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Greetings,

Unfortunately, Senator Sanders has been mathematically eliminated from winning the democratic primary. Joe Biden is the presumptive nominee and this subreddit fully supports the democratic nominee as Trump is a grave threat to this nation and must be stopped. Leaving subs such as these up does nothing but breed toxicity, trolling, and creates an environment of hostility that is not welcome. I would urge the moderators of the larger subredits to consider doing the same or to heavily restrict posts. If the situation changes for any reason this sub will reopen but until such a time as it is needed, we will be locking posts indefinitely. Thank you all for your contribution to this subreddit and let's continue to push forward progressive policies in a constructive fashion by forming coalitions and winning elections.

-- Agastopia

So I'm a mid 20's person that didn't take out loans to get a bachelor's degree since i saw many people get tons of dollars indebt and yet only work minimum wage jobs.

I'm wondering how student debt forgiveness is fair to people who decided to get all the debt, since if the debt is forgiven I'll be competing against people who aren't attached to other jobs and will take risks on jobs out qualifying me and reducing my qol.

Also lets says free college is included as well. That means i will have to go to college for 2/4/6/8 years starting in my mid/late 20's competing against a huge pool of bachelor's +'s in the meantime.

I have not heard any explaination on what Bernie's plan are for people like me since it doesn't seem like he would benefot me until I was mid 30s?

Thanks

I have voted Democrat in every election since 2004 which may be a rarity in my field. Currently I work for one of the largest defense contractors in the country that employs 30,000 plus people. In addition to that we have 5000 suppliers (due to DFARS requirements most are small businesses) whom we buy from to build Navy ships. If Sanders is elected and drastically cuts military spending I am unsure how he would plan to handle many folks losing their jobs. I get that years of waste and overruns have built up this monster but how do you go about, just slashing defense budgets without hurting local economies and small businesses. For reference, I live in Southeast Virginia where my employer employees 20000 plus people, by far the largest industrial employer in the state. If the budgets are suddenly cut and slashed what happens to all of those people? The local economy would be devastated, I would be devastated. I realize I haven't really posed a question but am interested in thoughts on how this problem would be solved.

I am prefacing this post by saying I AM A BERNIE SUPPORTER.

...but I might be Bernie blind. I know that no candidate is inhumanly perfect, but I see Sanders as the most qualified for the current crisis that is the US presidency. Biden pales in comparison and Tulsi...is there.

This post (all credit to u/u-EasyMoney92) highlights how Bernie does have his own gaffes and could be painted in the same unfavorable light as Joe. He makes mistakes too.

What I'm ultimately asking of this post and those willing to respond is what evidence could be reasonably used against Sanders platform?

(My apologies if this sounds lazier than using google, but most of the OPeds I've found were written in bad faith)

I like Bernie Sanders, but my family is very moderate. They’re “vote blue no matter who”, but as Bernie is likely getting the nominee, they’re very nervous about his Medicare for all system. According to bernietax.com, not an official website but seems to be an accurate estimate, we’d be losing $10,000 a year under this plan..

For context: We live in California. Housing and general good prices are expensive here. I’m not sure how much -$10,000 would really impact us, but that was their primary reasoning. My mother works in the medical industry, meaning that our insurance is free, and we only pay co-pay in doctor appointments and prescriptions. Orthodontist work is partially paid for, and eye care isn’t covered, so that’s what we pay for in healthcare.

Even if the website isn’t accurate, in general my parents are unwilling to pay for the tax increase. This is likely a view shared by other moderate families. Am I misinformed? How should I justify them losing money under Bernie Sanders?

I dropped out a few years back and have been considering going back, but I kind of want to see how the election turns out. If Bernie becomes president, realistically what would the time window be on that? Has he said he'd do some hardcore executive order thing, or could it become his equivalent of "the wall" where he really wants it but it gets blocked every time. Not to get too political or anything but I'm trying to figure out if I should just bite the bullet or wait and see how things play out.

Hey. I was just wondering if Bernie had any plans to help indigenous folks? I'm personally very white, but I grew up in MN which has a long and dark history with native Americans, but it's very slowly mending kind of, I think.

