.co/YdlJw9XSwv

— Matt Taibbi (@mtaibbi) July 22, 2018

As NBC's Alex Seitz-Wald notes, the "anxiety" centrist Democrats have felt about the rousing campaigns of democratic socialists and bold progressives like New York's Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Michigan's Abdul El-Sayed "has largely been kept to a whisper among the party's moderates and big donors."

But now, with organized events and more frequent interviews with the press, corporate Democrats and strategists are beginning to openly state their plans to undercut surging progressive momentum, "with some of the major fundraisers pressing operatives on what can be done to stop" Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) if he decides to launch another bid for the presidency, Seitz-Wald reports.

"Sanders' wing of the party terrifies moderate Dems," Seitz-Wald writes.

"They need to wake up and pay attention to what people actually want. There are so many progressive policies that have widespread support that mainstream Democrats are not picking up on, or putting that stuff down."
—Rachel Conner, social worker

"They need to wake up and pay attention to what people actually want. There are so many progressive policies that have widespread support that mainstream Democrats are not picking up on, or putting that stuff down."
—Rachel Conner, social worker

In terms of electoral strategy, Democratic insiders are advocating an approach that reaches out to so-called moderate Republicans who have supposedly broken with Trump, instead of placing the bulk of their focus on inspiring both non-voters and Democrats disgruntled by the party's corporate turn.

"Where progressives see a rare opportunity to capitalize on an energized Democratic base, moderates see a better chance to win over Republicans turned off by Trump," as Seitz-Wald explains.

The problem with this approach, as many commentators have noted, is that it was tried in 2016—and it failed miserably.

As a counter to progressive ideas like a federal jobs guarantee, Medicare for All, and expanded Social Security benefits, NBC reports that Third Way has put forth an "apprenticeship program to train workers, a privatized employer-funded universal pension that would supplement Social Security, and an overhaul of unemployment insurance to include skills training."

Progressives were quick to denounce such proposals as a thinly-veiled push to privatize Social Security and undermine more ambitious—and far more popular—left-wing proposals that have been winning big in Democratic primaries across the nation.

SHAMEFUL.

Funded by a random billionaire, 250 Democrats gathered together to discuss how they could make sure the party stands against progressives like Bernie & instead reminds people more of the Republican Party. https://t.co/31voFpORRO

— Shaun King (@ShaunKing) July 22, 2018

A reminder that these are the same people who tried to cut Social Security under Obama. Anyone who associates with Third Way is part of a plan to do it under the next President. https://t.co/tQzqhiQnPu

— People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) July 22, 2018

Warning: Third Way's "opportunity" agenda would give Wall Street a ton of taxpayer cash managing private retirement accounts instead of expanding Social Security. In 2011, their big idea was to cut Social Security. That's not "mainstream." That's radical. https://t.co/T6KieytFOD

— Warren Gunnels (@GunnelsWarren) July 22, 2018

Responding to the Democratic establishment's attempts to dismiss the successes of bold progressives and uphold a toxic status quo, 27-year-old social worker Rachel Conner told the New York Times on Saturday: "They need to wake up and pay attention to what people actually want. There are so many progressive policies that have widespread support that mainstream Democrats are not picking up on, or putting that stuff down and saying, 'That wouldn't really work.'"

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Hundreds Arrested Nationwide as Poor People's Campaign Demands 'End to the War Economy'

Published on Tuesday, May 29, 2018 by Common Dreams

"We have a long history of wars against other people, mostly people of color, around the world. It's time we stopped calling it the Defense Department and started calling it what it is: the Department of War."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 41 Comments

In its demands unveiled last month, the Poor People's Campaign called for "a reallocation of resources from the military budget to education, healthcare, jobs, and green infrastructure needs, and strengthening a Veterans Administration system that must remain public." (Photo: Poor People's Campaign/Twitter)

Inspired by Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.'s warning that "a nation that continues year after year to spend more money on military defense than on programs of social uplift is approaching spiritual doom," the Poor People's Campaign launched its third week of action in cities nationwide on Tuesday with the aim of confronting the American war economy, which pours resources that could be used to provide healthcare and food to the poor at home into the killing of innocents abroad.

Hoisting signs that read "The War Economy Is Immoral" and "Ban Killer Drones," demonstrators gathered at the capitol buildings of New York, North Carolina, Tennessee, and several other states to denounce a militaristic system that profits "every time a bomb is dropped on innocent people."

As of this writing, hundreds have been arrested and many more are facing arrest as they gather outside of Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell's (R-Ky.) office in Washington, D.C.

 

#PoorPeoplesCampaign lining up outside McConnell’s DC office. Today’s theme: “challenge the war economy.” They’ll be facing arrest. pic.twitter.com/EcblF33ZOV

— Alejandro Alvarez (@aletweetsnews) May 29, 2018

[VIDEO] The Rev. William Barber and his Poor People’s campaign hold a nonviolent protest at North Carolina statehouse. READ MORE: https://t.co/raxokUTH9D pic.twitter.com/rLGCDFBGMo

— AP South U.S. Region (@APSouthRegion) May 29, 2018

HAPPENING NOW: Dozens of Missourians have shut down the state capitol with the #PoorPeoplesCampaign for the 3rd time to call for an end to the war economy. We're fighting for our lives. And we all have a right to live. #FightFor15 pic.twitter.com/nKLSZFhAJf

— Stand Up KC (@standup_kc) May 29, 2018

“If you want to thank me for my service, work for peace!” #PoorPeoplesCampaign pic.twitter.com/ImoBMmE2CM

— Union Seminary (@UnionSeminary) May 29, 2018

“We have a long history of wars against other people, mostly people of color, around the world...it’s time we stopped calling it the defense department and started calling it what it is: the department of war.” -John Braxton, Vietnam War draft resister #PoorPeoplesCampaign pic.twitter.com/nVrjcRMlDk

— PA Poor People's Campaign (@PennsylvaniaPPC) May 29, 2018

As Common Dreams reported, the Poor People's Campaign unveiled a detailed series of demands last month ahead of the launch of its 40 days of action in more than 30 states across the country.

"We demand a stop to the privatization of the military budget and any increase in military spending," the agenda reads. "We demand a reallocation of resources from the military budget to education, healthcare, jobs, and green infrastructure needs, and strengthening a Veterans Administration system that must remain public."

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Off the Top of My Head

Democrats Should Adopt Bernie Sanders' Program, Lock, Stock and Barrel

by John Lawrence, May 30, 2018

The Democrats should adopt the party's progressive wing program and completely dismiss the conservative wing started by the Clintons. They should stand for an economic program which benefits the middle class which is what Trump did more or less. People voted for Trump because they said 'what the hell let's give this guy a try and see what happens'. The old working class wanted their jobs back. Trump was all about giving them to them. Instead of old jobs back, Bernie's wing stands for demilitarizing the Federal budget and spending money on economic programs like free college, universal health care, creating jobs by rebuilding infrastructure - bread basket issues. Affordable housing should top the list and resolving the homeless issue. America is ready for a dose of socialism.

As opposed to the Clintons, the party should be anti-Wall Street. In the Bible it says, "Man cannot serve two masters." Hillary tried to have it both ways. Take money from Wall Street and be a populist at the same time. She was serving two masters. The reason why Bernie was so popular is that he said it like it is. Trump just basically talked about his pet peeves which resonated with the disenfranchised middle class workers. Demilitarizing and putting the money to use and the workers to work building infrastructure would appeal to the same workers and downtrodden middle class. Millennials are attracted by Bernie's desire to get rid of student loan debt and establish free tuition and training programs.

The nation has to be demilitarized and the rich need to pay their fair share of taxes. The US is spending trillions on war and is on the wrong side in its military alliances as long as it's against Iran and Russia and for Saudi Arabia. The US is creating a crisis in Yemen with its support of the Saudi's brutal campaign there. Saudi Arabia is the major support system for ISIS so why are we in bed with the Saudis? Trump said he was against wasting money on military adventures abroad. Putting America first was supposed to mean repatriating the money spent on military adventures abroad and building infrastructure at home. That would be putting America first. Trump is not doing it. Perhaps the Democratic Party should co-opt that slogan and really put America first by using the money spent on the War Department to fund American jobs here at home.

All-Time Highs for Stock Buybacks and Bank Profits as Workers Languish in Trump's America

Published on Tuesday, May 22, 2018 by Common Dreams

"We've got to repeal the outrageous corporate welfare of this tax plan and pass real tax reform that actually helps working families—not the one percent," said Sen. Bernie Sanders

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

8 Comments

For years, armies of bank lobbyists and executives have groaned about how financial rules are hurting them. But there's a big problem with their story—banks are making record profits," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) concluded in a tweet on Tuesday. (Photo: Alex Proimos/Flickr/cc)

As America's largest corporations continue their unprecedented stock buyback spree in the wake of President Donald Trump's $1.5 trillion tax cut, new government data published on Tuesday showed that U.S. banks are also smashing records thanks to the GOP tax law, raking in $56 billion in net profits during the first quarter of 2018—an all-time high.

"The Trump/Republican tax plan has been nothing but a giant gift to corporations so that executives and shareholders can get richer."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)

 

The new data, released by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC), comes as the House of Representatives is gearing up to pass a bipartisan deregulatory measure that would reward massive Wall Street banks like JPMorgan Chase and Citigroup while dramatically increasing the risk of another financial crisis.

As Common Dreams reported, the Senate easily passed the bill in March with the help of 16 Democrats.

The banking industry's record-shattering profits fit with an entirely predictable pattern that has emerged following the passage of the GOP tax bill last December: America's most profitable corporations are posting obscene profits and using that cash to reward wealthy shareholders through stock buybacks while investing little to nothing in workers, despite their lofty promises.

"For years, armies of bank lobbyists and executives have groaned about how financial rules are hurting them. But there's a big problem with their story—banks are making record profits."
—Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.)

 

According to a CNN analysis published on Sunday, "S&P 500 companies showered Wall Street with at least $178 billion of stock buybacks during the first three months of 2018." As Common Dreams reported earlier this month, major corporations are on track to send $1 trillion to rich investors through buybacks and dividend increases by the end of the year.

Most Americans, meanwhile, have said they are seeing very few noticeable benefits from the massive tax cuts and—according to a new study by United Way—nearly half of the U.S. population is still struggling to afford basic necessities like food, housing, and healthcare.

"The Trump/Republican tax plan has been nothing but a giant gift to corporations so that executives and shareholders can get richer," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday. "We've got to repeal the outrageous corporate welfare of this tax plan and pass real tax reform that actually helps working families—not the one percent."

How corporations are spending their tax breaks:

✅ Stock buybacks for their wealthy investors

❌ Long-term investments in their workershttps://t.co/sR1x3OYzoq

— Tax March (@taxmarch) May 22, 2018

Instead of addressing the deep-seated financial struggles much of the American public is facing even as the stock market continues to soar and as Trump boasts of an economic boom, Congress is preparing to provide an even greater windfall to wealthy bankers on Tuesday by gutting crucial post-crisis regulations and putting taxpayers on the hook for yet another bailout.

This morning, it was announced that America’s banking sector hit a new record high of $56 billion in net income in the first quarter of 2018.

