Billionaires are an obscenity in a society
that experiences the crushing, crushing amount
of wealth inequality within this country,
that is absolutely inexcusable in the richest
country really in the history of the world.
And Sanders’ campaign continues to be buoyed,
I think, by continuing to come back to this point.
And it’s not — you know, it’s not just
the question of the wealth tax, which I think
is incredibly important and is at the root
of so many of our issues, the absolute reluctance
and fear of elected — the entire political
class, regardless of party, of taxing the
rich, of taking back our money, that goes
to line the pockets of the rich, to use for
the social needs, the desperate social needs,
across this country.
And for him to come out and say that forthrightly
is why people are so attracted and drawn to
his campaign, his willingness to accept the
anger and hatred of the billionaire class
on the behalf of the working and poor people
in this country.
And it’s not just on that issue.
If you look across Sanders’ platform, these
are policies, if implemented, that would transform
the lives of poor and working-class people,
a disproportionate number of whom, I might
add, are African-American and Latino.
And so, I think that this is, you know, bringing
to light the connection between the systemic
forces that drive inequality and the impact
that they have in people’s lives.
And so, for something like housing, I think
it shows how Sanders’ connection to the
social movements, to the people on the ground,
then get reflected in the policies that he
proposes.
Sanders is the only candidate who mentions
— within the Democratic field, who mentions,
in any meaningful way, ending segregation,
housing segregation, as a political objective.
No one else talks about that.
I mean, people accept the segregation in our
cities almost as a natural phenomenon of life,
almost as an expression of nature itself.
And Sanders, repeatedly, through his housing
plan, talks about the crisis of segregation
and the policies that need to be implemented
to actually begin to grapple with this issue,
that deal mostly with rigorous, aggressive
enforcement and a ruthless punishment for
those within real estate and banking who continue
to engage in these practices.
And I think that kind of forthrightness, that
kind of clarity exist throughout Bernie Sanders’
platform.
And the other part of it, which I think is
so critical, is his understanding that we
actually need more than a plan.
Plans are good.
It’s good to have an analysis.
It’s good to understand why this inequality
exists.
And it’s good to call it out, as he and
Elizabeth Warren have done.
But it’s not enough just to have a plan.
We need a social movement.
And I think Bernie Sanders understands that
more than any other candidate that’s running.
That’s what he means when he talks about
the political revolution.
That’s what AOC means when she comes out
and endorses him and says that she wants to
be a part of the political movement that can
make these plans, these platforms actually
come to life, because we know and Bernie Sanders
knows he could be elected president tomorrow,
and if we don’t have a mass movement on
the ground to actually force the Congress,
that is full of millionaires, that is full
of people who have gotten fat and lazy on
the status quo — if we don’t have a mass
movement to force them to listen to us and
to implement new policies that actually will
improve the quality of life —
Five seconds.
— for people on the ground, it won’t happen.
