Bernie Sanders: No more empty rhetoric--it’s time for the new Democratic majority to deliver

Guest commentary from Vermont’s independent senator and two-time presidential candidate in the wake of the Blue Tsunami

With their overwhelming midterm performance, Democrats are about to take command of both houses of Congress. With their votes, the American people have given a clear mandate for change. What should those priorities be? Here’s one set of ideas. There will be more. At the conclusion of this guest commentary, you’ll find a link to offer your thoughts on all of this. Thank you in advance for weighing in with your own views.

—J.C. Bruce

By Bernie Sanders

Tuesday was an extraordinary day for the United States. All across the country, the American people made it clear that status quo politics and status quo policies were no longer acceptable.

They stood up and demanded, in record-breaking numbers, REAL change. And it was not just the election results. According to a recent AP poll, 80 percent of registered voters want either “complete and total upheaval” or “substantial change” in how this country is run - including 97 percent of Democrats, 90 percent of independents, and 58 percent of Republicans.

Bottom line: the new Democratic majority must deliver. No more empty rhetoric. No more telling us how terrible Trump and the Republicans are. No more excuses. We now have the votes to pass legislation that will demonstrably improve the lives of millions of working families. And that’s what we must do.

What does that mean?

HEALTH CARE: In America today, our healthcare system is broken, dysfunctional, and wildly expensive. We spend twice as much per person on healthcare as other major countries. Yet more than 90 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured, over half a million people go bankrupt each year because of medical debt, and we pay the highest prescription drug prices in the world. Tragically, more than 60,000 Americans die unnecessarily each year because they cannot afford medical care.

Healthcare must be considered a human right for all, not a privilege. That means passing Medicare for All, legislation now supported by a record 66 percent of the American people. In the first year of a four-year transition process, Democrats must lower the Medicare eligibility age to 55, expand Medicare to cover dental, vision, and hearing, and guarantee universal healthcare coverage for every child from birth through age 19.

INCOME AND WEALTH INEQUALITY: In America today, income and wealth inequality have reached unprecedented levels. The top 1 percent owns more wealth than the bottom 93 percent. One man, Elon Musk, owns more wealth than the bottom 53 percent of American households.

Democrats cannot ignore this grotesque inequality. That means a Democratic Congress must pass a wealth tax on billionaires, now supported by 61% of Americans. At a time when billionaires pay a lower effective tax rate than truck drivers or nurses, we must enact a 5 percent wealth tax on billionaires to provide every working-class family of four with a $12,000 direct payment, build 7 million units of affordable housing, make public colleges and universities tuition-free, establish free childcare for 13 million children and greatly improve public education.

RAISE THE MINIMUM WAGE: In America today, while the rich get richer, 60 percent of our people live paycheck to paycheck, and millions work for inadequate wages. That must change. The $7.25 federal minimum wage is a starvation wage. Democrats must raise it to a living wage of at least $20 an hour and make it easier for workers to form unions by passing the PRO Act. A job must lift people out of poverty, not keep them in it.

PROTECTING SENIORS: In America today, one-third of our seniors struggle economically, and more than 20 percent try to survive on less than $15,000 a year. Nearly half of older Americans have no retirement savings and no idea how they will retire with dignity. Meanwhile, Elon Musk pays the same amount into Social Security as someone earning $184,600 a year.

That is obviously absurd. By applying the Social Security payroll tax to all income above $250,000, including capital gains and dividends, we can increase benefits by $2,400 a year, lift millions of seniors out of poverty and keep Social Security solvent for generations - without raising taxes on the bottom 91 percent of Americans. We must also restore the traditional pension plans corporate America took away so that every worker can count on a guaranteed income in retirement.

AI AND ROBOTICS: In America today, Big Tech oligarchs are spending trillions of dollars on artificial intelligence (AI) and robotics with virtually no regulation. This revolutionary technology will transform the lives of every man, woman and child in America and around the world.

Left unchecked, AI and robotics will destroy tens of millions of jobs, devastate our children’s mental health, eviscerate our privacy, drive up electricity rates and strain water supplies. If AI becomes smarter than human beings and escapes human control, it will pose an existential threat to the very existence of humanity.

We cannot allow a handful of Big Tech oligarchs to become even richer and more powerful by ramming this dangerous technology down our throats. Democrats must enact a national moratorium on AI data centers, which is now supported by 63% of Americans, pause advanced AI development, and ban superintelligence.

CLIMATE CHANGE: The planet is becoming warmer and warmer. Tens of thousands have died in the last year from heat waves, and we are seeing unprecedented extreme weather disturbances, including massive forest fires. If we don’t act boldly, the future will only become worse. Democrats must create millions of good-paying jobs by moving our energy systems away from fossil fuels to energy efficiency and sustainable energy.

MILITARY SPENDING: Let’s be clear. The war in Vietnam was based on a lie. The war in Iraq was based on a lie. The current war in Iran is based on a lie. Democrats need to take a very hard look at the very foundation of American foreign policy and the outrageous amount of money we spend on the military.

In America today, we spend more on the military than the next six countries combined. Despite massive waste, fraud and abuse, the Pentagon has repeatedly failed independent audits and cannot account for trillions of dollars in spending. Adding insult to injury, Trump dragged us into an illegal war in Iran that could cost another trillion dollars.

We must end this disastrous war, cut off all funding for the genocidal government in Israel and substantially reduce military spending.

ICE AND IMMIGRATION: As most Americans understand, since Trump took office ICE agents have shot American citizens in cold blood, have broken down doors to arrest people and sent 5-year-old children to detention centers. These actions are not only immoral and disgraceful. They are unconstitutional and economically counterproductive.

Democrats must immediately rescind the $75 billion Republicans gave Trump to fund his ICE domestic army. Instead of ICE Agents terrorizing communities throughout the country we must finally move to comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship for the undocumented.

CAMPAIGN FINANCE REFORM: Elon Musk and his billionaire friends have poured a record-breaking $2 billion into the recent elections. That is absurd. The American people, in overwhelming numbers, want Congress to overturn Citizens United and abolish super PACs. Democracy must mean one person, one vote — not billionaires buying elections.

While wealthy campaign contributors and establishment politicians may disagree, none of the policies I have just discussed are “radical.” They are now mainstream concepts supported by the overwhelming majority of the American people.

At this extraordinary moment in American history, we must restore faith in democracy. And the way we do that is by actually delivering for working families, allowing every man, woman, and child in this country to see that they have a government that works for them, and not just the 1%.

In the last year, we have come a long way. Now, let’s finish the job.

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Rubio/DeSantis Poll Results

In yesterday’s newsletter, I asked for your thoughts on rumors that two Florida men, Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis, may be considering runs for the 2028 Republican presidential nomination. Hundreds of Tropic Press readers shared their thoughts on whether they should run—many said NO because they dislike them; some said YES because they think they would be a drag on Republicans’ presidential chances. Those views showed up not only in poll results but in the more than 40 comments the newsletter received. Here are the poll tabulations:

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