This afternoon, the House is set to pass the #BankLobbyistAct to supposedly "provide relief" to the banking sector. What a shameful day. pic.twitter.com/OYNUc7FQf6

— Public Citizen (@Public_Citizen) May 22, 2018

"For years, armies of bank lobbyists and executives have groaned about how financial rules are hurting them. But there's a big problem with their story—banks are making record profits," Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) concluded in a tweet on Tuesday. "Congress has done enough favors for big banks—the House should reject the Bank Lobbyist Act."

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Big Primary Wins for Socialists and Progressives Who Ran on 'Popular Demands That Were Deemed Impossible'

Published on Wednesday, May 16, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Welcome to the political revolution."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

8 Comments

Running on a platform including Medicare for All and free public education, democratic socialist Summer Lee defeated her Democratic establishment-backed opponent Paul Costa in Pennsylvania's 34th State House District. (Photo: Nathan Shaulis/Summer for PA)

"This is what happens when you run grassroots campaigns."

"We're just getting started."

"Welcome to the political revolution."

Defying national and state-level Democratic establishment forces that have worked to crowd out left-wing candidates and demonstrating that there is a deep hunger among the American electorate for a bold progressive agenda, candidates running on platforms of Medicare for All, free college, and a living wage emerged victorious in several state primaries on Tuesday and tore through the boundaries of what is conventionally considered politically feasible.

"They said it wasn't possible without institutional support. That we couldn't talk about Medicare for All, a living wage, about ending corruption in Harrisburg. And you know what we did instead? We built something."
—Sara Innamorato, Pennsylvania State House candidate

 

"It feels like a monumental shift," Arielle Cohen, co-chair of Pittsburgh Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), told the Huffington Post after four DSA-backed candidates defeated establishment Democrats in Pennsylvania. "We won on popular demands that were deemed impossible. We won on healthcare for all; we won on free education."

Running in Pennsylvania's State House Districts 34 and 21 respectively, Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato—both running on platforms consisting of Medicare for All, strong environmental protection, and campaign finance reform—toppled what local news outlets described as a "political dynasty" by trouncing Democratic cousins Paul Costa and Dom Costa by a wide margin.

"They said it wasn't possible without institutional support. That we couldn't talk about Medicare for All, a living wage, about ending corruption in Harrisburg," Innamorato said during her victory party Tuesday night. "And you know what we did instead? We built something."

"The story is that the Costa cousins lost, but who they lost to, just as signifigant.

both of the challengers they faced were endorsed by @DemSocialists" #socialistscanwin pic.twitter.com/SHFV8Rsqrs

— People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) May 16, 2018

"The establishment's scared," Pittsburgh DSA wrote on Twitter in response to the upset victories, which also included wins by Elizabeth Fiedler and Kristin Seale over their establishment counterparts. "When we fight, we win."

Signs of the grassroots progressive wave that some predicted will ultimately sweep across the country could also be seen in Idaho on Tuesday, where progressive Paulette Jordan handily defeated her establishment-backed Democratic opponent A.J. Balukoff in a bid to become the nation's first Native American governor.

If she wins in November, Jordan—who ran on protecting public land from corporate plunder and criminal justice reform—would be Idaho's first Democratic governor in over 20 years.

"Today's elections prove movement politics candidates, who rely on people power, can win, and win powerfully," Ryan Greenwood, director of Movement Politics for People's Action, said in a statement on Wednesday. "Candidates for public office who commit to a racial and gender justice agenda that puts people and our planet before profits are winning."

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Sanders Rips Bolton and Other Washington Hawks Who Push 'War and Militarism' as 'Answer to Everything'

Published on Sunday, May 13, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Maybe, just maybe, we might want to be investing in the American people rather than inflated military budgets and more and more wars."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

38 Comments

"This is a man who was a key adviser to President Bush, George W. Bush, in urging him to get involved to invade Iraq because supposedly Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," Sanders said of Bolton. (Photo: CNN/Screengrab)

Appearing on CNN early Sunday just moments after President Donald Trump's national security adviser John Bolton urged European nations to join the U.S. in violating the Iran nuclear accord, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) denounced Bolton as part of an influential faction of Washington ultra-hawks who push war as "the answer to everything."

"This is a man who was a key adviser to President Bush, George W. Bush, in urging him to...invade Iraq because supposedly Iraq had weapons of mass destruction," Sanders said of Bolton, who Trump selected to be his top foreign policy adviser in March. "As I think most Americans now know, that effort in Iraq was the worst foreign policy disaster in the modern history of this country."

The Vermont senator continued:

I think you have some people unfortunately in Washington—Bolton being one of them—who believe that war, and militarism, is the answer to everything. We have spent over $2 trillion in the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and yet today our infrastructure here in the United States is crumbling, we have millions of people who can't afford to go to college or are leaving college deeply in debt. Maybe, just maybe, we might want to be investing in the American people rather than inflated military budgets and more and more wars.

Sanders' comments on Bolton—who in a separate interview on Sunday attempted to downplay and obscure his past support for regime change—come just days after the senator denounced the Trump administration's decision to violate the Iran nuclear accord, a move Bolton has pushed for since the agreement was finalized in 2015.

In a live-streamed response immediately following Trump's withdrawal announcement last Tuesday, Sanders called the president's decision "reckless" and said it moves the U.S. closer to yet another military conflict in the Middle East.

"By reimposing nuclear sanctions on Iran and withdrawing from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, otherwise known as the Iran nuclear agreement, President Trump has put our nation on a dangerous path," Sanders added.

Monday evening, Sanders is set to elaborate his critique of Trump's violation of the nuclear agreement and discuss what comes next in a town hall hosted by The Intercept, The Guardian, NowThis, and other outlets.

We are partnering with @SenSanders to livestream a town hall addressing the consequences of President Trump pulling the U.S. from the Iran nuclear deal. Tune in Monday at 7 p.m. ET: https://t.co/Usve7rFqEy pic.twitter.com/gTQmyxGpGC

— The Intercept (@theintercept) May 10, 2018

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Embracing 'the Sort of Bold Thinking We Need,' Sanders to Introduce Plan to Guarantee Every American a Job

Published on Monday, April 23, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Proponents trace the idea back to the New Deal Era, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pitched a 'Second Bill of Rights' to Congress in 1944. First on the list: the 'right to a useful and remunerative job.'"

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

 62 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) addresses a rally against the Republican tax plan outside the U.S. Capitol November 1, 2017 in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images)

With the goal of eliminating "working poverty and involuntary unemployment," driving up wages, and curtailing income inequality, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is reportedly planning to introduce a federal jobs guarantee that would provide decent-paying employment to every American "who wants or needs" it.

"This is an opportunity for something transformative, beyond the tinkering we've been doing for the last 40 years, where all the productivity gains have gone to the elite of society." 
—Darrick Hamilton, The New School

 

First detailed by the Washington Post's Jeff Stein on Monday, Sanders' plan would "fund hundreds of projects throughout the United States aimed at addressing priorities such as infrastructure, caregiving, the environment, education, and other goals."

"Under the job guarantee, every American would be entitled to a job under one of these projects or receive job training to be able to do so, according to an early draft of the proposal," Stein notes. "Proponents trace the idea back to the New Deal Era, when President Franklin Delano Roosevelt pitched a 'Second Bill of Rights' to Congress in 1944. First on the list: the 'right to a useful and remunerative job.'"

In addition to providing workers with health benefits, Sanders' proposal would also require that Americans employed by the federal program be paid at least $15 an hour, which supporters say would lift the wages of all workers by boosting competition with the private sector.

"The plan's authors envision millions of Americans getting hired under the proposal," Stein notes.

Darrick Hamilton, an economist at the New School in New York, lauded Sanders' plan in an interview with the Washington Post, saying, "This is an opportunity for something transformative, beyond the tinkering we've been doing for the last 40 years, where all the productivity gains have gone to the elite of society."

Others embraced Sanders' proposal on social media:

This is the sort of bold thinking we need - disrupting the status quo back and forth in government between left and right and giving something for people to vote for. https://t.co/uvKWu2QcNQ

— John Iadarola (@johniadarola) April 23, 2018

News of Sanders' plan—which is still in the draft stage—comes as recent polling data has suggested that a federal jobs guarantee is immensely popular nationwide.

"We find that the job guarantee polls stunningly well in all 50 states," Sean McElwee, Colin McAuliffe, and Jon Green of Data for Progress noted in a recent article for The Nation. "Even in the state with the lowest modeled support, Utah, support is still 57 percent. Deep-red states like West Virginia (62 percent support), Indiana (61 percent), and Kansas (67 percent) all boast strong support for a job guarantee."

We modeled support for a job guarantee nationwide. It performs stunningly well. Democrats can run on a job guarantee everywhere. https://t.co/Uk3GR5Eu6Q pic.twitter.com/N4YPSY1Xpb

— abolish ice. send homan to the hague. (@SeanMcElwee) March 20, 2018

In addition to Sanders—who has also introduced legislation to guarantee healthcare to all Americans as a right—Sens. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) have also expressed support for a federal jobs guarantee.

"This is not a radical idea," Hamilton concluded in an interview with the Post. "It was well-couched in the Democratic platform that existed during its heyday."

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Recognizing Working Class Pain 'That Doesn't Make CNN,' Sanders and Rev. Barber Call for Building Truly Moral Economy

Published on Friday, April 20, 2018 by Common Dreams

"A moral economy is one that says, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, all of our people should be able to live with dignity and security."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

4 Comments

"Every night on CNN they're talking about Stormy. The most pornographic thing that's happened in this country is the illicit relationship between the Supreme Court and big business that created Citizen's United," said Rev. William Barber. (Photo: Mary Helen Wood/The Duke Chronicle)

Coinciding with the launch of a new Poor People's Campaign that plans to bring mass action and a radical anti-poverty agenda to over 40 states in the coming weeks, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) joined Rev. William Barber at Duke University Thursday night to discuss the deep inequality and working class pain "that doesn't make CNN" and how to confront these crises on the way to building a truly moral economic system.

"Every progressive policy today that we hold dear was seen as impossible 100 years ago. And then a few people said, we're gonna believe, and we're gonna fight for what we believe." —Rev. William Barber

"When we talk about a moral economy, we talk about justice and we talk about the gross immorality of three people in this country owning more wealth than the bottom half of the American people," Sanders told the audience gathered inside Duke's Chapel. "A moral economy is one that says, in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, all of our people should be able to live with dignity and security."

Titled "The Enduring Challenge of a Moral Economy: 50 Years After Dr. King Challenged Racism, Poverty, and Militarism," the discussion featured a wide range of topics, from the struggle for a living wage to voting rights to big money's influence on the Supreme Court—issues that Barber and Sanders argued are almost entirely ignored by the corporate media.

"Every night on CNN they're talking about Stormy," Barber, a leader of the new Poor People's campaign, said Thursday night. "The most pornographic thing that's happened in this country is the illicit relationship between the Supreme Court and big business that created Citizen's United."

Watch:

LIVE now @SenSanders and the @RevDrBarber at Duke U discuss “The Enduring Challenge of a Moral Economy: 50 Years After Dr. King Challenged Racism, Poverty, and Militarism” https://t.co/L882TqktiV #FightFor15 #PoorPeoplesCampaign pic.twitter.com/uiWT8aEDaz

— Fight For 15 (@fightfor15) April 20, 2018

Highlighting Martin Luther King Jr.'s insistence that militarism is deeply connected to the crises of racism and poverty, Sanders and Barber also pointed to endless U.S. led wars overseas that have cost trillions of dollars as the poor in America lack healthcare and other basic necessities.

