The message we hear from Senator Sanders is that the American middle class has been hurt by the policies of the Bush and Obama administrations. I say, "Amen to that, brother!" Being in the middle class was once a dream. Now it has become a nightmare.
Just how bad is the situation? Every month a new jobs report comes out and tells us that hundreds of thousands of jobs were created in the last 30 days. And sometimes the previous jobs reports numbers are adjusted up or down as better data is assessed. I look at the jobs reports as early tests of the water temperature, like dipping your toe into the lake. And yet more Americans are dropping out of the labor force than ever before.
The experts cannot agree on why the job numbers look so good while more people leave the work force. Who is taking all these jobs? And economists are also wondering just how many jobs are part-time. Part-time jobs cost employers less: less in benefits, less in taxes, and less in overtime. The cost-savings in the American economy are being passed on to the wealthiest Americans, not to consumers and employees.
When I look at Bernie Sander's political views he demonstrates a positive empathy for middle class workers. He understands that something is wrong with the US economy and he is not swayed by the glowing jobs reports.
But Bernie has some funny positions, too. I am not ready to fully embrace everything he wants to do. Take the US nuclear arsenal: Sanders wants to get rid of it. I'm not sure what we should be doing with the nukes but I grew up believing they prevented the Russians and the Chinese from bullying us with their larger forces.
And then there is his ambiguity about gambling. Millions of Americans gamble in casinos every year, and tens of millions of us play the lottery. We are comfortable with gambling. But in 2003 Bernie Sanders voted to outlaw paying for gambling costs with credit cards. This was a prudent position to take, No one should be gambling away the mortgage and car payments. Credit cards should not be used to pay for gambling losses because the interest makes them worse.
But consumers can walk into casinos and take thousands of dollars off their credit cards and go throw that money away on the slot machines. I know this because I have seen people do that.
But does Bernie Sanders actually oppose gambling? I found a forum post from a few years back where he responded to questions about gambling. I think he would be okay with online gambling. And maybe he would not mind if people try to make money with gambling websites. I looked at the gambling industry because all is not as it seems with the fight over online gambling.
Did you know that one of the biggest casino bosses opposes online gambling? He says he opposed it on moral grounds but he supposedly once tried to get into the online gambling industry himself. Was he squeezed out by competitors or did he have a change of heart? And how is it that online gambling preys on weak, poor people but casinos that take your credit card do not?
We live in a mixed up economy where more people are getting jobs as more people stop working, where the jobs are better-paying but only for shorter hours, and where casino magnates oppose online gambling for moral reasons. If Bernie Sanders can figure out a way to lead the country through this maze of contradictions (and get rid of nuclear weapons without leaving us defenseless) then maybe it is time we give him a chance.
If nothing else I think he speaks his mind more clearly than his opponents, Donald Trump notwithstanding. I hope someone figures out a way to strip Trump of his citizenship and send him packing. We don't need any leaders like him.
