I am observing this presidential election, the 14th that has taken place in the span of my lifetime, with rapt amazement.
I’ve never seen anything like it. On the right you’ve got a guy who says he wants to “make America great again.” Of course, the implication of that slogan is that America is no longer great. I would tend to disagree with that premise. Perhaps you would as well?
On the left you’ve got a guy in Bernie Sanders, a self-described “democratic socialist”, who wants to make America great for everyone, not just a handful of billionaires and large corporations, as he likes to often repeat.
Truth is that America’s still a great place for many people, not just the billionaires and large corporations. Although, it’s perhaps a degree or two greater for those guys.
Yes, the American system in many ways paves the way for greatness…that has been it’s hallmark for a couple centuries…you know, the land of opportunity.
The problem is that for a growing number of people, perhaps folks that you don’t come into contact in any meaningful way during your day-to-day existence, America has become something different. For them, it no longer seems to be that land of opportunity.
That’s simply a fact. The question is, why?
What happened?
On the one side, the argument goes that we need to create an environment that allows folks to pull themselves up by their own bootstraps. And the best way to do that is to make things easier for so-called “job creators.” Thing is, that idea has become code talk for “tax cuts for the rich” and massive deregulation for large businesses. If we do that, the argument goes, things will just automatically get better for everyone…a rising tide lifts all ships.
That’s an interesting view of capitalism that almost suggests a rigging of the system. And that’s exactly what we’ve gotten from it. I like to call it “capitalism run amok.”
I find that to be a very profound thought.
You see, Sanders doesn’t want to do away with capitalism. Quite the contrary, he wants to make it work for everyone, because right now it’s just not.
Here’s the thing, facts show that the economy does best when there’s a thriving middle class, since they are the ones doing the large majority of the buying that bolsters the balance sheets of businesses of all shapes and sizes.
But the middle class is not thriving. In fact, it is shrinking. If that continues unabated America could end up looking like one of the many countries throughout the globe in which there are two classes…the haves and the have-nots. That poses grave problems for both of those disparate groups. The have-nots suffer because they simply have not and barely can scrape up enough to just survive. The haves suffer because they no longer have anyone who can afford to buy the stuff they’re selling.
So, along comes Bernie with his populist ideals about how to make the middle class thrive again. That can only happen by stemming the massive tide of wealth that’s flowing to the top. All that wealth is not trickling down…not even by a slow drip. It’s being hoarded and passed on to future generations of haves.
And that, my friends, is an unsustainable situation.
Bernie’s policy ideas are often criticized, even, surprisingly, by middle class folk, as being about giving away “free stuff.” The idea being that no one deserves a free lunch. But that misses the point. Bernie doesn’t want to give away free stuff. After all, his programs are very much paid for…primarily by the ones who are sucking up the entire income and wealth of our nation…and then demanding less taxes and more deregulation in return!
No, Bernie simply wants to give the middle class, and those who are striving to move up to it, a better chance at the American dream. A better chance by not having to worry about whether they can afford to go to a doctor when sick. A better chance by not having to get an economic start in life at a young age burdened by tremendous student loan debt. A better chance by allowing a woman to have a baby and stay home with her child and not having to worry about going back to work asap to pay the bills. A better chance by taking action that will hopefully curtail at least some of the devastating effects that virtually all scientists agree are going to by wrought upon us by climate change.
The problem with America these days is not about immigration. Immigration is what made America great to begin with. It’s not about making our military larger. Heck, we already spend more on the military than the next seven nations of the world combined!
Nevertheless, the hope for a better future is still alive. That’s what is right about America. Americans never stop hoping. And Americans are not afraid to fight hard to make that hope a reality.
The campaign of Bernie Sanders is inspiring hope and that is what’s drawing multitudes, especially young people, to his side. This man could become our next president. He could actually have a chance to make Americans great again by saving capitalism from itself.
The fact that he’s gotten this far shows me in many ways what is truly right about America.