"We've been at war in Afghanistan for 17 years

We've been at war in Iraq for 15 years

We spend more than the following 12 countries combined

...Dr. King was very strong on this...

Do we want to be engaged in never-ending war?" @SenSanders pic.twitter.com/joLqnO77Yr

— People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) April 20, 2018

 While much of the discussion Thursday night was centered on the systemic racial and economic inequities that continue to oppress vast swaths of the world's wealthiest nation, Sanders and Barber ended the event on an optimistic note, arguing that "when we stand together, we can do incredible things for the world."

.@SenSanders ends his discussion with @RevDrBarber on Dr. King: "We share a common humanity" pic.twitter.com/ceQPmJLeRT

— People For Bernie (@People4Bernie) April 20, 2018

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

"Every progressive policy today that we hold dear was seen as impossible 100 years ago," Barber added. "And then a few people said, we're gonna believe, and we're gonna fight for what we believe."

Watch the full event:

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Watch: Sanders, Warren, Moore Headline National Town Hall on Inequality and Oligarchy

Published on Monday, March 19, 2018 by Common Dreams

 

"We need to ask the hard questions that the corporate media fails to ask: who owns America, and who has the political power? Why, in the richest country in the history of the world are so many Americans living in poverty?"

by Jon Queally, staff writer

 

55 Comments

Streaming live on Facebook at 7pm EDT on Monday night, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) will be joined by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.) and Michael Moore, along with other advocates and experts, as they explore inequality, the rise of oligarchy, and the death of the middle class. (Photo: senate.sanders.gov)

On Monday night, from 7:00pm to 8:30pm EDT, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) is hosting a nationally televised town hall tonight focused on U.S. inequality and the threat posed by an increasing powerful oligarchy that has corrupted the nation's economy and politics.

"The rapid rise of oligarchy and wealth and income inequality is the great moral, economic, and political issue of our time."

In partnership with The Guardian, NowThis, The Young Turks and Act.tv, the event—officially titled "Town Hall on Inequality in America: The Rise of Oligarchy and Collapse of the Middle Class"—will feature a wide-ranging coversation with Sen. Elizabeth Warren, filmmaker and activist Michael Moore, and other expert panelists who will discuss the economic issues that mainstream and corporate news too often ignore.

Watch it live here:

"We need to ask the hard questions that the corporate media fails to ask: who owns America, and who has the political power? Why, in the richest country in the history of the world are so many Americans living in poverty? What are the forces that have caused the American middle class, once the envy of the world, to decline precipitously?" Sanders wrote in an op-ed promoting the event last week. "We need to hear from struggling Americans whose stories are rarely told in newspapers or television."

Tonight at 7pm ET: Join me, @MMFlint and @SenWarren for a conversation about a topic too often ignored by the corporate media – wealth and income inequality. #InequalityTownHall pic.twitter.com/K9JRCnG3KL

— Bernie Sanders (@SenSanders) March 19, 2018

"The rapid rise of oligarchy and wealth and income inequality is the great moral, economic, and political issue of our time," Sander tweeted on Monday. "Join us at 7 PM ET tonight on Facebook Live for conversation about inequality in America."

 

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Recognizing Populist Demand, Gillibrand and Booker Swear Off Corporate Cash

Published on Wednesday, February 14, 2018 by Common Dreams

In making pledge, Gillibrand and Booker join a small group of their Senate colleagues—Sens. Elizabeth Warren, Maria Cantwell and Bernie Sanders—who have also vowed to reject corporate PAC donations

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

22 Comments

Sen. Cory Booker (D-N.J.) speaks as Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) and Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) listen during an event on healthcare September 13, 2017 on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo: Alex Wong/Getty Images)

In moves celebrated by progressives as further evidence that grassroots pressure on the Democratic Party to ditch corporate cash is having an impact, two senators—Kirsten Gillibrand (D-N.Y.) and Cory Booker (D-N.J.)—pledged on Tuesday to no longer accept corporate PAC donations.

"Our movement has shown that you can't expect to be a leader of the Democratic Party if you're going to keep taking money from Wall Street banks and large corporations."
—Justice Democrats

In making this pledge, Gillibrand and Booker joined a small group of their Senate colleagues—Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), Maria Cantwell (D-Was.), and Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who have already sworn off corporate PAC money.

"I will no longer accept donations from corporate PACs," Gillibrand announced in a video posted on Twitter Tuesday. "We really need to make every effort we can to get rid of the corporate money and dark money that is flowing into politics, and my effort to ban corporate PAC checks is just a first step in that direction."

Booker also made his announcement through Twitter, writing that decision was a result of discussions with constituents.

I heard from constituents today asking about corporate PAC contributions. I'm joining several of my colleagues & no longer accepting these contributions. Our campaign finance system is broken. I thank @StopBigMoney for their work—it’s time to pass campaign finance reform.

— Cory Booker (@CoryBooker) February 14, 2018

Responding to the senators' announcements on Tuesday, the progressive group Justice Democrats attributed the growing trend of candidates and incumbents refusing corporate cash to the burgeoning grassroots desire for a campaign finance system that elevates the voice of the public, not massive corporations.

"Our movement has shown that you can't expect to be a leader of the Democratic Party if you're going to keep taking money from Wall Street banks and large corporations," Justice Democrats wrote on Twitter, tagging other senators who have not yet vowed to reject corporate money. "This is a sign that we are transforming the Democratic Party. Keep pushing. Don't stop."

As the campaign finance reform group End Citizens United (ECU) observed in a statement on Tuesday, Booker and Gillibrand are part of a "growing trend of candidates across the country who are pledging to refuse corporate PAC money," including Rep. Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas), who is vying to unseat Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) in 2018, and Randy Bryce, who is challenging House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.).

"Americans' faith in the government is at an all-time low, with more than 90 percent believing the government is working for the benefit of a few special interests," ECU noted. "A robust reform agenda would help end the outsized influence special interests has on our politicians and helps build trust with constituents. ECU has found that 62 percent of Americans believe that a candidate who refuses to accept corporate PAC money is a sign that the candidate is serious about reform."

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Off the Top of My Head

Democrats Represent a Congeries of Minorities, Not Majority

by John Lawrence

It's great to stand up for the little guy, for the minority. The only problem is it doesn't work in American politics. Democracy represents the majority. It's the majority vote that counts. That means that in order to win you have to stand up for the majority. The majority rules. That's how Trump won. He appealed to the majority that happened to be white males and their female counterparts. The Democrats appealed to minorities. That's not a formula for success. Only Bernie Sanders had a message that appealed to the majority and included the minorities without specifically mentioning their problems.

Anthony Scarimucci on Bill Maher's show, Real Time, tried to get the point across that while his parents were aspirational, the majority of Americans are now desperational. That's not a word but it makes perfect sense. The majority of Americans is concerned about economic issues. Who was it that said, "It's the economy, stupid." As a Democratic Socialist, Bernie continually pointed out how the rich have taken over the economy, how a handful of billionaires own more wealth than the whole middle class. His issues were Medicare for All, free education up through the college level and other issues of this nature.

Trump hooked them with xenophobia and a promise to spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure. He promised to bring all those jobs back from Asia and Mexico. So far he's only increased the economic divide by giving huge tax breaks to corporations and the wealthy in return for a pittance of a tax break for the middle class. That pittance will be phased out if it doesn't disappear immediately for some people because of the elimination of property tax and state tax deductions.

Democrats need to follow in Bernie's footsteps and stick to economic issues which will only improve the lives of the middle class AND minorities without specifically mentioning them. Taxing the rich to pay for infrastructure and other programs will decrease the economic divide. Otherwise, we are returning to a neo-feudal system where billionaires replace the roles of kings, nobles and landed gentry and the 99% return to serfdom.

Watch: Bernie Sanders' Response to Trump State of the Union

Published on Tuesday, January 30, 2018 by Common Dreams

"Here's the story that Trump failed to mention..."

by Common Dreams staff

  

29 Comments

Following President Donald Trump's State of the Union address on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) offered a response.

"I want to take a few minutes of your time to respond to Trump's State of the Union speech," Sanders announced. "But I also want to talk to you about the major crises facing our country that, regrettably, Trump chose not to discuss."

And, he added, "I want to offer a vision of where we should go as a nation which is far different than the divisiveness, dishonesty, and racism coming from the Trump Administration over the past year."

Watch:

The complete text of Sanders' prepared remarks follow:

Good evening. Thanks for joining us.

Tonight, I want to take a few minutes of your time to respond to President Trump’s State of the Union speech.  But I want to do more than just that.  I want to talk to you about the major crises facing our country that, regrettably, President Trump chose not to discuss.  I want to talk to you about the lies that he told during his campaign and the promises he made to working people which he did not keep. 

Finally, I want to offer a vision of where we should go as a nation which is far different than the divisiveness, dishonesty, and racism coming from the Trump Administration over the past year.

President Trump talked tonight about the strength of our economy.  Well, he’s right.  Official unemployment today is 4.1 percent which is the lowest it has been in years and the stock market in recent months has soared.  That’s the good news. 

But what President Trump failed to mention is that his first year in office marked the lowest level of job creation since 2010.  In fact, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, 254,000 fewer jobs were created in Trump’s first 11 months in office than were created in the 11 months before he entered office. 

Further, when we talk about the economy, what’s most important is to understand what is happening to the average worker.  And here’s the story that Trump failed to mention tonight. 

Over the last year, after adjusting for inflation, the average worker in America saw a wage increase of, are you ready for this, 4 cents an hour, or 0.17%.  Or, to put it in a different way, that worker received a raise of a little more than $1.60 a week.  And, as is often the case, that tiny wage increase disappeared as a result of soaring health care costs. 

Meanwhile, at a time of massive wealth and income inequality, the rich continue to get much richer while millions of American workers are working two or three jobs just to keep their heads above water.  Since March of last year, the three richest people in America saw their wealth increase by more than $68 billion.  Three people.  A $68 billion increase in wealth.  Meanwhile, the average worker saw an increase of 4 cents an hour.

Very Unpopular Trump Reportedly Thinks Extremely Popular Sanders Would Be 'Easy to Beat' in 2020

Published on Tuesday, January 16, 2018 by Common Dreams

A White House insider says the president is "always asking people, 'Who do you think is going to run against me?'" 

by Jessica Corbett, staff writer

 

35 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has said he is not taking a 2020 presidential run "off the table," but he has declined to comment any further on his plans beyond this year's relection campaign for the U.S. Senate. (Photo: AP/Jacquelyn Martin/Seth Wenig/Photo montage by Salon)

In spite of his record low approval ratings and a series of polls that peg him as the loser in the next presidential race, President Donald Trump reportedly believes that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.)—who is seen as a top challenger to Trump in 2020 and currently the most popular politician in the country—is not "a serious threat and would be easy to beat."

Politico reported late Monday that Trump had recently shared this view with "a Republican with close ties to the White House." The 71-year-old president's conclusion wasn't based on politics; according to the anonymous Republican, "Trump was hung up on Sanders' age, arguing that Sanders, now 76, wouldn't have the energy to run another national campaign."

Trump also brushed off a potential challenge from Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Mass.), a frequent target of the president's public attacks. "He's always asking people, 'Who do you think is going to run against me?'" the Politico source said of Trump. "I don't think he sees anyone, right now, being a serious competitor."

