MY REASONS FOR SUPPORTING SENATOR SANDERS OVER HILARY CLINTON
First I must state that I think Mrs. Clinton is very qualified for the position and I would love to see us have a woman President. However, I feel Bernie Sander’s positions resemble my values more closely and he takes a strong position on the important issues that I care strongly about. Either one, mind you, would do a better job than the crazy GOP candidates!
Bernie came out initially against the TPP (Trans Pacific Partnership) and NAFTA. Hilary supported NAFTA as President Clinton championed the agreement. She waivered at the beginning on her stance on the TPP which she now says she opposes. If Bernie had not opposed it would she have supported it since President Obama is for it (and one of the few things I disagree with him on)? These agreements have really hurt or will adversely hurt our economy in the area of jobs, wages, and many other things to numerable to go into here.
Too many jobs have gone overseas and we need to bring them back at a decent wage. Bernie has also stood for a wage increase to $15 an hour. Personally I think that should be a starting point, not an end point. Clinton only wants increases to $12 per hour. Wages should be increased yearly and tied to the cost of living in my estimation (do I get your vote lol?). Even at that wage, it would be hard to support more than one person. Here in Colorado, the average rent is about $1300 per month, and home prices average about $300K. The poverty level for a family of 4 is about $24,000 per year. Clearly a $15 an hour would benefit many making half of that now.
Clinton has stated she is for hydraulic fracking as long as it meets certain criteria. Bernie has said he is against it! I have opposed fracking for years and met people affected directly by it. Drilling has come too close to home now and nearing our cities. It affects the water, which is at a premium with drought conditions, and animals, as well as people’s health. However, the debate moderators have not dug further in their questioning as to what tactics either would propose in lieu of fracking and how they would move us to sustainable energy.
Both Clinton and Sanders have records of supporting women’s causes and civil rights and I applaud their actions and stances on legislation. Voting rights have not been brought up in the debates either and is of particular concern being an election year but I would wager that both would want them to be stricter. It is exciting to see more young people being involved in the caucus process and hopefully it will continue into the elections and beyond. We need to have young people trained and exciting others to be part of Democracy! I would like to see all states move to same-day registration and mail in ballots to increase voter turnout.
One area where the candidates differ is in healthcare coverage. Clinton championed health care for many years but seems content with the current private coverage that Obamacare gives us. It has increased access, but I don’t believe we are at 90% as she claims. It was a beginning yet people are still paying too much for prescriptions and insurance premiums. The insurance companies are the ones benefiting from this program. I myself spent over $6000 in medical care last year with only one trip to my primary care physician part of that in the year. Some people are unable to afford premiums which can be as high as $1000 per month but yet make too much to qualify for Medicaid.
I support Sander’s idea of providing single-payer healthcare to all as do the other industrialized nations in the world. He also would allow prescription drugs to be imported from Canada, and restore drug discounts for seniors. If we were to visit another country and fell ill we would be covered. A visit here could run you thousands of dollars. Healthcare to me is a right, not a privilege. It should not be such a profit-making business; instead a way of helping increase health and well-being. There is much we could learn from the world, and many ways we could promote better health than prescriptions….partially our S.A.D. (Standard American Diet). I have to put a plug in for two of Michael Moore’s awesome movies, the older one on healthcare and the recent one addressing healthcare and many more topics, “Where do we invade next.” In most countries individuals pay about $100 per month and I would gladly pay that in taxes to get health care vs. the $500 I pay now! Clinton only wants to improve on the current system where the insurance companies benefit more than the recipients.
Education is another topic where there is some disagreement. Many other countries provide better education than the U.S. in fact we rank about 14th in 40 countries. We teach to tests, not to learning and life experience. College is now almost essential for employment and public education should be increased to cover K-18. Bernie supports free tuition and has ways to pay for it. I think most of us would pay a bit more in taxes if we didn’t have to pay thousands out of our pockets and go in debt for health and college. It can keep people from buying homes and getting married because of their school debts. While Clinton feels pre-K is important, she does not agree with Bernie on free tuition. If other smaller countries can do it, why can’t we?
Bernie has a stronger stance on a few other positions. The first is on our climate crisis and how to stop its trajectory; Bernie has opposed XL pipeline since the debate began. Clinton waited and finally opposed it later in 2015. He supports state’s rights to legalize marijuana; she only wants to reduce sentencing. He supports expanding Social Security by raising the marginal income tax rate, whereas Clinton just wants to protect it. Sanders will be tougher on Wall Street and did not vote to bail them out nor did he get paid to speak at Wall Street functions. He believes in breaking up major financial institutions as well. No more bail outs!
My wish is that you watch ALL of the debates and town halls that you can and weed out the differences. Learn about the issues. Both candidates are good, smart, decent people who have worked for our country for many years and have similar values and ideas. But there are some striking differences that are worth taking a look at. I hope, like me, you will get behind Bernie and that he will continue to forge ahead with victories in many states. We need a champion for the people and one who will stand up to Wall Street and the 1%. It is time for a change from the status quo. If we keep voting for the same establishment people and ideas, we’ll keep getting more of the same. I think we need a new course of action at this time and Sanders is the one I think that can do it!