Holly Morgan
Hmorgan3@uwyo.edu
I support Bernie Sanders because I consider income and wealth inequality to be the root of the most harmful realities affecting Americans today. Bernie Sanders is the only candidate whose priorities reflect the gravity of the situation facing many American citizens.
Sanders has been described as a “once in a lifetime candidate” because of his background and views on contemporary American issues, namely big money and its place in American politics and society. It is widely known that his campaign survives off individual donations rather than “Super-PACs” from corporations. This is a protest against the increasing trend of the billionaire class buying elections and candidates in order to ensure that their interests are disproportionately protected in the political sphere—thereby undermining the
most fundamental of democratic ideals.
The United States is among the richest countries in the world but the quality of life, for many, is not reflected in that statistic since it is host to the biggest wealth and income disparity of any other major developed country. This is a significant statistic because health issues, crime and low education rates disproportionately afflict poorer communities and families because, in America’s current system, these things are not considered rights but privileges that must be purchased.
Reports on educational disparities consistently show a link between economically disadvantaged children going to underprivileged schools with fewer resources and lower quality education This then has a lifelong impact on chances of college acceptance and general quality of life. Economically underprivileged youths fall behind early and are not given any feasible means to attain a college education due to steep financial barriers. In today’s economic climate, not having a college degree can mean a life limited to minimum wage jobs which, given the current wage, cannot support a family under the standard 40-hour workweek.
Inadequate healthcare early in life also dampens upward mobility. The biggest cause of personal bankruptcy in America today is due to medical bills. This also disproportionately affects poorer families because of their lack of access to preventative care and/or health insurance.
What results is a cycle of poverty beginning from birth, which is both very difficult for individuals to escape and usually perpetuated to the next generation. This cycle of poverty has ripple effects that illustrate themselves in larger society with overfull prisons and excessive crime rates, among other issues. It seems we have a system that creates criminals and then punishes them for doing what they are forced to in order to survive. Of course this is not always the case, but is a huge trend.
Sanders not only sees the unaffordability of education as a grossly serious (and unnecessary) problem, but also considers the crippling debt many students face as counter-productive to the best interests of our country’s progress. He aims to make debt-free post-secondary education possible regardless of parental income. Additionally, he wants a Medicare-for-all universal healthcare program so that every American can have affordable access. Strung alongside his policies like creating a living minimum wage, caring for veterans and providing ample maternity leave, it is clear that Sanders consistently reevaluates fiscal priorities to orient spending towards supporting regular people rather than the other way around.
America, despite its wealth, is failing to provide its citizens with basic human rights that almost all other citizens of developed countries have access to. The ability for people to pull themselves out of their respective economic classes has become increasingly difficult and we now live in a society in which low and middle-class people are languishing under debts for trying to properly care for themselves and their families. The lavish success of a few is enabled by others not getting enough and there are a lot of systems set up so people who have money get more of it. One of the most notable of these being within American politics.
On a personal level, Sanders is the first candidate who pierced my disenchantment with politics enough to inspire me to vote because he consistently supports Abraham Lincoln’s concept of a government “of the people, by the people and for the people.” I support Bernie because he is the only candidate who aims to even the playing field so that each individual may have a decent quality of life and the tools to attain the success that America claims to offer.