The report comes as Trump's approval rating remains below 40 percent, according to Gallup. 

Although recent polling focused on the 2020 race has shown former Vice President Joe Biden winning over more Democratic voters than Sanders or Warren—with media icon Oprah Winfrey also beating out Warren—since the fall of 2017, the senators have consistently defeated Trump in polls that pit them against the president. A November poll (pdf) had Sanders leading Trump 42 to 36 percent. 

Sanders has said he is not taking a 2020 presidential run "off the table," but he has declined to comment any further on his plans beyond this year's relection campaign for the U.S. Senate. However, political observers and analysts have suggested both Warren and Sanders are making moves that indicate they will enter the next race for president.

While Sanders has jumped into his role as the Democratic Party's outreach chair—pushing the party further left and fostering relationships with Democrats, even as he maintains his Independent status—Warren has, as Politico noted after the New Year, "amassed more money in her campaign war chest than nearly any senator in modern history, groomed political connections with Democrats who've been skeptical of her in the past, and worked to bolster her bipartisan and foreign policy bona fides."

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Sanders Slams Trump for 'Bragging' About Millions of Americans Losing Healthcare

Published on Sunday, December 24, 2017 by Common Dreams

The Vermont senator was referring to a provision in GOP tax bill that repeals ACA individual mandate, potentially throwing 13 million Americans off their health insurance

by Common Dreams staff

 

36 Comments

"Instead of bragging about more Americans without health insurance, we should join every other major country on Earth, guarantee healthcare for all people, and end the absurdity of paying twice as much per capita for healthcare, as every other major nation," Sanders said. (Photo: CNN/Screengrab)

In an interview on CNN's "State of the Union" on Sunday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) slammed President Donald Trump for "bragging" about a provision in the GOP tax bill that could throw 13 million Americans off their health insurance and argued that the U.S. should instead be working toward guaranteeing healthcare to all Americans as a right.

"Instead of bragging about more Americans without health insurance, we should join every other major country on Earth, guarantee healthcare for all people, and end the absurdity of paying twice as much per capita for healthcare as every other major nation," the Vermont senator said.

Sanders was reacting Trump's recent comments on the GOP tax bill's repeal of the Affordable Care Act's individual mandate. Trump claimed that the provision "essentially" repeals Obamacare, and insisted that he "will come up with something better."

The Republican Party's previous healthcare push, Sanders was quick to note, resulted in a bill that would have thrown more than 20 million Americans off their health insurance.

Sanders' remarks came in a wide-ranging interview in which he also denounced Trump for lying about who benefits from his tax plan and said Republicans should be "very" worried about their 2018 electoral prospects, given the deep unpopularity of their tax legislation.

"What we're seeing in Alabama, what we're seeing in Virginia, New Jersey and in states all across this country, are large voter turnouts, are people standing up and fighting back and demanding that we have a government that represents all of us, not just the one percent."

The Vermont senator also denounced Congress's lack of action to protect dreamers, calling it a "moral outrage."

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Bernie Sanders: Trump tax cuts a barely disguised reward for billionaire donors

From the Guardian:

The Vermont senator tells the Guardian why the tax bill – which could become law next week – is the result of 40 years’ scheming by the Kochs and others

 

 Bernie Sanders in Washington on Friday in protest against the tax bill. ‘It is based on the fraudulent theory of trickle-down economics that never worked, never will work.’ Photograph: Alex Edelman/AFP/Getty Images

Ed Pilkington in Washington

 

 

Saturday 16 December 2017 06.00 ESTLast modified on Saturday 16 December 2017 06.01 EST

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Bernie Sanders has accused Donald Trump and Republican party leaders of capitulating to the demands of the Koch brothers and other wealthy rightwing donors in railroading $1.5tn tax cuts through Congress.

A journey through a land of extreme poverty: welcome to America

 

 

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In an interview with the Guardian, the independent US senator from Vermont denounced the tax bill as payback for the billions of dollars that donors have invested in conservative politicians over decades. “What this is all about is nothing more than the Republican party very generously rewarding their wealthy campaign contributors,” he said.

The former presidential challenger said the reform of the tax code, which could clear both the House and the Senate and be signed into law by the the US president as early as next week, was based on the “rightwing extremist ideology of the Koch brothers. You can read it in what they were saying 40 years ago. What they want is an oligarchic form of society in which government plays virtually no role in public education, healthcare or addressing the needs of middle-class and working families.”

The end game, Sanders said, was that “you are on your own. You are 80 years old and you have cancer – good luck to you. Government is not there for you.”

The legislation, which has now been merged to form a single version from earlier Senate and House bills, marks the most substantial redrawing of taxation in America since Ronald Reagan’s 1986 tax cuts. It would slash the tax burden on corporations from 35% to 21%, and the top level of individual taxes from 39.6% to 37%.

The tax package is just another Trump lie. Many millions of middle-class Americans will pay more in taxes

Bernie Sanders

But while the bonus to corporations is permanently set in stone, benefits to working families would expire after a number of years. That would leave millions of middle-class families – 83 million, Sanders said – eventually paying more in taxes under the changes, while the most wealthy Americans would continue to cash in.

“This is nothing more than an effort to make the very rich richer,” Sanders told the Guardian. “It is based on the fraudulent theory of trickle-down economics that never worked, never will work.”

Sanders warned of a double blow to working people in which the vast increase in the deficit caused by the tax cuts would subsequently be used by Republicans to justify an assault on welfare benefits. Paul Ryan, the GOP Speaker of the House, has announcedthat he intends to turn to healthcare and anti-poverty programs next year to reduce spending, and conservatives continue to harbor ambitions of destroying Barack Obama’s signature legislation, the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare.

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 Paul Ryan looks set to reduce welfare programs to limit spending. Photograph: Jim Lo Scalzo/EPA

Sanders said that “after running up a $1.4tn deficit over 10 years they are going to offset that deficit by making massive cuts to social security, Medicare and Medicaid. That is clearly the intention.”

The senator ran Hillary Clinton to a close second place in the 2016 race for the Democratic presidential nomination. Since then he has become arguably the most prominent critic of America’s growing income and wealth inequality and the plight of the working poor.

His attack on the Republicans’ tax plans came a day after the UN special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, Philip Alston, issued a withering report that denounced growing in equality in the US. Alston’s initial findings, released on Friday, criticized the tax bill currently going through Congress for hugely increasing already large disparities between rich and poor.

Sanders’ claim that the tax cuts are a thinly disguised reward to billionaire extreme rightwing donors is supported by the statements of some Republican politicians themselves. Chris Collins, a New York congressman, told reporters that pressure from donors made the reform essential.

Trump turning US into 'world champion of extreme inequality', UN envoy warns

 

 

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“My donors are basically saying, ‘Get it done or don’t ever call me again,’” he said.

Last month the leader of the powerful conservative Super Pac the Congressional Leadership Fund, made it clear to the Washington Post that lawmakers who stood in the way of the tax cuts in the House should not expect to receive any of the $100m the body expected to spend on candidates in next year’s midterm elections.

David and Charles Koch have leveraged their own vast wealth – they own Koch Industries, the second largest private company in the US, and are valued by Forbes at $49bn each – by creating a network of other similarly minded wealthy conservatives that runs parallel to the Republican party. In the 2016 election cycle it spent about $250m on candidates who followed their anti-government creed, and the plan for next year is to increase that investment to $400m.

The Koch network has thrown its muscle behind the tax cuts this year. One of its periodic retreats for super-rich donors in New York in October was devoted to the subject of tax reform and attended by the vice-president, Mike Pence.

The brothers first entered the political arena in the 1970s when they began agitating for a bonfire of restrictions on spending by rich individuals and companies on political campaigns. They have consistently fought against government regulations and social programs helping low-income families, in ways that have been advantageous to their business interests that include oil and other energy concerns.

“Anyone who has looked at the Koch brothers and folks like them who have contributed over the years probably billions of dollars in right-wing efforts should not be surprised at the policies coming from Paul Ryan and Donald Trump,” Sanders said.

The senator lamented the unprecedented speed with which the tax plans have been rushed through Congress, and the consequent lack of public debate. As a result, he said, many details of the legislation were still so sketchy they were impossible to understand.

One area that Sanders is especially wary of in the unfolding bill are provisions that would benefit hedge fund managers based on tax havens such as the Virgin Islands. “We believe the provision will apply to probably fewer than 10, maybe even as few as three, hedge fund managers that will result in some $600m in tax breaks over 10 years.”

He added that he had raised the issue on the floor of the US Senate, asking for an explanation from the Republican group, “but we have not been given one”.

Sanders said the tax cuts were particularly punishing for those working Americans who had voted for Trump last November partly on the expectation that his promised tax cuts would ease their financial burdens.

“The tax package is just another Trump lie. Many millions of middle-class Americans will pay more in taxes and if Republicans get their way – and we are going to fight them tooth and nail on this – there will be cuts to social programs that many of Trump’s supporters have depended on for years.”

Sanders Demands Ryan, McConnell Come Clean on GOP Plan to Gut Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security

Published on Tuesday, November 28, 2017 by Common Dreams

"The bottom line is that the American people have a right to know exactly how you plan to pay for a $1.4 trillion increase in the deficit before, not after, tax legislation is signed into law," Sanders wrote in a letter to GOP leaders

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

7 Comments

House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) are pushing to strip healthcare from millions of Americans while they accept generous healthcare subsidies from the government. (Photo: Getty)

As the deficit-exploding GOP tax plan hurtles toward a final vote in the Senate this week, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) delivered a letter to Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell (R-Ky.) and House Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) on Monday demanding to know how much they are planning to cut from Medicare, Medicaid, Social Security, and other key programs in order to offset the costs of tax cuts for the ultra-wealthy.

"Will you attempt to end Medicare as we know it by giving seniors vouchers to purchase private health insurance, something long supported by Speaker Ryan? How much will you cut Social Security? Will you try to increase the retirement age to 70?"
—Sen. Bernie Sanders"I am very concerned that if you succeed in passing tax legislation that significantly adds to our national debt, you will then move aggressively to balance the budget on the backs of working families, the elderly, the children, the sick, and the poor," Sanders wrote. "In other words, in order to pay for tax breaks for the rich and large corporations, you will make massive cuts to Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, nutrition, environmental protection, and every other program designed to protect the needs of the middle class and working families of our country."

Highlighting nonpartisan analyses predicting that the Republican tax plan would increase the federal deficit by $1.4 trillion over the next decade, Sanders implored McConnell and Ryan to provide the American public with a "specific and detailed explanation as to how the Republican Congress will achieve its commitment of balancing the budget."

"Will you attempt to end Medicare as we know it by giving seniors vouchers to purchase private health insurance, something long supported by Speaker Ryan?" Sanders asked. "How much will you cut Social Security? Will you try to increase the retirement age to 70?"

Sanders' questions come as the Senate Budget Committee is expected to vote on the GOP's deeply unpopular tax bill on Tuesday, setting the stage for a final vote as early as Thursday.

Top Trump Pollster: 'No Question' Bernie Sanders Would Have Won

Published on Tuesday, October 31, 2017 by Common Dreams

The remarks come as polls continue to show the democratic socialist from Vermont is far and away America's most popular politician

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

4 Comments

"I think Sanders would have had the ability to reach a lot of the less than college-educated, low-income white voters," said Tony Fabrizio, the chief pollster of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign. (Photo: Phil Roeder/Flickr/cc)

At a Harvard University Institute of Politics event on Monday, Tony Fabrizio—the chief pollster of Donald Trump's 2016 presidential campaign—argued there is "no question" that Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) would have defeated Trump in the general election had he emerged victorious from the Democratic primary.

