Bernie Sanders@BernieSanders
THE POLITICAL ESTABLISHMENT IS GETTING NERVOUS
The political establishment — Democratic and Republican — is getting nervous. So are the Oligarchs and the corporate media they own.
The world they dominate is beginning to shake beneath them. Change is coming. And they don’t like it.
What we saw on Tuesday in New York, what we are seeing all across the country, is that ordinary people are getting involved in the political process, are taking on establishment candidates, and are winning. What is particularly frightening to the establishment is that many of the candidates, and their supporters, are young. The future belongs to them and they want that future to look very different from what it is today.
It’s not complicated. Progressives and democratic socialists are winning elections because the vast majority of the American people understand that status quo politics and policies are not working. You don’t have to be a PhD in economics to know that in America today the very rich are getting much richer while the vast majority of our people are struggling to pay for the basic necessities — healthcare, housing, food, education and utilities. You don’t have to be a sociologist to realize that the younger generation will likely have a lower standard of living than their parents. You don’t need to be a political scientist to understand that we have a corrupt campaign finance system that allows billionaires and their super PACS to buy elections, undermine democracy, and protect their privileged positions.
The American people, across the political spectrum, are rejecting the establishment’s uber-capitalist ideology, value system and priorities. They want an economy and a government that works for all, not just wealthy campaign contributors.
More and more Americans refuse to accept the current reality that:
One man, Mr. Musk, owns more than three times as much wealth as the bottom half of our society. That billionaires and large profitable corporations often pay an effective tax rate lower than truck drivers or nurses. They are demanding that the billionaire class starts paying their fair share of taxes.
We are the only major country not to guarantee health care to all as a human right. They want Medicare for All.
Tens of millions of workers are earning starvation wages. They want to raise the minimum wage to a living wage and make it easier for workers to join unions.
Big Tech and the wealthiest people on earth are aggressively pushing AI and robotics, the most transformative technologies in history, without public input. They want these technologies to benefit all, not just the handful of billionaires who own the industry.
Nearly 800,000 Americans are homeless, and more than 20 million households are spending 50% or more of their limited incomes on housing. They want a freeze on rent and the construction of millions of units of low income and affordable housing.
