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Hello –
Jane and I want to take this
opportunity to wish you and yours a very healthy and happy new year.
It goes without saying that
2019 will be a pivotal and momentous time for our country and the entire
planet. As you know, there is a monumental clash now taking place between two
very different political visions. Not to get you too nervous, but the future of
our country and the world is dependent upon which side wins that struggle.
The bad news is that in the
United States and other parts of the world, the foundations of democracy are
under severe attack as demagogues, supported by billionaire oligarchs, work to
establish authoritarian type regimes. That is true in Russia. That is true in
Saudi Arabia. That is true in the United States. While the very rich get much
richer these demagogues seek to move us toward tribalism and set one group
against another, deflecting attention from the real crises we face.
The good news is that, all
across this country, people are getting politically involved and are fighting
back. They are standing up for economic, political, social and racial justice.
In the last year we saw
courageous teachers, in some of the most conservative states in the country,
win strikes as they fought for adequate funding for education.
We saw low paid workers at
Amazon, Disney and elsewhere undertake successful struggles to raise their
wages to a living wage – at least $15 an hour.
We saw incredibly courageous
young people, who experienced a mass shooting in their school, lead successful
efforts for commonsense gun safety legislation.
We saw diverse communities
stand together in the fight against mass incarceration and for real criminal
justice reform.
We saw tens of thousands of
Americans, from every walk of life, take to the streets and demand that
politicians respond to the global crisis of climate change.
As we enter 2019, it seems to
me that we must mount a two-pronged offensive. First, we must vigorously take
on the lies, bigotry and kleptocratic behavior of the most irresponsible
president in the modern history of our country. In every way possible, we must
stand up to the racism, sexism, homophobia, xenophobia and religious
intolerance of the Trump administration.
But fighting Trump is not
enough.
The truth is that despite
relatively low unemployment, tens of millions of Americans struggle daily to
keep their heads above water economically as the middle class continues to
shrink.
While the rich get richer, 40
million live in poverty, millions of workers are forced to work two or three
jobs to pay the bills, 30 million have no health insurance, one in five cannot
afford their prescription drugs, almost half of older workers have nothing
saved for retirement, young people cannot afford college or leave school deeply
in debt, affordable housing is increasingly scarce, and many seniors cut back
on basic needs as they live on inadequate Social Security checks.
Our job, therefore, is not
only to oppose Trump but to bring forth a progressive and popular agenda that
speaks to the real needs of working people. We must tell Wall Street, the
insurance companies, the drug companies, the fossil fuel industry, the
military-industrial complex, the National Rifle Association and the other
powerful special interests that we will not continue to allow their greed to
destroy this country and our planet.
Politics in a democracy should
not be complicated. Government must work for all of the people, not just the
wealthy and the powerful. As a new House and Senate convene next week, it is
imperative that the American people stand up and demand real solutions to the
major economic, social, racial and environmental crises that we face. In the
richest country in the history of the world, here are some (far from all) of
the issues that I will be focusing on this year. What do you think? How can we
best work together?
Protect American democracy:
Repeal Citizens United, move to public funding of elections and end voter
suppression and gerrymandering. Our goal must be to establish a political
system that has the highest voter turnout in the world and is governed by the
democratic principle of one person - one vote.
Take on the billionaire class:
End oligarchy and the growth of massive income and wealth inequality by
demanding that the wealthy start paying their fair share of taxes. We must
rescind Trump's tax breaks for billionaires and close corporate tax loopholes.
Increase Wages: Raise the
minimum wage to $15 an hour, establish pay equity for women and revitalize the
trade union movement. In the United States, if you work 40 hours a week, you
should not live in poverty.
Make health care a right:
Guarantee health care for everyone through a Medicare-for-all program. We
cannot continue a dysfunctional healthcare system which costs us about twice as
much per capita as any other major country and leaves 30 million uninsured.
Transform our energy system:
Combat the global crisis of climate change which is already causing massive
damage to our planet. In the process, we can create millions of good paying
jobs as we transform our energy system away from fossil fuel and into energy
efficiency and sustainable energy.
Rebuild America: Pass a $1
trillion infrastructure plan. In the United States we must not continue to have
roads, bridges, water systems, rail transport, and airports in disrepair.
Jobs for All: There is an
enormous amount of work to be done throughout our country – from building
affordable housing and schools to caring for our children and the elderly. 75
years ago, FDR talked about the need to guarantee every able-bodied person in
this country a good job as a fundamental right. That was true in 1944. It is
true today.
Quality Education: Make public
colleges and universities tuition free, lower student debt, adequately fund
public education and move to universal childcare. Not so many years ago, the
United States had the best education system in the world. We much regain that
status again.
Retirement Security: Expand
Social Security so that every American can retire with dignity and everyone
with a disability can live with security. Too many of our elderly, disabled and
veterans are living on inadequate incomes. We must do better for those who
built this country.
Women's rights: It is a woman,
not the government, who should control her own body. We must oppose all efforts
to overturn Roe v. Wade, protect Planned Parenthood and oppose restrictive
state laws on abortion.
Justice for All: End mass
incarceration and pass serious criminal justice reform. We must no longer spend
$80 billion a year locking up more people than any other country. We must
invest in education and jobs, not jails and incarceration.
Comprehensive immigration
reform: It is absurd and inhumane that millions of hardworking people, many of
whom have lived in this country for decades, are fearful of deportation. We
must provide legal status to those who are in the DACA program, and a path to
citizenship for the undocumented.
Social Justice: End
discrimination based on race, gender, religion, place of birth or sexual
orientation. Trump cannot be allowed to succeed by dividing us up. We must
stand together as one people.
A new foreign policy: Let us
create a foreign policy based on peace, democracy and human rights. At a time
when we spend more on the military than the next ten countries combined, we
need to take a serious look at reforming the bloated and wasteful $716 billion
annual Pentagon budget.
In the New Year, let us
resolve to fight like we have never fought before for a government, a society
and an economy that works for all of us, not just those on top.
Wishing you a wonderful new
year,
Bernie Sanders
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