"I think Sanders beats Trump," Fabrizio concluded. "I think Sanders would have had the ability to reach a lot of the less than college-educated, low-income white voters."

Fabrizio's comments are consistent with polls conducted in 2016 showing that in a hypothetical head-to-head match-up with Trump, Sanders would have prevailed handily.

More recent polls have produced similar results.

As Common Dreams reported in August, a Public Policy Polling survey found that in a hypothetical 2020 match-up with Sanders, Trump would lose by 13 points.

Polls have also consistently found that Sanders is America's most popular politician. According to a recent Harvard-Harris poll, Sanders is the only politician in the United States who "a majority of Americans actually like."

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Sent to Destroy Sanders' Case for Democratic Socialism, Danish Right-Winger Bolsters It

Published on Thursday, October 19, 2017 by Common Dreams

Fellow at Peterson Institute, a regressive-minded think tank, concedes the many benefits of a nation that provides universal access to pre-school, healthcare, and college

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

6 Comments

Sanders concluded the debate by calling on Americans to resist attempts by Cruz, President Donald Trump, and the Republican Party to "give $1.9 trillion in tax breaks to the top one percent" while shredding what is left of the safety net. (Photo: CNN/Youtube)

In a televised debate with Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) on CNN Thursday night that quickly became a social media sensation, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) tore into the "fraud" that is the Trump-GOP tax plan, slammed America's corrupt campaign finance system that allows the wealthiest Americans to buy policies and politicians, and "dunked on" a Danish representative of a right-wing think tank who challenged Sanders on his support for Scandinavian social democratic policies.

"This Trump Republican tax proposal is a disaster. And together we are going to defeat that awful proposal."
—Sen. Bernie Sanders

Jacob Kirkegaard, a senior fellow at the Peterson Institute, charged late in the debate that Sanders wants to spend like a Scandinavian nation, but not tax like one.

Sanders responded by highlighting the benefits citizens of Denmark, Sweden, and other Scandinavian nations reap as a result of paying more in taxes and concluded that these benefits far outweigh the costs.

"How much do you pay when you go to the hospital, if you have cancer, God forbid, and you went to the hospital?" Sanders asked.

"Zero," Kirkegaard said.

"And what about college in Denmark?" Sanders went on. "Our kids can't afford to go to college. How much does it cost to go to college in Denmark?"

"Well, in fact, you get a government stipend to go to college," Kirkegaard said.

"Oh. In other words, not only is it free, they give you a stipend, because they want to make sure—correct me if I'm wrong—that they take advantage of the wisdom of all of the kids," Sanders replied. "They want to make sure that every kid in that country gets the best education he or she can have."

"Wow," tweeted Josh Miller-Lewis, Sanders' deputy communications director, "Bernie just dunked on this guy from the Peterson Institute."

"Bernie Sanders just (peacefully) disarmed a Danish Pete Peterson plant—brilliantly," added Katrina vandenHeuvel, publisher of The Nation.

By the end of their exchange, Kirkegaard conceded that familiar right-wing talking points about single-payer healthcare—for instance, the oft-repeated claim about extraordinarily long waiting lists—are false.

"I do not believe that America is about giving tax breaks to the very, very wealthy and cutting life-and-death programs for working families. This Trump Republican tax proposal is a disaster," Sanders concluded. "And the American people have got to stand up. And together we are going to defeat that awful proposal. Thank you very much."

 

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The World's Common Humanity and US Foreign Policy

Published on

Thursday, September 21, 2017

by

Common Dreams

 

'A sensible and effective foreign policy recognizes that our safety and welfare is bound up with the safety and welfare of others around the world.'

by

Bernie Sanders

 

 61 Comments

"We all want our children to grow up healthy, to have a good education, have decent jobs, drink clean water and breathe clean air, and to live in peace," Sanders says. "That’s what being human is about." (Photo: Bernie Sanders/Facebook)

Common Dreams Editor's Note: The following are the prepared remarks for a speech delivered today, Thursday September 21, by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) as the 58th Green Foundation Lecture at Westminster College in Fulton, Missouri. The speech will also be live streamed here (and below).

Let me begin by thanking Westminster College, which year after year invites political leaders to discuss the important issue of foreign policy and America’s role in the world.  I am honored to be here today and I thank you very much for the invitation.  

"Foreign policy is directly related to military policy and has everything to do with almost 7,000 young Americans being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and tens of thousands coming home wounded in body and spirit from a war we should never have started. That’s foreign policy. And foreign policy is about hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq and Afghanistan dying in that same war."

One of the reasons I accepted the invitation to speak here is that I strongly believe that not only do we need to begin a more vigorous debate about foreign policy, we also need to broaden our understanding of what foreign policy is. 

So let me be clear:
 
Foreign policy is directly related to military policy and has everything to do with almost 7,000 young Americans being killed in Iraq and Afghanistan, and tens of thousands coming home wounded in body and spirit from a war we should never have started. That’s foreign policy. And foreign policy is about hundreds of thousands of people in Iraq and Afghanistan dying in that same war.
 
Foreign policy is about U.S. government budget priorities. At a time when we already spend more on defense than the next 12 nations combined, foreign policy is about authorizing a defense budget of some $700 billion, including a $50 billion increase passed just last week. 

Watch the speech:

Meanwhile, at the exact same time as the president and many of my Republican colleagues want to substantially increase military spending, they want to throw 32 million Americans off of the health insurance they currently have because, supposedly, they are worried about the budget deficit. While greatly increasing military spending they also want to cut education, environmental protection and the needs of children and seniors.  

Foreign policy, therefore, is remembering what Dwight D. Eisenhower said as he left office: “In the councils of government, we must guard against the acquisition of unwarranted influence, whether sought or unsought, by the military industrial complex. The potential for the disastrous rise of misplaced power exists and will persist.”  

And he also reminded us that: "Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired signifies, in the final sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed. This world in arms is not spending money alone.  It is spending the sweat of its laborers, the genius of its scientists, the hopes of its children. The cost of one modern heavy bomber is this: a modern brick school in more than 30 cities. It is two electric power plants, each serving a town of 60,000 population. It is two fine, fully equipped hospitals. It is some 50 miles of concrete highway…”  

Off the Top of My Head

Berniecare: The Only Rational and Cost Effective Alternative for Health Care in the US

by John Lawrence

Will the American people listen to reason regarding health care? If so Berniecare could be the next health care policy in the US. It would be the best health care system in the entire world - bar none. Bernie has been touting "Medicare for All" for years. Health care should be a right not a privilege, the way it is in most civilized countries of the world. Universal health care is certainly as important as universal education if not more so. Bernie now has 17 Senate co-sponsors on his bill which is 17 more than he had a year ago - Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts, Kamala Harris of California, Kirsten Gillibrand of New York and Cory Booker of New Jersey.

Bernie's plan will cover dental and vision care which are not covered by conventional insurance plans. It will cover prescription drugs and bring their cost down because of the government's immense bargaining power. It will cover nursing home care which isn't covered by Medicare now. It will do all this for far less money than is being spent on health care now. America spends far more on health care than any single payer country, and the results are more meager by any standard or measure.

There will be no co-pays and no deductibles. You will be able to go to any doctor or hospital and simply present your insurance card, the way it is in Canada now. Last year, the average working family paid $4,955 in premiums and $1,318 in deductibles to private health insurance companies. Under this plan, a family of four earning $50,000 would pay just $466 per year to the single-payer program, amounting to a savings of over $5,800 for that family each year.

The United States currently spends $3 trillion on health care each year—nearly $10,000 per person. Reforming our health care system, simplifying our payment structure and incentivizing new ways to make sure patients are actually getting better health care will generate massive savings. This plan has been estimated to save the American people and businesses over $6 trillion over the next decade.

The American people will clearly be the winners if Berniecare is implemented. So who will be the losers? The insurance companies, the pharmaceutical corporations even for profit hospitals who will be forced to bring their costs under control. Doctors who take payoffs from pharmaceutical corporations will lose too. So their lobbyists will work overtime to make sure Berniecare never happens.

Let's hope that more influential people including politicians, celebrities and billionaires get behind Berniecare. Let's get it implemented. Let's get the next President of the US to be someone who is fully behind Berniecare. It will restore the US as one of the world's leading nations. Or we can stick with the abortion of health care we have now.

Possibly even Trump could get behind Berniecare. He's a renegade from traditional Republican orthodoxy. It could happen, but don't hold your breath.

Off the Top of My Head

Bumper Sticker Mentality Won Election for Trump

by John Lawrence

Hillary was too practical. Her math actually added up. Bernie was more passionate. Hillary blamed him because his math didn't add up. And then there was Donald Trump. he didn't even pretend to do math. He just dealt in slogans and banalities. The people loved it. The people didn't want to follow Hillary's math. They just wanted to be entertained, the way they'd been entertained by the likes of Rush Limbaugh, Ann Coulter and Alex Jones. Hate talk radio has become de rigueur as an adjunct to the Republican party. Republicans are glad to have all the haters under their tent as long as they can get their tax cuts for the rich passed in the process.

Hillary just wasn't entertaining enough, and she seems to be resentful of the fact that Bernie wasn't that concerned about his math adding up. Besides in addition to all the phony email stuff the haters had tried to hang around her neck for years, she had real troubling issues like being too cozy with Wall Street. She was all too willing to take immense amounts of money for giving speeches to the CEOs of Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase. For the amount of money they gave her, she should have given them a blow job as well. Her husband had deregulated them and unleashed the terror of credit default swaps and collateralized debt obligations which led directly to the 2008 financial meltdown.

Barack Obama had "saved" Wall Street, and Hillary had come to the conventional wisdom that Wall Street was the sine qua non to US hegemony in the world. The world rested on Wall Street's shoulders. The Value of the American dollar was not secure unless no Wall Street bankers went to jail. The financialization of the economy was sancrosanct. Bernie, being a Democratic Socialist, challenged all that. He was no friend of Wall Street.

The Republican establishment  thought Trump was their friend. Now they're not so sure after he sided with "Chuck and Nancy" over the debt ceiling. They thought that Trump could be their useful idiot the way Ronald Reagan with his celebrity status had been. They knew all this stuff about getting the coal miners back in the coal mines was a bunch of rubbish, but they gave him credit for appealing to the working man and all the folks who were longing for the good old days of the 1950s when there were separate drinking fountains and bathrooms for whites and coloreds.

Next time the Democrats or whoever might replace them on the Left should not worry about the math adding up. Get right to the heart of the matter. Find a candidate, preferably a well known celebrity, who can deliver a speech with passion and a commanding presence. It's time to fight fire with fire.

 

 

Democratic Sponsors of Medicare for All

'Go Forward, Not Back': Dismissing Clinton Jabs, Sanders Says He's Focused on Issues at Hand

Published on

Wednesday, September 06, 2017

by

Common Dreams

 

 

Sanders more interested in opposing Trump, raising wages, and obtaining Medicare for All than in relitigating the 2016 Democratic primary

 

 

 

 

by

Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

 91 Comments

Bernie Sanders, United States senator from Vermont, speaks at the Hay Festival on June 3, 2017. (Photo: David Levenson/Getty Images)

"Our job is to go forward."

