In an exclusive interview with Sarah Ferguson and Marina Freri, for the ABC (Australia), Bernie Sanders had some interesting things to say. A summary:
So, what do you think? Is Bernie Sanders out of touch, or is he on the money on this?
- Sanders says "Millions of people [the US] are hurting, they're suffering. They're working for inadequate wages. In America, our health care system is a disaster. [People] can't afford to send their kids to college, housing costs are off the chart ... and they're looking at the government, they're looking at what Democrats have done for years and not much has happened to improve their lives."
- "... It's not just because everybody who votes for Trump is a racist or a sexist or a homophobe."
- "People are feeling that government does not listen, does not understand their pain. And they are turning to somebody who says 'Forget all of that. I've got the answer. Don't worry about democracy. I'll take care of it for you.'"
- "Everything is at stake [in the coming election] ... if the United States moves in an authoritarian way, it will certainly send a signal to every country on Earth that that's the future of politics. [Trump's] a phoney, he's a pathological liar. But I'm afraid his appeal is working."
- The American middle class has been shrinking for decades. In real, the average American worker gets lower wages than 50 years ago.
- Kids of the current generation might grow up to have a lower standard of living than their parents.
- Between 2019 and 2021, according to a study by Deloitte's Global Economist Network, the net worth of America's top 1 percent of earners increased by 23%.
- According to the Economic Policy Institute, in 1965 the ratio of pay between a typical CEO and a typical worker was 20 to 1. By 2018, the ratio was 278 to 1. The gap has continued to rise.
- Three people in the US own more wealth, combined, than the bottom 50% of American people.
- Three Wall Street firms are the major shareholders in 95% of the major corporations in America.
- The existence of a billionaire class isn't just about wealth inequality but also it's impact on the political system: "The result is that in every election, the people on top are spending more and more money to elect the candidates they want to see ... so what you're seeing is a political system which is increasingingly controlled by billionaires. And that is true in both political parties."
- "Too many Democratic leaders have kind of given up on the working class of this country."
- "Biden is not going to win if young people do not vote in large numbers, if working class people do not support him. And I think it makes sense to him. The truth is the progressive agenda is an enormously popular agenda. This is not a fringe agenda."
- "We have made progress in recent years in terms of more Blacks in positions of power, more women, certainly in positions of power ... I think we still have a long way to go to bring young people into the political process."
- ".... [O]ur job is ... to make it very clear that Biden has done some good things ... I think he's not getting the credit for what he has done. What we have got to make clear to ordinary Americans is, 'You may not like everything that Biden has done, maybe you think he's too old ... but you know what? The alternative is a hell of a lot worse."
So, what do you think? Is Bernie Sanders out of touch, or is he on the money on this?