Bernie has a reputation for being unrealistic. Many people in his party including Clinton and Biden have touted his policies as being too idealistic.
Bernie “swings for the fences” knowing he may only get a triple. The establishment Dems have somehow come to the conclusion that it is better to bunt to avoid angering the opposition (donors) and they have ended up with a frozen legislature and lackluster support from their voters. The evidence would suggest that ideologues in the Republican party have managed to kick our collective liberal asses over a few decades, culminating in over one thousand legislative seats lost and Donald f’n Trump being President. Does “too idealistic” only apply to Democrats?
Bernie wants every American to have access to healthcare in a government single-payer system.
Only because it is the only path to a system that doesn’t end up consuming “all of” our GDP and bankrupting “all” Americans except the most wealthy. The insurance industry adds nothing to our productive capacity, but does add greatly to the cost of healthcare. Arguments against single-payer all assume the current cost will be static when any graph of such would show an alarming trajectory with no market forces (other than death) to slow it down. Any changes in that trajectory will require government intervention or the beneficiaries of higher prices to gain a conscience. I think we can assume the latter is not realistic from past evidence.
On average, a student now leaves college with about $37,000 in debt whereas a decade ago the number was about $10,000
Like healthcare, education simply offers no realistic market choices that might suppress the cost. This has been solidified by the many online cons that promise an education but deliver only a mostly useless degree on paper. It should be noted that Bernie’s education agenda includes much more than traditional college, allowing for increased spending on training in trades. I’m sure this will be part of his intention to revitalize unions.
An educated workforce will be vital to America being able to remain competitive and even conservatives are recognizing our downward slide in the modern world as more technical and professional workers must be procured via immigration. So far, business has been able to take advantage of the free (or very low cost) education offered in other countries but that can be halted by any number of factors, not the least of which is voter attitudes.
Workers’ rights are another issue that isn’t partisan. It is a human issue, not a liberal or conservative one.
You’re kidding, right? The only bi-partisan agreement concerning worker’s rights is that Trump and Bloomberg both think Americans already make too much. The core function of our monetary system has evolved into a method of suppressing worker demands by maintaining a “natural” unemployment level since we fully adopted Republican trickle-down economics and the very aptly named Laffer curve tax policy.
Many studies from Seattle’s experiment with a $15 minimum wage have shown that despite popular economic belief, a minimum wage will not reduce the number of laborers employed.
The absurdity of thinking that employers vary their workforce according to wages should be disqualifying to any political pundit who forwards it. Higher wages “may” accelerate the adoption of automation, but even that is unlikely. Employers generally try to maintain staffing to bare minimums at all times and regardless of wages paid. It would be great if employers were socially responsible enough to share the benefits of higher productivity by hiring more workers or foregoing replacing workers, but then we wouldn’t be having this conversation in the first place.
Bernie seeks to implement a progressive wealth tax. This will affect everyone who has more than $32 million net worth. It is expected to raise over $4.35 trillion over the next ten years and cut the wealth of billionaires in half in the next 15 years (berniesanders.com).
The increased number of billionaires is a signal that capitalism has failed the working class, not something to be proud of as Republicans believe. To accumulate a billion dollars one would have to make, after taxes, $274,000 “PER DAY”, 365 days per year, for ten years. No “free market” would allow that. Such obscene hoarding of wealth is only possible with extreme government intervention, such as allowing monopolies and granting patents that are counter to the public purpose. America is unique in its ability to produce such wealth concentration at the expense of all other demographics. This lies at the heart of many of our social ills as well and serves no one other than the .1% of super wealth.