"I'm working overtime now to see we overturn Trump's decision on DACA, pass a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and next week I'll be offering a Medicare-for-all single-payer system." 
—Sen. Bernie Sanders

That was Sen. Bernie Sanders' (I-Vt.) terse response Wednesday when asked about leaked excerpts of former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton's highly anticipated 2016 election memoir, which both paint Sanders' policy ideas as unrealistic and heap blameon him for hampering Clinton's chances against Donald Trump in the general election.

Speaking to The Hill, Sanders insisted he is not interested in relitigating the 2016 Democratic primary or "playing the blame game," particularly given the significance of the issues facing the United States in the present moment.

"I'm working overtime now to see we overturn Trump's decision on DACA, pass a $15-an-hour minimum wage, and next week I'll be offering a Medicare-for-all single-payer system," Sanders said.

"Right now," Sanders concluded, "it's appropriate to look forward and not backward."

Since excerpts of Clinton's memoir What Happened, set to be released next Thursday, began to emerge earlier this week, progressives and Democratic lawmakers have questioned the political wisdom—and the accuracy—of Clinton's attacks on Sanders, warning that they could intensify divisions between the mainstream of the Democratic Party and its burgeoning progressive wing at a time when Republicans control Congress and the presidency.

Responding to excerpts in which Clinton claims Sanders' criticism of her Wall Street speeches did "lasting damage" to her general election chances, Rep. Jared Huffman (D-Calif.) wrote: "Please Hillary, don't go there."

"I supported you," Huffman added. "Bernie showed restraint and class and ran an aspirational campaign."

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Sanders Takes on Pharma Greed With Rule Aimed at Ending 'Price Gouging'

Published on Tuesday, August 01, 2017 by Common Dreams

"Sanofi and the rest of the pharmaceutical industry cannot be allowed to make huge profits on the backs of working class Americans."

by Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

8 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT), ranking Democrat on the Senate Budget Committee, speaks at a news conference. (Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

In a move characterized as an effort to prevent large pharmaceutical companies from "goug[ing] American consumers after taking billions in taxpayer money," Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Monday introduced a new rule that would require drugmakers to agree to set reasonable prices before being granted exclusive rights to produce vaccines and other life-saving drugs.

"Americans should not be forced to pay the highest prices in the world for a vaccine we spent more than $1 billion to help develop."
—Sen Bernie Sanders

Sanders was joined by Rep. Peter DeFazio (D-Ore.) in crafting and unveiling the rule, which the pair of lawmakers "first proposed two decades ago with bipartisan support." The rule currently has 21 co-sponsors.

In the face of new developments, Sanders said in a statement, a rule addressing soaring prescription drug prices is as necessary as ever.

While the new rule would have broad implications, Sanders specifically takes aim at Sanofi, a French pharmaceutical giant that the U.S. Army has offered an exclusive license to develop a vaccine for the Zika virus.

"American taxpayers have already spent more than $1 billion on Zika research and prevention efforts, including millions to develop a vaccine. The Department of Health and Human Services gave Sanofi $43 million to develop the vaccine with $130 million in federal funding still to come," Sanders' office said in a statement. "But Sanofi has refused to agree to sell the drug back to Americans at a fair price. Without a fair pricing agreement, the company can charge Americans whatever astronomical price it wants for its vaccine."

Sanders, who spent much of his 2016 presidential campaign railing against the greed of the pharmaceutical industry, called such an arrangement "simply unacceptable."

"Americans should not be forced to pay the highest prices in the world for a vaccine we spent more than $1 billion to help develop," Sanders said. "Sanofi gets more than one-third of its roughly $34 billion in revenues from the United States alone, and its CEO made nearly $5 million in salary last year. Yet they have rejected the U.S. Army's request for fair pricing."

Sanders continued:

Sanofi and the rest of the pharmaceutical industry cannot be allowed to make huge profits on the backs of working class Americans, many of whom cannot afford the medication they are prescribed. The days of allowing Sanofi and other drug makers to gouge American consumers after taking billions in taxpayer money must end. That is why I am introducing legislation to demand fairer, lower prices for the Zika vaccine and for every drug developed with government resources. This is a fight that we cannot afford to lose.

An analysis (PDF) of the rule by the Congressional Budget Office found that the rule would save the federal government $6 billion over the next decade.

As Sanders often points out, the United States spends far more on pharmaceutical drugs—and on healthcare more broadly—than other industrialized nations.

(Image Source: Mic/OECD)

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Bernie Sanders Denounces Trumpcare as 'The Most Anti-Working Class Legislation Ever'

Published on Sunday, July 16, 2017

 

by Common Dreams

President Donald Trump "is supporting the most anti-working class legislation ever presented in the modern history of this country—a disastrous healthcare bill," Sanders said.

by

Andrea Germanos, staff writer

 

33 Comments

Sen. Bernie Sanders told a progressive convention Saturday that "if people all over this country do not stand up and fight back [...], there is a real likelihood that the trend toward oligarchy will only intensify." (Photo: Gage Skidmore/flickr/cc)

Bernie Sanders spoke in Des Moines, Iowa on Saturday where he issued a rallying cry for "a vibrant American democracy," and took aim at the Republicans' healthcare bill, which he called "the most anti-working class legislation" in modern history.

The Vermont senator made the remarks at the Iowa Citizens for Community Improvement (CCI) Action Fund's annual convention called "Revolution Iowa: From Protest to Power," where he delivered the keynote address.

Sanders said that "we're in a pivotal moment of American history."

he trend toward having a handful of billionaire families with unlimited resources controlling our political process will only get worse. The trend toward a handful of conglomerates owning and controlling our economy will only get worse."

"And what our job is," he continued, "is to create a vibrant democracy where one person, one vote is what dominates the political system, not billionaires buying the election."

"Democracy is facing an enormous challenge," Sanders said.

Threats to a "vibrant democracy," he said, come not only from the "disastrous" Citizens United Supreme Court ruling, but also "Republican governors, cowardly governors, who don't have the guts to run for office based on their ideas but who are attempting to suppress the vote to keep low-income people or people of color or working people or older people from participating in the political process."

"If some Republican wants to run for office talking about giving tax breaks to billionaires and cutting Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid and education, that is his or her prerogative. Run for office on those ideas. See how many votes you get."

His advice for politicians espousing those ideas but not willing to run for office on them? "Get out of office or get another job."

Among the steps to ensure that everyday Americans—"not the Koch brothers"—dominate the political process, Sanders said, are establishing automatic voter registration, restoring the voting rights for convicted felons who've served their sentence, ending superPACs, and enacting public funding of elections.

Sanders also took direct aim at Donald Trump, saying the president's claim that three to five million people voted illegally in the 2016 presidential election "is an absolute lie" whose goal is "to encourage state officials all across the country to suppress the vote. We will not accept that."

Trump, he added, "is supporting the most anti-working class legislation ever presented in the modern history of this country—a disastrous healthcare bill."

"President Trump, don't tell the people of this country that you support the working class when you are defending legislation which will throw 22 million Americans off of the healthcare they currently have," Sanders said. "That is not defending the working class. That is a major attack on middle class and working-class families all across this country."

Addressing his Senate colleagues in the Hawkeye State, Republicans Chuck Grassley and Joni Ernst, he said, "please, please take a hard look at what this disastrous legislation will do to the people of Iowa and the people of America."

"I beg of them: please vote 'no' on this legislation," Sanders said.

The former presidential candidate, who last week said a 2020 White House bid wasn't "off the table," told the crowd: "We are going to fight for an American democracy that will make future generations proud."

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People's Summit Kicks Off: Moving 'Beyond Resistance' to Forge Just World in Trump Era

Published on

Friday, June 09, 2017

by

Common Dreams

'If there was ever a moment to come together, this is it—in Trump times the only defense is a good offense,' says 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben

by

Andrea Germanos, staff writer

 

9 Comments

 

The People's Summit takes place in Chicago from Friday to Sunday, and features progressive luminaries and opportunities to cement a blueprint "for a just world." (Image: The People's Summit)

Thousands of progressive activists are gathering in Chicago to cultivate strategies and foster intersectionality for moving "beyond resistance" to "a people's movement for a just world."

The three-day People's Summit, headlined by Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), kicks off Friday. It aims to bring together those committed to an agenda "that can enhance and expand issue campaigns and hold all elected officials accountable to popular demands for justice, equality, and freedom," the call to the event says.

The Vermont Independent and 2016 presidential contender will give the keynote address Saturday beginning at 7pm CST. A livestream will be available here.

Other speakers include noted filmmaker Josh Fox, Democracy Now! co-host Amy Goodman, Rep. Pramila Jayapal (D-Wash.), political commentator Van Jones, Linda Sarsour of the Arab-American Association, Zephry Teachout of Fordham University, and 350.org co-founder Bill McKibben.

“If there was ever a moment to come together, this is it—in Trump times the only defense is a good offense," McKibben said in an earlier statement.

Breakout sessions are set explore key progressive issues, featuring titles such as "Transforming the Democratic Party"; "Organizing for Education Justice";  "Multi-Front Organizing for the Political Revolution"; "Empowering Locals: The Power of Perseverance"; "Runaway Inequality"; and "Time for Single-Payer!"

Supporting organizations include many Sanders backers, such National Nurses United (NNU), Our Revolution, and The People for Bernie.

According to Winnie Wong, a key organizer of the summit and a co-founder of People for Bernie, the gathering is "going to be a turning point for the people who have been really invested in the Bernie revolution," and would offer "political education for organizers ahead of 2018."

Looking at all those participating in the summit, RoseAnn DeMoro, executive director of NNU, said, "What has consistently unified us is a common vision of opposition to policies of austerity and neo-liberalism, and solidarity in supporting each others' work on healthcare, environmental, racial, social, and economic justice, and breaking the corporate grip on our political and economic system."

Saturday's roster also features "The People Speak"—dramatic readings inspired by the late Howard Zinn performed by artists including Aasif Mandvi, Jesse Eisenber, Melissa Leo, and Wallace Shawn.

The gathering at McCormick Place is People's Summit 2.0. Last year's similarly themed event, also in Chicago, featured speakers including author and climate activist Naomi Klein—who's also speaking at this year's event—and Seattle City Council member Kshama Sawant.

Watch the hashtag #PPLSummit on Twitter over the next three days to see events from the People's Summit as it unfolds.

Sanders: Corbyn Surge in UK Shows World Rising Up Against Austerity, Inequality

Published on

Friday, June 09, 2017

by

Common Dreams

"People in the U.K., the U.S. and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1%," Sanders said

by

Jake Johnson, staff writer

 

19 Comments

Sanders said he has been "impressed" by Corbyn's "willingness to talk about class issues." (Photo: Getty)

Responding to the results of the U.K. election, which commentators have already deemed a "political upset" for the ages and a stunning backfire for Prime Minister Theresa May, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) on Thursday congratulated Labour leader Jeremy Corbyn and the British people for "rising up against austerity and massive levels of income and wealth inequality."

"Globalization has left far too many people behind." —Sen. Bernie SandersPeople "all over the world" are fighting the same battle, Sanders added, concluding:

People in the U.K., the U.S. and elsewhere want governments that represent all the people, not just the 1%. I congratulate Jeremy Corbyn for running a very positive and effective campaign.