Basically I'm just wondering if Bernie will do anything, and what that would entail - I believe if he did do things with the tribes, he'd go about it as respectfully as he can. That's not a problem I see with him. It's more of a will he do anything at all with them.

Hello, I was wondering what the pharma/medical device sales profession looks like under the Bernie healthcare plan? Would it be eliminated due to non-necessity or essential illegality such as is so in Vermont?

Bernie Sanders is well-known to have been saying and believing the same things for the past 40 years.

In some ways, this is great – when he says that he wants universal healthcare, we know that he's not lying, since he's been wanting universal healthcare since before it was popular.

Being too inflexible, though, is bad. While steadfast ideals are great, a stagnant policy is bad, because even if you always believe X, the best way to achieve X will change over time.

Do you know of any particular instances of either Bernie changing policy ideas over time, or Bernie failing to change policy ideas over time even though he probably should have?

In my generation (Gen Z) I see people rapidly moving away from traditional American political identities, from Republican and Democrat to even conservative and liberal. More and more I see different flavors of nationalist and democratic socialist ideologies being espoused even from people who only a few years ago were fairly apolitical.

Still, I see many issues where our generation are on the same page in broad strokes where I believe we can compromise on the details. Even on the right, my Zoomer peers recognize climate change for what it is, but recognizing the US is going to be less affected by it are looking for a more national solution to the local effects of climate change. My socialist friends prefer a more "big picture" solution that directly and drastically tries to reduce our carbon output to try to stave off that apocalyptic 5° shift. This "big picture" vs "lifeboat" approach leaves a lot of room for compromise.

We could pull out of the Middle East to achieve a socialist policy goal, while pulling out of NATO to achieve a nationalist policy goal (not the best example because many nationalist want to leave the ME as well, but there is one).

Even harder ones like reparations for slavery or true single payer healthcare, where there isn't really a middle ground could be offset by equally polarizing reforms like changing the 14th amendment's citizenship clause and repealing the INA or strengthening the 2nd amendment and repealing the NFA.

All I'm trying to say is, the political parties as-is don't represent our generation and part of the back half of Millennial's ideologies. My favorite candidate is, if you couldn't tell, Donald Trump. My second favorite is Bernie Sanders, and I'm not alone in feeling this.

Is this something at all mirrored in the Democratic Socialist camp, or is it pretty solidly anti-nationalist?

Don't get me wrong im a firm Bernie supporter but I don't think its possible even with 1.5 trillion dollars to get to fully renewable energy. Especially with congress being split between democrats and republicans. Im pretty young so I am probably missing a lot but from what ive seen its not possible to get to fully renewable energy especially since we have to provide energy to around 350 million people.

Hello from Europe!

I have been following American politics with interest for a while and am very curious on this question, especially as Bernie is no longer the underdog.

But that Bernie is the frontrunner, how do you plan to reach out to the other candidates' supporters and, especially, those who will inevitably drop out? Do you plan to reach them at all? Even Bloomberg supporters?

And more specifically:

How to you plan to reach to regain trust from supporters who might feel Bernie too far leftwing?

How do you plan to overcome the division and the vitriol online that makes some supporters see each other as enemies, in order to reach them to broaden the support?

And, in this context, how do you plan to overcome the problem with all the Russian bots and online trolls impersonating Bernie supporters with the intent to divide the base and restrict the support for an eventual Bernie nomination?

How do you plan to reach to life-long democrats and democratic activists in other campaigns who don't like being called members of the establishment or have some reservations with Bernie having been an independent and only registering as a democrat when running for president?

I'm already a Bernie Sanders supporter, but I just heard Adam Green (a Warren surrogate) say on Rising with Krystal & Saagar that Bernie reintroduced his free tuition bill with means testing, so it is no longer universal. Can anyone tell me more about this?

Source (7:31): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARLqEgsC0HI&list=PLLri3HDD8DQtLZOuxZkjz-PwQ6JhhhnSq&index=8

Hi All,

Bernie has very audacious policy plans, whether it’s Medicare for all, taxes, free public college tuition, etc. In order to activate this policy, he will most likely need democratic/progressive control of both houses of Congress (limited abilities to enact all of his policies through executive order).

Given that the GOP currently controls the Senate, I was curious to see which specific seats that Sanders supporters believe they can swing in the election.

