Bernie Sanders 2023.
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Bernie Sanders' campaign recently "conducted a poll which found, not surprisingly, that in the midst of massive income and wealth inequality, corporate greed, and a broken healthcare system, the American people, Democrats, Republicans and Independents, want strong governmental action to address their needs, and not just those of the billionaire class. Democrats, from the presidential campaign to the state legislature to city council can win, and win big, if they focus on the needs of a working class which has been ignored for too long."
His op-ed "Democrats should run on a progressive economic agenda. Americans are ready" appeared in the Guardian on Monday:
Campaigning on an economic agenda that speaks to the needs of working families is a winning formula for Kamala Harris
One of the most extraordinary aspects of our corporate-dominated American political system is the degree to which the needs of working-class people, the majority of our population, are systematically ignored by political and media elites.
Americans who are following the 2024 presidential campaign - and the vital campaigns for control of the US Senate and the US House - will see, hear, and read a whole lot of rhetoric from political insiders and the corporate media about the "political game".
They'll hear about horserace polls, how much money the candidates raise, what billionaire "donors" are demanding, who the vice-presidential candidate might be, and, of course, the dumb things candidates said or did five years ago. Or 10 years ago. Or 20 years ago.
But, in the midst of all the political gossip on TV and in the newspapers, what Americans will not encounter is a serious discussion of the multiple economic crises facing the 60% of our fellow citizens who live paycheck to paycheck - the working class of this country. What you will not hear about is why, in the richest country in the history of the world, so few have so much while so many have so little. What you will not hear about is the pain, the stress, the anxiety that tens of millions of Americans experience on a daily basis, and how governmental decisions can improve their lives.
In order to combat a political system which ignores so many of the most important concerns facing the majority of our people, my campaign recently commissioned a poll in the battleground states of Arizona, Georgia, Michigan, Nevada, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It asked some pretty basic questions: what are the major concerns that you and your families have? What would you like your government to do about them?
The results of the poll are not surprising, and not unlike other polls done over the years.
They show that, at the time of huge income and wealth inequality, unprecedented corporate greed, a failing healthcare system, a grossly unfair tax structure, an extremely high rate of childhood poverty, and too many seniors struggling to pay for their basic necessities, the American people want strong governmental action which addresses the longstanding needs of working families.
In other words, it turns out that progressive economic proposals are extremely popular - not only among Democrats but also among independents, Republicans, and even the most ardent Trump supporters.
One of the key findings of the poll is that, on core economic issues, by a wide margin, voters are more likely to vote for a candidate who favors expanding Social Security benefits by making the wealthy pay the same tax rate as the working class. They strongly support a candidate who favors expanding Medicare to cover vision, dental, and hearing needs, who favors cutting the cost of prescription drugs in half by making sure that Americans pay no more than what they pay in Europe or Canada, and who favors hiking taxes on the rich and multinational corporations so that they pay their fair share.
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