5 Things You Need to Know About Bernie Sanders' Policy

Many people write Bernie Sanders off because of his portrayal in the media. However, he is talking about common sense things that MOST Americans would agree with. Read this short list of issues he cares about that way next time he inevitably gets brought up at dinner or at a party, you have something to say.
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Many people write Bernie Sanders off because of his portrayal in the media. However, he is talking about common sense things that MOST Americans would agree with. Read this short list of issues he cares about that way next time he inevitably gets brought up at dinner or at a party, you have something to say.

1. He wants big money out of politics.

Unlike most mainstream candidates that benefit from the unbelievably loose restrictions on campaign contributions, Bernie wants to see campaign finance reform become a reality. He has spoken at length about how people matter in politics rather than how much money a few rich people and corporations can spend to buy influence. This is incredibly important if we want to clean up corruption in government and get the Congress to be more productive.

2. He wants to raise the minimum wage.

Overnight, this would help millions of families in the United States. Not only is it good morals that we should ensure people working full time can afford to put food on the table and a roof over their heads in the wealthiest country in the history of mankind, but it is good policy. People working low paying jobs are pay check to pay check, so extra money that they get nearly always goes directly back into the economy via spending.

3. He wants to invest in alternative energy.

Transforming our energy system will not only protect the environment, it will create good paying jobs. Similar to raising the minimum wage, this is an example of good morals and good economics. Creating new alternative energy technology will not only create millions of jobs at home, it also puts America in a position to export our knowhow to the rest of the world, creating even more jobs.

4. He wants meaningful tax and Wall Street reform so that normal people pay less.

This one gets complicated when we get into specifics, so I am going to keep it very simple. Bernie wants to make sure that rich people and corporations pay their fair share of taxes rather than avoiding what all of us pay through various loopholes. By doing that, the tax rate can be lowered and the rest of us normal Americans and small businesses that have been honest the entire time can pay less. He also wants to put in common sense regulation that keeps Wall Street from making unfathomably risky bets and crashing our economy again.

5. He wants to make college affordable.

As the global economy becomes more and more competitive, the need for more education is growing. At the same time, in America the cost of education is rising. We can immediately change this by lowering interest rates on college loans and helping subsidize some portion of our education system. We need to bet on our future, and crippling loans isn't the way to do that.

In a nutshell, those are the things that Bernie Sanders is talking about. They sound pretty good to me, and if the crowds showing up to hear him speak are any indication, they sound pretty good to a lot of other people too.

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