Also, I’m curious to hear what specific swing states give him his path to 270 for the electoral college.

Thanks!

He seems to be advocating for increase spending on health programs etc. and increased taxes on corporations. As someone with family heavily invested in ETF's for long term growth of wealth, what are his plans to mediate the negative impacts his ideas will have on the market? Are Bernie supporters just not invested in the market?

If we are using medicaid for all with the European model, my taxes will go from ~20-23% to 36%-40%.

I currently pay ~5-7% of my yearly income for a top of the line plan from my company for health insurance that includes my family with all the fixins (dental, eye, etc).

When I go see the doctor for an emergency I get in instantly. When I see my doctor otherwise it is usually within a couple of weeks for a non-emergency. Non-emergencies in Canada and the UK can take several months to sometimes half a year to see a doctor.

When I see a doctor over a non-emergency, I have several options given to me. Lets take a knee replacement for example. My grandfather was given the choice between a knee replacement or this cutting edge treatment that uses injections to encapsulate the damaged area. He chose the injections and walks around great these days. In a government controlled system that I am now paying double to triple the amount I did before in private, the government decides the treatment I get. If I want treatment outside of what the government offers, I will have to buy a private plan, blowing anything I paid before Bernie out of the water by multitudes of my original cost.

If Bernie forgives ~2 trillion dollars in student loans, I as the tax payer will get the bill. We can't seize the funds from private entities that hold the debt, so I will be paying for it. What tangible benefit is there for me to vote for someone who is going to give free money away to people who have proven to make poor choices? If you have an art or biology degree and work a pink collar job, that isn't anyone elses fault but yourself. Why should I as the tax payer excuse your poor decisions by taking up this burden?

As the person who will be footing the bill for all of these wonderful freebies, I am not fooled by, "bleed the rich". All it takes is to look at the countries with these government types to realize my tax burden is going to sky rocket to give more free things out to the people who don't pay taxes.

Edit: why is this downvoted? I was genuinely hoping to learn some of these things :/

Edit 2: must have just been some bad apples in the beginning (was -8 lol). Thanks for everyone who is responding

Edit 3: Hey guys, keep it coming. This has been the best discourse I have ever had with Be rue supporters. I really appreciate it.

So, to be forward, I don’t like Bernie Sanders as a politician. Below I list a handful of reasons why.

However, I do want a Democrat in Office in 2020 and will almost assuredly “vote blue no matter who”, however in 2016 I did not and I’m comfortable doing it again in 2020 if Bernie is the candidate and I can’t be sold on him.

I’m here hoping that you guys can make me feel better about him and make it easier to vote for him in November if he’s the candidate.

Okay, so for my concerns:

Of the candidates running, the one I am most uncomfortable with is Bernie. I’ve read all of his books and I think it is unquestionable that he is a great person, but I don’t trust him as a politician. I fear he will not be willing to work with those who disagree with him and I fear that he will abuse executive power to enact the changes he wants to see. I see his record in office and can’t help but to be disappointed. He’s certainly a great spokesperson for the progressive-left and helping move the platform to the left, but i don’t think he’s proven to actually be able to get anything done.

I think many of the policies he wants to enact are actually harmful to the US. I don’t think free college will benefit Americans in the long run as it’ll only make college less available to most Americans. I don’t think a blanket M4A adjustment eliminating private healthcare will make our broken system better and instead will lead us down decades of even worse medical care.

I’m nervous about his seemingly consistent support for authoritarian regimes, notably Maduro, Chavez, and Castro. I fear he will work to make the US system more reflect those systems, especially on regard to executive power.

And I’m nervous he’ll work too fast on climate change. I absolutely know climate change exists and is the world’s number concern. My only concern is he will be too quick to ban things before replacements are ready. I see his fracking ban and immediately think of Germany’s nuclear ban which resulted in tons of lost jobs and a huge increase in carbon output via having to reopen the coal mines. If we ban O&G before renewable replacements are ready, I fear we’ll do the same.

Basically, the guy really scares me and just makes me uncomfortable. Not more than the guy already in office, but still much more than any of the other candidates.

You guys obviously all support him. I hope you can help explain why you feel so confident in him and help make me warm up to him a bit.