Corbyn's strong run—which culminated in an additional 31 seats for Labour and a hung parliament—was, in many ways, reminiscent of the Sanders "revolution" in the United States, which posed a stark challenge to "the billionaire class" and a political establishment flush with corporate money. Sanders himself drew the comparison between his campaign and Corbyn's recently on a three-day U.K. speaking tour, during which he praised the Labour leader's "willingness to talk about class issues."

"These problems are not unique to the U.S.," Sanders noted. "Globalization has left far too many people behind. Workers all over the world are seeing a decline in their standard of living. Unfettered free trade has allowed multinational corporations to enjoy huge profits and make the very rich even richer while workers are sucked into a race for the bottom."

Corbyn utilized similar messaging. Under his leadership, the Labour Party this year published one of the most left-wing manifestos in its history, adopting a slogan Sanders backers surely recognized: "For the many, not the few."

It is unsurprising, then, that British voters were seen donning Sanders apparel as they cast their ballots for Labour.

Peter Bloom, writing for Common Dreams, argued the campaigns of Sanders and Corbyn both successfully harnessed similar forces, and thus "exposed the beginnings of a potentially new political mainstream."

Bloom concluded:

Corbyn's strong campaign is no small political achievement. Historically, he has altered the public discussion on major issues of the economy and foreign policy. He has also shown that a full throttled progressive agenda is not only not suicidal but potentially downright popular.

For many, Corbyn's remarkable surge in recent weeks and his performance in an election that was prematurely viewed as a landslide opportunity for the Conservatives is a strong indicator of the electoral viability of left populism and of the strong desire for systemic change.

Bernie Sanders' Commencement Speech at Brooklyn College

Why Bernie Would Have Been a Better Candidate Than Hillary

by John Lawrence

Bernie Made Tangible Statements That Were Easily Comprehended

Bernie, like Trump, tended to make absolute statements without regard to whether or not they could ever be implemented under current political conditions. He said "Make college free at public colleges and universities." Period. Hillary would qualify and nuance her statements about free tuition like "make it affordable" or "make it free for every family making less than X amount of dollars." Trump just made absolute statements whether or not they could be supported by the reality of political conditions or even the laws of physics. Bernie tended to do this too. With a Republican Congress there was no way Bernie would ever have been able to implement free college tuition. The lesson is Make Bold Statements; leave the fine print till later.

Bernie Gave Them Meat and Potatoes; Hillary Wanted Them to Eat Their Broccoli

Bernie was adamantly anti-Wall Street. Hillary wanted to preserve the status quo, and that meant keeping Wall Street in charge of the world's financial system. Bernie said "Tax the rich." Very simple, forthright and straightforward statement. Hillary could not bring herself to make such a statement. She had to put limits on it while all the time Trump was making absolute statements whether or not he could ever deliver the goods. He didn't care. He was all about getting himself elected and knew he couldn't be held responsible for anything he said in a court of law. He also knew that with a Republican Congress he had a far greater chance of getting his campaign promises implemented than Hillary would have had despite the fact that he pissed off a lot of Republicans. They would come around when they realized that the Big Enchilada - US tax policy - was the same for them and Trump which was and is to give huge tax breaks to the wealthy and a mess of pottage to everyone else. Red blooded Americans would be grateful to get a few crumbs from the table, and Republicans would sell it to them with all their considerable skill. They've been doing it for years.

Bernie and Trump Railed Against Free Trade; Hillary Was For It

Hillary wanted to "modify" US trade policy. Again too nuanced. She should have demonized US trade policy as Trump and Bernie did. But wait - wasn't free trade the policy her husband implemented by signing off on NAFTA? You bet. Hillary wanted to "improve" things not do away with her husband's legacy completely nor did she want to do away with Obama's policies either. She was for TTP before she was against it. Not too convincing. She was too much of a pragmatist. The time for being pragmatic is after you've won the election, not before.

Hillary Was Too Tied to the Meritocracy

She believed all those smart guys like Lloyd Blankfein and Jamie Diamond were keeping the world economy functioning from their catbird seats on Wall Street. She just wanted them to keep on doing what they were doing while cleaning up their act around the edges. Besides wasn't that so nice of them to give her very generous amounts of money to do a 15 minute speech?

Bernie wanted to break up the big banks and put bankers in jail for their crimes. Trump said almost nothing about the fraudulent activities of the big banks. The only person he wanted to put in jail was Hillary. Those fires had already been stoked for him by hate talk radio for the eight years of the Obama administration. He just fanned the flames for a ready made audience. The chieftains of Wall Street were meritocrats just like Hillary. They were smart people. Remember it was Bill Clinton who signed the laws deregulating Wall Street leading directly to the 2008 financial crisis. Ohmagod, I guess Hillary was tied too directly to him!

Bernie Wanted Medicare for All; Hillary Wanted to Marginally Improve Obamacare

Too bad she retained too much loyalty to the Obama administration having been a major part of it. Obamacare had been railed against by hate talk radio for eight years. It had been eviscerated and compromised from its very outset by pharmaceutical corporation lobbyists who won the right to raise prices at will.

Obama thought he had to compromise in order to get anything passed. He gave up the public option in order to get Republicans on board. He gave in to Republicans and gave up some of the best features of what might have been a pretty good system. Instead it was fatally flawed from the very beginning, and Republicans relentlessly attacked it from Day 1.

Bernie Voted Against the Iraq War; Hillary Voted For It

Hillary has been a hawk on foreign policy perhaps because she wants to prove that, even though she's a woman, she's as tough as a man in that regard. Her record on Libya, despite Benghazi, is not good either. It was the wrong thing to do to take out Gaddafi as subsequent events have shown. Bernie is dedicated to not fighting wars which have nothing to do with our vital interests. Obama and Hillary should never have gotten involved in either Syria or Libya. Obama was on the right track when he ended the Iraq war or so he thought. Subsequent events have shown that trying to end a war in that part of the world is next to impossible. That's why we should never have taken out Saddam Hussein or started the Iraq war, but that was George W Bush's fault. He opened a can of worms and lied us into that war because he wanted to be a war time President. Obama did his best to end it, but the best laid plans of mice and men don't always work out.

Hillary Should Have Trumped Trump on Infrastructure

Now Trump wants to spend a lot of money on infrastructure, something the Democrats have wanted for years. The Republican Congress wouldn't let them. Now, ironically, Trump has a good chance to get 'er done since he has both Houses of Congress with him. However, he will do it the Republican way - make it profitable for investors including selling off infrastructure to private interests. Privatizing the interstates, for example, and turning them into toll roads.

It would have been almost impossible for Hillary, but that shouldn't have stopped her from making the unqualified statement, "I will spend a trillion dollars on infrastructure and thus create jobs." Instead she let Trump trump her ace. Bernie was more convincing because he played Trump's game and made unqualified and unnuanced statements about what he would do without regard to the chances related to dealing with a Republican Congress who probably would have filibustered every initiative Bernie made had he become President.

On Immigration Trump Had a Simple, Easily Comprehensable Policy; Hillary Didn't

"Build a Wall." No matter how complex or ill advised was the real world feasibility of this project, Trump didn't let that stop him. Hillary and the Democrats had a more nuanced policy, more if's as's and wherefore's. This hurt them. Too lawyerly. Hillary should have made it clear that she would not tolerate illegal immigration and stopped at that. Again what they did after the election might have been completely different. There wouldn't have been any legal repercussions for that. The Dems could have taken this issue away from Trump or at least nullified it in the minds of the voters, but it was a lost opportunity because of the complexity of the issue and the Dems wanting to do the right thing instead of the thing that would have gotten them elected. They need to be more Machiavellian and not quite so honest. They need to appeal to the mainstream more.

Trump Uttered the Words 'Radical Islamic Terrorism'; Hillary Wouldn't

Yes, there is such a thing, but prominent Democrats would not even say the words although challenged to do so many times. You got the feeling that Hillary and President Obama were more concerned with not hurting Muslims' feelings than assuaging most Americans' fears. Donald Trump had a very simple, albeit oversimplified, and comprehensable approach to this issue. Hillary did not. Again more nuanced, more bending over backwards to be inclusive.

The Dems could not even condemn Wahhabism, that branch of Islam that teaches that it's OK to kill Christians and Jews which originates in Saudi Arabia, the US' chief ally in the Middle East. That hypocrisy is at the heart of the American disingenuous policy toward the Muslim world. Fifteen of the nineteen 9/11 hijackers were Saudi citizens. The Democrats also failed to condemn Sharia law which represents a total violation of human rights including the rights of women.

Get Ready for the Market Crash and Recession of 2016

by John Lawrence from the San Diego Free Press

Oil is less than $30. a barrel. This is over three times less than what it costs just to buy the barrel itself! Iran has been accepted back into the world community and is revving up to sell its oil on the world market which will bring down the price of oil even more. Frackers and oil producers in the US have taken on a huge amount of debt under the assumption that it would pay off down the road. They hadn't counted on the price of oil plummeting. What will they do when we convert 100% to renewables?

The debt overhang in the US economy is, as The Donald would say, UUUUGE! All the Wall Street banks and hedge funds, which have bet on the US becoming oil independent and have bought derivatives up the ying yang, are on the losing end of their bets. This presages a crash similar to the mortgage based crash of 2008. Then the Big Banks will ask for another bailout. Or maybe they won't ask; they'll just tell us that we're bailing them out because, after all, they run the government.

Goldman Runs the Government While Committing Fraud

Goldman Sachs runs the government's finance department. Treasury Secretaries Robert Rubin (1995-99) and Hank Paulson (2006-2009) were at Goldman from 1966 to 1992 and 1974 to 2006 respectively. At Treasury, Paulson was aided by Chief of Staff Mark Patterson (Goldman lobbyist 2003-2008), Neel Kashkari (Goldman Vice President 2002-2006) , Under-Secretary Robert K Steel (Vice Chairman at Goldman, where he worked from 1976 to 2004), and advisors Kendrick Wilson (at Goldman from 1998 to 2008) and Edward C Forst (former Global Head of Goldman's Investment Management Division).

Paulson's successor, Timothy Geithner, a protege of Robert Rubin, was kept close to the Goldman fold with the usual tactic of paying him lucrative speaking fees, the same tactic they use to keep Hillary's ear. I could go on with Goldman's connections to the US government, but I don't want to bore you. For a fuller account I refer you to Michael Hudson's book, Killing the Host, How Financial Parasites and Debt Destroy the Global Economy.

This January 2016 Goldman admitted to committing massive fraud and was fined $5 billion. The Wall Street firm had agreed with federal prosecutors and regulators to resolve claims stemming from the marketing and selling of faulty mortgage securities to investors. These are the people who are running your democratic (ha, ha) government. While the 99% got screwed, Wall Street got bailed out because they ARE the government.

But not to worry. This looming market crash is a problem for the big guys, the billionaires, the investor class, not the 99%. The mortgage defaults of 2008, on the other hand, brought real pain to the middle class. While the banks got bailed out, the average middle class homeowner did not. HAMP, the Home Affordable Mortgage Program which was supposed to help homeowners stay in their homes with loan modifications, was a colossal failure.

