And this is what else we have accomplished. After the campaign, we helped write the most progressive political platform of any party in American history. Together, we transformed campaign finance in this country and showed the world you don't Wall Street and corporate money to run an effective campaign. When you stand for something, people will respond. We received two-and-a-half million individual contributions, averaging --
AUDIENCE: Twenty-seven dollars!
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: That's right, 27 bucks. But, most importantly, we may have lost the election in 2016, but there is no question--there is no question--there is no question that we have won the battle of ideas. And we are continuing to win that battle. And that is, brothers and sisters, no small thing.
Because of the grassroot efforts of activists like you throughout this country, we have in recent years made enormous progress in advancing the progressive agenda. And I want all of you -- you know, sometimes what we all do is we look at today, and we say, "Well, you know, that's kind of the way it always was." That's not the case. Ideas that just a few years ago seemed radical and unattainable are now today widely supported, and, in fact, some of them are being implemented as we speak. And I want you to appreciate what together we have accomplished. Don't take this for granted.
Five years ago, not a long time ago, with a federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour -- a starvation wage -- if five years ago somebody here jumped up and they said, "Bernie, you know, we've got to raise that minimum wage to 15 bucks an hour," person next to you would have said, "You are nuts. You can't double the minimum wage at one time. Can't be done." In fact, three years ago, what the Democratic leadership was talking about was $10.10 an hour. That was then. Today, federal legislation for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, which I introduced in the Senate a few weeks ago, now has -- now has 31 co-sponsors in the Senate and -- and 155 co-sponsors in the House of Representatives. And $15-an-hour legislation is being passed by city councils and state legislatures all across America. My understanding is that right here, in the state of Illinois, a $15-an-hour minimum wage bill is on the governor's desk. Governor, sign that bill! All over in Illinois and all over this country, the working people of this nation need a raise. And what we are saying, as loudly and clearly as we can, is that if you work 40 or 50 hours a week, you should not be living in poverty.
But it's not just a minimum wage and the fight for 15. I want you to think about this: Five years ago, if we were here, the majority political sentiment in this country, among Republicans and many Democrats, was that our trade policies were just great. What was the problem with NAFTA and PNTR with China or the TPP? So what if those trade policies cost us millions of decent jobs and drove us into a downward spiral, a race to the bottom? Our trade policies were great. That was five years ago. Today, the American people, all across the political spectrum, are saying that we need new trade agreements that work for workers, not just the CEOs of large corporations. And I want to thank all of you for creating the movement that defeated the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
But it's not just trade that we've had an impact on. Today, the idea of a trillion-dollar investment to create up to 15 million jobs, good-paying jobs, by rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure is now widely accepted. Just three years ago -- not even five years ago, three years ago -- I proposed a trillion-dollar investment, got virtually no support, had to cut it in half. But today, all across the political spectrum, people understand that we need to repair our broken bridges, our roads, our water systems, our wastewater plants, our levees, our dams, our airports. We need to build affordable housing.
Five years ago, you talked about paid family and medical leave, people didn't even know what you were talking about. But today, not only is support growing for paid family and medical leave, but the very radical concept that women in the year 2017 should not be paid 79 cents on the dollar, that we need equal pay for equal work, that's also growing.
AMY GOODMAN: Former presidential candidate, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, addressing 4,000 people at the People's Summit in Chicago in June. We'll return to the speech in a minute, as he talks about healthcare, fossil fuels and his free college tuition plan. Stay with us.
[break]
AMY GOODMAN: This is Democracy Now!, democracynow.org, The War and Peace Report. I'm Amy Goodman, as we return now to the former presidential candidate, independent Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, addressing 4,000 people at the People's Summit in Chicago in June.
SEN. BERNIE SANDERS: Five years ago -- think about it, not a long time ago -- five years ago, there was almost no discussion about making public colleges and universities tuition-free. Today, all across this country, people understand that in a highly competitive global economy, it is insane that hundreds of thousands of bright young people cannot afford to go to college and that many of you have left school deeply, deeply in debt. And what we are seeing now in states and in communities all over this country, the movement toward making public colleges and universities tuition-free. And let me tell you this, because I've introduced the legislation. Next fall, on college campuses all over this country, you're going to see young people stand up and tell the establishment, "We're not leaving school $100,000 in debt."
Think back five years ago. There was, at that point, widespread belief that the Affordable Care Act, so-called Obamacare, was about as far as we could go as a nation in healthcare. That's about it. Past Obamacare, can't do any more. Today, as you know, that view is radically changing. Nurses, thank you for your help on this. Today, all over our country, the American people understand that there is something profoundly wrong when we remain the only major country on Earth not to guarantee healthcare to all people as a right, not a privilege. And there is also something profoundly wrong when millions of Americans cannot afford the prescription drugs that their doctors prescribe. And what the American people from coast to coast are catching onto is the function of healthcare is to provide quality care to all people, not to make billions in profits for the insurance companies or the drug companies. And as we -- as we sit here tonight, the California state Senate has passed single payer. Thank you, nurses! And now, now it's up to the California House and the governor to do the right thing and help us transform healthcare in this country by leading the way.
Today, by very large and growing numbers, the American people understand that climate change is real, is caused by human activity and poses a very serious threat to our planet. And there is strong and growing support--numbers have never been higher -- for taking on the fossil fuel industry and for moving our energy system to sustainable energy and energy efficiency. Despite the current president of the United States -- oh, you know who I am talking to -- you know who I'm talking about -- the American people, whatever Trump may think, or, as usually the case, not think -- the American -- the American people understand that we have a moral responsibility to leave this planet healthy and habitable for our children and for our grandchildren, and that we can and must lead the world in combating climate change. And, by the way, when we do that, we create millions of good-paying jobs in America.
Further, again, by overwhelming numbers -- and you have to understand this -- by overwhelming numbers, the American people support comprehensive immigration reform and a path toward citizenship. No, we're not going to scapegoat -- we're not going to scapegoat the undocumented in this country. They are hard-working, honest people, and we're going to work with them to create a path toward citizenship. And again, that is -- again, that's not my view. That's not your view. That, in fact, is the view of the overwhelming majority of the American people.
Today, again -- again -- by overwhelming numbers, the American people understand that our criminal justice system is broken and that there is something wrong and disgraceful when the United States of America has more people in jail than any other country on Earth, including China, and that there is something profoundly wrong when we understand that the people in jail are disproportionately African-American, Latino and Native American. The American people, including a growing number of conservatives, understand that it is absurd, that it is crazy, that we spend over $80 billion a year to lock up over 2 million of our fellow Americans. And all across the political spectrum, including conservatives, there is a growing belief that it makes a lot more sense, for our young people, to invest in jobs and education, not jails and incarceration.
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