Thanks for taking the time!

Cheers.

Paying out of pocket i.e. not insurance

Bernie's plan is to "Create a Medicare for All, single-payer, national health insurance program to provide everyone in America with comprehensive health care coverage, free at the point of service." Source

He has often identified European countries, especially the Nordic ones, as models to follow for the US. However most of those countries have limits to keep costs down, such as: using a multi-payer system (France, Germany), only covering basic services (Canada), or having the government provide healthcare directly (U.K., Norway).

What's the closest reference for comparison?

Edit: “We” being NATO. Of course it’s not the first thing to try, but if diplomatic means fail, is there a point where you would support going to war?

German model healthcare has the added advantage of choice.

Edit: Found an interesting article from NYT comparing various systems across the world.

My biggest fear about free college is that colleges will just get a blank check to charge whatever they want for tuition and make the government, ie tax payers, pay for it.

What about Bernie's plan is going to prevent that?

Colleges are way bigger in terms of employees and what they do then what is required to offer a good education to people. I feel like cutting colleges down to something closer to how a community college works would be an important first step before making it free.

In order to win the presidency, no candidate can rely solely on just party votes. How can Bernie convince never Trumpers, Republican defectors, centrists, and moderates to vote for him in November?

Just for reference, I’ve mostly voted Republican in past election but after last election I have been repulsed by them. I’ve flirted with libertarianism but I know that’s throwing away a vote. I support Bloomberg in the primary but expect Bernie to get the nomination and I will begrudgingly vote for him in November.

Bernie may not be taking campaign contributions from Billionaires this year but has he in the past?

Most of the democrats are currently running on a platform including student loan forgiveness in which taxes pay off student loans.

Instead of punishing the taxpayer why does Bernie not run on a platform of punishing the schools for overcharging for degrees that don't guarantee employment and loan providers for giving absurd amounts in predatory high interest loans?

I feel like he could get a high level of bipartisan support if he were to go after these multi-billion dollar institutions instead of making people who pay taxes think he is going to just charge them for it.

Hi all,

I work in tax accounting and work on many clients that make well over $100m in revenue. Some pay taxes, most don’t. But what people don’t realize that a lot of these major corporations are able to lower their taxable income by common practices like net operating loses, depreciation, etc.

Corporations are not only taxes based on income, they pay an exorbitant amount in payroll taxes, state taxes, etc.

Raising the corporation tax rate to 35% will have no benefit on our economy and only scare away investors & corporations from doing business in our country.

Bernie does not believe in small business and he will strangle every mom & pop store out of business with the regulation and taxes he has proposed.

I vaguely remember something about a donation deadline, in the past few weeks. Is it too late to donate?

If I donate now, will the money be restricted in some way?

I really don't understand this. Can someone explain?

I used the bernie tax calculator and inputted my income and health care costs (essentially zero - my employer thankfully covers a large part of my insurance).

Link to tax calculator I used: https://www.bernietax.com/#0;0;s

Based on my current income and health insurance costs, I would lose approximately $5,000 a year in disposable income.

While my income is high, I live in a high-cost-of-living city in SF (paying > $3k for a one bedroom apartment). A $5k hit to my disposable income is pretty significant hit to my bottom line. Am I just shit out of luck?

I’m not following his numbers very clearly, it seems. One source states that his wealth tax will raise 4.35 trillion in a decade, but how does that balance his “free” healthcare plan which at today’s rates will cost 36 trillion over the same timeframe? It all seems to push the states much deeper into debt.

In addition, a few things worry me. This increase of tax, when looked at from the standpoint of the disgustingly wealthy, raises the question of “why not move?” What is Bernie’s plan to keep those billionaires here, when they can easily use their wealth to escape the losses of this tax?

Socially, I would like some clarification on some of his past stances. I came across a meme shared by a trump supporting relative that I could not disprove, that Bernie did not condemn or fight against the Iranian hostage situation of 1979. While I can respect an isolationist stance, I cannot justify the lack of defense for American citizens.

Nothing would convince me to vote for Donald trump in the upcoming election, and I hope that the concerns I have for Sanders are baseless and I can vote in good faith that my vote will go to the best candidate. Help me help you in winning the White House.