The program gave permanent mortgage modifications to 1.3 million people, but 350,000 of them defaulted again on their mortgages and were evicted from their homes. Fewer than one million homeowners remain in the HAMP program – just a quarter of its target – and $28 billion of the funding remains unspent. The HAMP program, supposed to help homeowners save their houses, may have led them deeper into a bureaucratic swamp.

401ks - the Worst Idea Perpetrated on the American People

Now that that crisis has settled down, the main worry of the middle class is that, when the stock market tanks, so will their 401k. 401ks were one of the worst travesties visited on the average American worker. Folks lucky enough to have traditional pensions don't have to worry especially if it's a government pension. On the other hand those with traditional pensions from corporations have to worry about corporate raiders and hedge fund takeover artists raiding their pension funds. Those with 401ks are taking all the risk in their individual portfolios over which they have no control really. They are at the mercy of the market and Wall Street. God help them.

There is also widening inequality which means that American consumers have less money to spend to keep the economy going. US GDP depends on consumer purchases because they are 70% of the economy. If everyone goes to ground and starts growing their own vegetables and keeping their own chickens, all those nonpurchases at the supermarket will drive the economy down. 2015 was a big year for car sales; that means that 2016 will not be because consumers are carred up.

Robert Reich thinks the economy is on the edge of recession:

Consider: The median wage is 4 percent below what it was in 2000, adjusted for inflation. The median wage of young people, even those with college degrees, is also dropping, adjusted for inflation. That means a continued slowdown in the rate of family formation—more young people living at home and deferring marriage and children – and less demand for goods and services. 

At the same time, the labor participation rate—the percentage of Americans of working age who have jobs—remains near a 40-year low. 

The giant boomer generation won’t and can’t take up the slack. Boomers haven’t saved nearly enough for retirement, so they’re being forced to cut back expenditures.

Wall Street and hedge funds are running the economy. They are the central planners not the US government which is basically just a pawn in their hands. They borrow money from the Federal Reserve at extremely low rates and then buy Treasury bonds which amounts to making money off the spread or making money off their ability to finance the American government which boils down to us, the American taxpayers.

Fortunately, the US isn't dependent on Japanese or Chinese or Saudi Arabian investors to buy its bonds. Wall Street has taken over that role in a symbiotic Ponzi scheme which requires the Fed, Wall Street and the US Treasury to all play their parts. That means that now the Big Banks are really, really Too Big To Fail. They are an essential part of funding and running the US government!

Better to Put Your Money Under the Mattress

While Wall Street banks are too big to fail, the next banking crisis could trigger not a bail out but a bail in. According to Ellen Brown, the mechanics are already in place to loot depositors' bank accounts:

While the mainstream media focus on ISIS extremists, a threat that has gone virtually unreported is that your life savings could be wiped out in a massive derivatives collapse. Bank bail-ins have begun in Europe, and the infrastructure is in place in the US. Poverty also kills.

At the end of November, an Italian pensioner hanged himself after his entire €100,000 savings were confiscated in a bank “rescue” scheme. He left a suicide note blaming the bank, where he had been a customer for 50 years and had invested in bank-issued bonds. But he might better have blamed the EU and the G20’s Financial Stability Board, which have imposed an “Orderly Resolution” regime that keeps insolvent banks afloat by confiscating the savings of investors and depositors. Some 130,000 shareholders and junior bond holders suffered losses in the “rescue.”

Something to think about. Maybe hiding your money under the mattress is the best solution since it's not earning any interest in the bank anyway.

Thom Hartmann has written a book, The Crash of 2016: The Plot to Destroy America--and What We Can Do to Stop It. Marketwatch.com writes:

“The United States is more vulnerable today than ever before including during the Great Depression and the Civil War,” says Thom Hartmann, in “The Crash of 2016.” Why? “Because the pillars of democracy that once supported a booming middle class have been corrupted, and without them, America teeters on the verge of the next Great Crash.” Thanks to an obstructionist GOP, hell-bent on destroying Obama the past six years. [Thom's] indictment hits hard, but matching something you might hear from Rush Limbaugh on the Right.

“The United States is in the midst of an economic implosion that could make the Great Depression look like child’s play,” warns Hartmann. His analysis is brutal, sees that “the facade of our once-great United States will soon disintegrate to reveal the rotting core where corporate and billionaire power and greed have replaced democratic infrastructure and governance. Our once-enlightened political and economic systems have been manipulated to ensure the success of only a fraction of the population at the expense of the rest of us.” And he wrote that before Picketty’s “Capital in the 21st Century.”

The US has a boom bust economy. Unfortunately, the busts are becoming more frequent and the booms more superficial. People get all euphoric when the stock market goes up. As someone once said, it leads to "irrational exuberance." Then when it crashes, they sell leaving their 401ks and retirement incomes in shambles. That's what happens when investing is left in the hands of amateurs. The big guys, the hedge funds will make money either way - when the stock market goes up they go long; when it goes down they're short. They are high frequency traders and act on insider information. They commit fraud.

They have billions of dollars at their disposal from low interest loans from Wall Street. That's why they can buy entire corporations, break them up, lay off the employees, raid their pension funds and sell the remaining eviscerated hulk off to the unsuspecting and naive. The hedge (vulture) funds and Wall Street make out like bandits which is what they essentially are. The banks, whose function used to be capital formation to fund industry which created jobs, now functions as a conduit to hedge funds to wreak havoc with the American economy in pursuit of short term profits.

The world is polarized between the uber wealthy and the rest of us. Just 62 people own as much wealth as the 3.6 billion poorest. That's globalization for you. Nation states are no longer important or in control. The uber wealthy, the billionaires, who can buy and sell politicians and governments at their whim are the controllers. They - not the communists or socialists - are the central planners of the economy, and their plan for the economy is to benefit them and only them. The World Bank and the IMF are their henchmen.

The New Feudalism - Billionaires Replace the Nobility

This is from a recent report from Oxfam, AN ECONOMY FOR THE 1% How privilege and power in the economy drive extreme inequality and how this can be stopped:

The gap between rich and poor is reaching new extremes.  The richest 1 percent have now accumulated more wealth than the rest of the world put together… Meanwhile, the wealth owned by the bottom half of humanity has fallen by a trillion dollars in the past five years.”

The wealth of the richest 62 people has risen by 44 percent in the five years since 2010—that’s an increase of more than half a trillion dollars ($542 billion), to $1.76 trillion,” Oxfam noted. “Meanwhile, the wealth of the bottom half fell by just over a trillion dollars in the same period—a drop of 41 percent. Since the turn of the century, the poorest half of the world’s population has received just 1 percent of the total increase in global wealth, while half of that increase has gone to the top 1 percent.

There is really only one candidate for President who is addressing these issues - Bernie Sanders. Republicans want us to take our eyes off the ball of growing inequality and impoverishment of the 99% while the billionaires take on the role of oligarchs. They want us to focus on international terrorism and the threat that that brings to our everyday lives.

While that is surely a threat, ISIS cannot do major damage to the US. A few people can be blown up here and there and that is a tragedy. It's just not as great a tragedy as the gun violence done by Americans to other Americans on a daily basis which is orders of magnitude bigger.

If the economy takes a tumble, Hillary Clinton's ties to Wall Street will take on an even more ominous cloud over her campaign while the fact that Bernie Sanders has raised millions in small donations without the help of Wall Street or Super PACs will cast him in an even more favorable light. That might be the deciding factor. The Republicans will surely be left behind if they place all their bets on getting the American people to vote for them out of fear of ISIS.

The Planetary Crisis of Climate Change is Not Political... It's Physics

Published on Saturday, February 16, 2013 by Common Dreams 

by Bernie Sanders

I fear very much that our children, grandchildren and great- grandchildren are going to look back on this period in history and ask a very simple question: Where were they? Why didn’t the United States of America, the most powerful nation on earth, lead the international community in cutting greenhouse gas emissions and preventing the devastating damage that the scientific community was sure would come?

Let me be very clear. The issue that we are dealing with today is not political. It has nothing to do with Democrats, Republicans, Independents and all of the political squabbling we see here every day. It has everything to do with physics. The leading scientists in the world who study climate change now tell us that their projections in the past were wrong. That, in fact, the crisis facing our planet is much more serious than they had previously believed. They now tell us that if we continue along our merry path, where 12 out of the last 15 years were the warmest on record, and take no decisive action in transforming our energy system and cutting greenhouse gas emissions, this planet could be 8 degrees Fahrenheit or more warmer than is currently the case.

And what would that mean to planet Earth? It would mean sea levels rising by 3 to 6 feet which would flood cities like New Orleans, or Boston, or Miami – making them uninhabitable. And this would be true for coastal communities all over the world. It would mean that every year we would see more and more extreme weather disturbances, like Hurricanes Irene and Sandy - costing taxpayers tens of billions of dollars every year and resulting in devastating blows to our economy and productive capabilities.

We would see the price of food rising, because crops in the United States and around the world would be unable to grow in temperatures substantially higher than they are right now. It would mean greater threats of war and international instability because hungry and thirsty people would be fighting for limited resources. It would mean more disease and unnecessary deaths.

The legislation (pdf) that Senator Boxer and I introduced this week with the support of some of the leading environmental organizations in the country can actually address the crisis and does what has to be done to protect the planet. It can reverse greenhouse gas emissions in a significant way. It can create millions of jobs as we transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and into energy efficiency and such sustainably energies as wind, solar, geothermal and biomass.

A major focus of this legislation is a price on carbon and methane emissions. This fee on the largest fossil fuel polluters affects less than 3,000 entities nationwide but covers 85 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions according to the Congressional Research Service. This legislation ends the fossil fuel subsidies, and protects communities by requiring that fracking operations comply with the Safe Drinking Water Act and disclose chemicals they use.

To protect families from fossil fuel companies jacking up prices, 60 percent of the carbon fee revenue will be rebated, per capita, to every legal U.S. resident.

To protect U.S. manufacturers, this legislation includes a border fee on imported fuels and products, unless the nation shipping them already has their own similar carbon price. That ensures a level playing field for U.S. businesses, while creating an incentive for international cooperation.

To transform our energy system, this legislation makes the boldest ever investment in energy efficiency and sustainable energy. That includes weatherizing 1 million homes a year as President Obama called for previously. It means tripling the budget for ARPA-E to do advanced research, and investing hundreds of billions through incentives and a public-private Sustainable Technologies Fund focusing on energy efficiency, solar and wind and geothermal and biomass, and clean transportation technology. We also provide funds to train workers for jobs in the sustainable energy economy. We provide funds to help communities become resilient in the face of extreme weather, and we pay down the debt by roughly $300 billion over ten years.

We have the opportunity right now, with the President’s commitment in the State of the Union, to make progress. The President can and must use his authority to cut down on power plant pollution, and reject the dangerous Keystone XL project. But he cannot give up on a comprehensive legislative solution, and neither can we. We will never fully deal with this crisis until Congress passes strong legislation. Senator Boxer and I are going to fight as hard as we can to do that, and we will work to rally support from American families all across this country that care deeply about their children and grandchildren’s future, and want to protect them from this planetary crisis.

Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) was elected to the U.S. Senate in 2006 after serving 16 years in the House of Representatives. He is the longest serving independent member of Congress in American history. Elected Mayor of Burlington, Vt., by 10 votes in 1981, he served four terms. Before his 1990 election as Vermont's at-large member in Congress, Sanders lectured at the John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard and at Hamilton College in upstate New York. Read more at his website.

End Offshore Tax Havens