Bernie Sanders: Confidence Indecency of Nation

There have been speculations about Bernie Sander’s health as he is the “most senior candidate” in the Democratic race. People are left with uncertainty after he suffered a heart attack just three weeks before the October debate. The 78-year old Senator addresses the issue during the debate and reassures the audience by saying, “I’m healthy, I’m feeling great.” He turns the subject to the audience and his colleagues to show his gratitude by saying, “But let me take this moment, if I might, to thank so many people from all over this country, including many of my colleagues up here, for their love, for their prayers, for their well-wishes. And I just want to thank you from the bottom of my heart, and I’m so happy to be back here with you this evening.” His sportsmanship and resilience give me the impression that his character has substance. I trust Sanders is a solid contender to win the Democratic designation for president in 2020. And here’s why: Sanders intends to change the costs of higher education, he advances financial fairness, and protects the choice for Medicare-for-All.

Sanders plans to eliminate student loan debt by asserting that his revolutionary proposal “will allow every person in this country to get all of the education that they need to live out their dreams,” said Sanders at an event outside the Capitol (Cochrane). The plan rescinds student debts of nearly 45 million graduates–eliminating tuition and fees at public four-year universities and community colleges. This proposition sounds promising to me because I know higher education comes with extensive costs for middle-class families like mine. I see this as a viable solution to reduce the economic pressure on college students and the stress of incoming freshmen in finding a sustainable payment for college. Also, Sanders’s plan channels more funding for minority institutions and covers books, transportation, and housing. Similarly, Senator Elizabeth Warren shows her arrangement to dispose of educational costs and charges. The only difference is that she bases debt cancellation on household income where wealthy families will be taxed to pay for her plan’s costs. Warren's proposition is defective and less dynamic since her arrangement would leave rich parents with “temporarily income-poor kids after college” (Newton). Sanders’s stance on education is more insightful. The cost to eliminate all debt is an estimated $2.2 trillion (Cochrane). To pay for this cost, Sanders plans to have a tax on Wall Street’s financial investment transactions. Mr. Sanders said that all debt could be eliminated within six months under his plan” (Cochrane). Furthermore, Sanders says, “We have failed a generation of our young people” (Newton). He recognizes the cause and effects of the economic burden on college students. His foundational promises regarding is reliable and accommodates the desire of college students to have financial stability.

During the fourth Democratic debate, Sanders discusses his plans for closing the wealth gap. When asked about his wealth tax plan to tax billionaires out of existence, Sanders responds the question by appealing to pathos as he paints a picture of the degenerating state of America’s economy by repeating the word “when” and including numbers to show the growing effect on the American people, “when half a million people are sleeping out in the streets today...and when 87 million people are underinsured or uninsured,” said Sanders. Following Sanders’s response is former Vice President Joe Biden’s discussion on closing the gap. He states, “I would eliminate the Capital Gains Tax” however as he proceeds with his speech he doesn't represent what his approach would be and merely restates what Sanders discussed about corporate greed. On the other hand, Sanders’s tax plan explains his advocacy for discontinuing the level of income inequality and targets the greed and corruption of billionaires who Sanders says, “are at war with working families of this country for forty-five years.” While he scrutinizes the top one-tenth percent of the billionaire class during the debate, Sanders also plans to tax companies. With corporate CEOs allowing for economic disparities between them and their employees through wage cutbacks, Sanders refuses to ignore the signs of greed and is calling for a change. If his tax plan is in effect to “penalize companies who have large disparities in compensation between their highest-paid officials and median workers” (Grayer), according to his campaign statement, he would be able to raise “an estimated $150 billion over the next decade” (Grayer). Sanders calls out large corporations who avoid paying taxes and respond to the issue with an introduction of how his policies would benefit low minimum wage workers. He urges for equality to reduce the gap in levels of income and his campaign pressures companies to elevate workers’ rights. His campaign is concerned about the wealth inequality that exists in the country and he wants to work on transforming the economy that works for all American people.

According to Sanders presidential campaign, MediCare-for-All is the only option. Sanders makes it clear that what the nation needs right now is access to healthcare. He’s looking out for families who are bankrupt due to medical costs and he recognizes that it is the cause of life-threatening diseases such as cancer. Financial stability is what Sanders wants to provide. His goal is to change the expense of the healthcare system so that the nation’s people can live comfortability. The opposition of Sanders’s plan is Biden who embraces the Affordable Healthcare Act. He wants to introduce a Medicare buy-in that lets people pay to join a government plan but doesn’t overhaul the full system, as single-payer would. (Scott). Biden’s plan emphasizes a “take it or leave it” mentality where the government plan makes it available for people to buy their insurance and maintain their coverage. In other words, “Of the 160 million people who like their health care now, they can keep it,” Biden said. “If they don’t like it, they can leave.” Sanders rebutts his idea with aggressive assertion by making two points: the current health care system is already really expensive, and Biden’s plan would still leave millions of Americans vulnerable to financial ruin if they have a medical emergency (Scott). Sander maintains his argument that it’s not about profiting drug companies and insurance companies, healthcare is for benefitting sick people and relieving families from drowning in medical costs.

Taking everything into account, Sanders has characteristics of magnanimity. He organizes the necessities of the nation and has confidence indecency. His thoughts best suit the state of mind of voters who are at the bleeding edge of the country's issues. His unmistakable motivation can prevail upon working-class individuals of all races and genders.