These are extremely difficult times for our country.

thanks very much for joining me we are living in a very crazy world and if you're feeling a bit overwhelmed You Are Not Alone given that reality let's take a few minutes to try to figure out where we can go from here what our strengths are and what the obstacles are that are in our way for a start let's acknowledge that our political system is corrupt and broken dominated by Big Money interests while some of us are trying to get things done and occasionally have limited success the truth is that Congress is largely dysfunctional that's just the way it is we just had the warmest winter ever recorded climate change is already ravaging the planet and scientists tell us that much worse is coming if we don't act boldly and on this existential threat to the planet there is virtually no discussion on the flaw of the house or the Senate let alone major action today the United States virtually alone in the world continues to supply weapons to prime minister Benjamin nany's right-wing extremist government in Israel which is waging a campaign of Total War and destruction against the Palestinian people hundreds of thousands of children face starvation in Gaza yet despite the efforts of some of us almost no discussion we currently have more income and wealth inequality quity than at any time in the history of our country the American people believe as I do that we should demand that the wealthiest people in this country start paying their fair share of taxes have you heard any discussion well I haven't today 85 million Americans have no health insurance or are underinsured we are the only major country on Earth not to guarantee healthare to all people as a human right while at the same time we end up spending far more per capita on healthare than do the people of any other country yet no discussion on this enormously important issue half of American renters are spending more than 30% of their income on housing and 650,000 are homeless and gentrification is sweeping the country have you heard much discussion about the housing crisis in Congress well I'm there I haven't more than 43 million Americans struggle with an average of more than $37,000 in student loan debt and our current Child Care pre kindergarten systems are an international embarrassment that it's failing our children our parents and our child care workers no real discussion on the floor of the house or the Senate on that issue and Congress has been unable to do anything to address our fundamentally flawed immigration system or provide a pathway to citizenship for our undocumented brothers and sisters and oh by the way and not unrelated in the midst of all of that inactivity and dysfunctionality in Congress Donald Trump is leading in most of the polls the American people are hurting they want action they want it now and they're not getting it and that is the bad news and no way to sugarcoat it it is bad news so what's the good news and where should we go from here well there is some very good news and that is the working people all across this country are standing up and fighting for economic Justice and against corporate greed few months ago United order workers won a historic contract that included a projected 33% increase in wages over the next four years and an end to the disastrous two-tiered weight system the UAW fought back and they won and right now the UAW is investing heavily in organizing non-union Auto and Battery workers across the South and just last month they announced that more than half of workers at a Volkswagen plant in Tennessee have signed Union cards signaling they want to be represented by the union this is an historic effort no nonunion Auto Plant in the South has ever been organized but it's not just the UAW after the UPS UPS made 13 billion in profits in 2022 the Teamsters Union which represents their workers stood up and fought back as a result of their efforts UPS workers won a new contract that will increase wages for part-time workers by an average of 48% while substantially improving the wages and working conditions of full-time workers nurses across our country have gone on strike in record numbers to improve the lives of their patients and get better nurse to Patient ratios including recent victories in Virginia and New Jersey and just last week the Starbucks Union finally forced the company to the negotiating table in a huge breakthrough for their organizing efforts so that's the good news and where does it take us into the future well it seems to me that we have to go forward with a twart strategy shortterm and long-term in the the short term we have to work hard in this campaign and reelect President Biden yes many of us have disagreements with Biden on a number of issues including Gaza but on his worst day in office President Biden is a thousand times better than Donald Trump if you believe in democracy if you believe in science if you believe in Justice and workers rights if you believe that women have the right to control their own bodies if if you believe in a country free of bigotry Trump must be defeated and Biden must be reelected at the same time we also have to work hard to make certain that our strong Progressive friends in the US House are reelected many of them are coming under strong attacks from right-wing billionaires and super Pacs like APAC further we need to elect Progressive lawmakers up and down the ballot at school boards at City councils at and state houses Across America that's what we have to do short term long term we have to stay focused on our Progressive agenda an agenda that is strongly supported by the American people an agenda which says that billionaires and super packs must not be able to buy elections and undermine our democracy an agenda where Health Care in the richest country on earth is a right not a privilege an a an agenda that treats climate change as the existential threat to the planet that it is an agenda that takes on the greed of the billionaire class and demands of the Rich and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes an agenda that raises the federal minimum wage to a living wage and makes it easier for workers to form unions an agenda that changes our national priorities so that we're not spending 900 billion year on the military while children and senior citizens go hungry implementing that agenda won't be easy it won't happen overnight and to accomplish it let's be clear we're going to have to take on some of the most powerful special interest and powerful people in the entire world but I believe today what I have always believed and that is if we come together and not allow demagogues to divide us up by the color of our skin or where we were born or our sexual orientation there is nothing we cannot accomplish at the end of the day no matter how much wealth in power the 1% has 99% is a far larger number and there is nothing that can defeat human solidarity so let us stand together let us go forward let us win thank you very much

Channel: Bernie Sanders

Views: 288,698

Keywords: bernie sanders, 2020, election, democratic primary, bernie 2020, bernie, joe biden, elizabeth warren

Id: 8C2iyUmHeag

Length: 8min 25sec (505 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 28 2024