It matters.
Just wanted to share a couple of things that lay heavy on my heart… No matter where you stand with politics, it’s something that shapes OUR personal lives and OUR communities; it forms an essential fabric of society. It matters.
Below are recurring comments I’ve heard in conversation that I’ve decided to discuss:
“All of the candidates are awful. I don’t see the point in voting anymore. I’m just one person.”
My friend, do not lose heart! In the end, all of the candidates are human afterall, and as humans it’s easy to be corrupted, especially when in a place of privilege and power. Not to say corrupt behavior is inexcusable, but we can’t let our admission of it stifle our voices. Yes, you are one vote, but you are one MORE vote making up a group of people to vote for a better tomorrow… we MUST resist apathy and disillusionment. One drop in the ocean may not be much. But the ocean is less without that one drop.
And I quote one of my life quotes: “I am only one, but STILL I am one. I cannot do everything, but I STILL I CAN do something. And because I cannot do everything, I MUST do the something I CAN do.”
“Seriously… how can people be stupid enough to support (him/her)?”
There are some candidates who say things that baffle me entirely… stereotyping entire groups of people, joking or arbitrarily talking about violence as a means of resolution… to say that I disagree is a huge understatement. But I have to take a step back, and remind myself that there are real people who identify with that candidate. REAL PEOPLE. Conversations have become one-sided, with supporters from all sides spouting out why their candidate is better, with little strive to understand WHY the other side thinks the way they do. I may not agree with what you believe, it is not in my place to keep you from believing or saying what you believe.
I’m just gonna say it. The Trump rally shutdown was absolutely unacceptable. I empathize with why the people are disapproving of Trump, but do you realize that by having shutting down the Trump supporters, we are only fueling their resolve to stand firm in their beliefs and not be open to hearing what others have to say. Hate does not trump hate; only love, empathy, and a ear willing to listen can do that.
“Why Bernie, anyway? Besides, I heard he’s a socialist.”
Yup, Bernie is a self-proclaimed “democratic socialist.” This means we “create a government that works for all and not just the few.” This does NOT mean we would cut ties with capitalism, but rather, it is believing that working and middle class deserve a “fair deal.” In fact, we see more of “socialism” in America than we think, like minimum wage, Medicare, and Social Security. Currently, recent study at the London School of Economics shows that the wealthiest 160,000 American families have as much as the poorest 145 MILLION American families, and the top 1% are 100 times richer than the bottom 90% (the average wealth of the bottom 90% being $80,000)… this is not a joke, people… it is no crime to be rich by any means, but such a distribution of wealth so startling disproportional is NOT okay.
Bernie will strive to dismantle the wealth inequality gap by (to name a few):
- Demanding that corporations pay a fair share of their taxes.
- Increasing minimum wage from $7.25 to $15, and fighting for pay equity so women earn the same as men.
- Putting at least 13 million Americans to work by investing $1 trillion over five years towards rebuilding public infrastructure.
- Expanding Social Security by lifting the cap on taxable income above $250,000.
- Guaranteeing healthcare as a right of citizenship by enacting a Medicare for all single-payer healthcare system.
- Making tuition free at public colleges and universities throughout America.
Bernie walks the talk by refusing money from SuperPacs (raise and spend unlimited sums to support support candidates, thereby giving more weight to their interests) for his campaign, and only accepting money from individual donors, where the average donation is $27!
Bottom line: The whole Bernie campaign is for the people and by the people. That people have a voice not only who represents them, but how the government is to serve them, because isn’t that democracy is about?
“Ok sounds cool, but how will all the ‘free stuff’ be funded?”
Read up on the plan details here.
But of course, an third-party analysis of someone’s plan is always necessary. Tax Foundation did just that, and here of some of their key findings:
- Senator Sanders (I-VT) would enact a number of policies that would raise payroll taxes and individual income taxes, especially on high-income households.
- Senator Sanders’s plan would raise tax revenue by $13.6 trillion over the next decade on a static basis. However, the plan would end up collecting $9.8 trillion over the next decade when accounting for decreased economic output in the long run.
- A majority of the revenue raised by the Sanders plan would come from a new 6.2 percent employer-side payroll tax, a new 2.2 percent broad-based income tax, and the elimination of tax expenditures relating to healthcare.
Bottom line: Bernie is a man with a plan. It may not be perfect, but hey sometimes you gotta shoot for the moon, so even if you miss. You’ll land among the stars.
