Are Sanders’ Progressive Ideas Right for America?

Rebecca Sanders has emerged as one of the most passionate candidates we have seen in in our nations long and storied history. Her intelligent rants and strong internet presence have put her in the position she is in today: one election away from becoming the leader of the free world.

Much of Sanders’ policy was revealed during the press conference held this Veteran’s Day. Based on many of her ideas and plans, it appears as if she believes that the nation is in a state of disarray and is in need of serious policy overhauls.

Wealth distribution, and money in general were hot topics for the democrat, who wants to lessen the gap between the top 1% and other 99% of citizens. She finds it disturbing that the top 10% have as much wealth as the entire bottom 90% and that the middle class is steadily shrinking. One of her plans for this is to impose new taxes on the top three-tenths of the top 1% and Wall Street speculators as she feels that they are the most responsible for the divide. The tax revenue generated from this would go towards making college tuition free for students pursuing a higher education, in theory leveling the playing field for students who otherwise would not be able to go to college for financial reasons. This also theoretically would give more job opportunities to millions of Americans.

Other actions Sanders plans to take to help strengthen the middle class is to raise the minimum wage to $15 per hour. This amount may seem steep, but Sanders argues that companies can afford to pay this, but instead opt to outsource jobs for the cheap labor. This move is potentially beneficial to the economy, since more money will be put into the pockets of the consumers who will in turn spend that money, putting it right back into the system.

Another major issue Sanders commented on was climate change. Many right leaning people still believe that global warming is a myth or that humans have little to no impact on it. Sanders believes the complete opposite, even stating in a previous democratic debate that it is the biggest threat to America. She wants to move our nation’s energy dependence away from fossil fuels, and invest more in alternative sources such as wind, solar, geothermal, and biomass much like she has done in her home state of Vermont. Sanders also wants to implement a tax on carbon and methane emissions to discourage their release into the atmosphere.

All of these ideas seem well and good on paper, but are they what America needs right now? Higher minimum wage and free college will be helpful, but what about the inevitable tax increases on everyday Americans that will come with it?

These may seem like scary notions, but I think that in this case the good clearly outweighs the bad. Higher taxes are a small price to pay when the alternative is millions of American families and young adults falling into tens and thousands of dollars of debate before even obtaining a college degree. Plus, as I mentioned before, the rising minimum wage means more money for everyday consumers which works out well for the large corporations.

As for her views on climate change, even if the skeptics are correct and it is not as big of a deal as the democrats and over 90% of scientist believe, investing in alternative fuels is good for the country. Oil will eventually run out and has caused us to be too dependent on foreign nations, particularly in the middle east for our energy. Wind, solar, biomass, etc. will not only provide clean energy, but will diversify our energy funds and dependence. As any good economist knows, it is better to spread out your investments instead of putting all of your eggs in one basket. The America Sanders wants to create is a good one, and her progressive ideas are right for America.