I also think that he's better than Warren because has faulty as his foreign
policy is, it's better than hher's. And as excellent as her program suggestions
are, she is still not interested in a basic change in our system back to a true
social welfare state and certainly not, to anything more radical than that. But
given the other candidates, those two stand out.
Miriam
-----Original Message-----
From: blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
<blind-democracy-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> On Behalf Of Carl Jarvis
Sent: Saturday, June 22, 2019 10:03 PM
To: blind-democracy@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
Subject: [blind-democracy] Re: Bernie Sanders Proposes New Economic Bill of
Rights
While Joe Biden puts one foot after the other in his mouth, Bernie Sanders
sends a clear message. Although I feel we need to bring pressure on Sanders
regarding his foreign relations, he certainly is the best of the male
contenders. It will be interesting to watch the Democratic Party Leaders shoot
him down.
Carl Jarvis
On 6/16/19, Miriam Vieni <miriamvieni@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Bernie Sanders Proposes New Economic Bill of Rights
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders addresses a rally at the
Pasadena Convention Center Sen. Bernie Sanders has proposed an
economic bill of rights affirming the right to health care, affordable
housing, education, a living wage and more.
Frederic J. Brown / AFP / Getty Images
By Marjorie Cohn, TruthoutPublished June 13, 2019
Presidential candidate Bernie Sanders delivered a full-throated
defense of democratic socialismin his June 12 speechat George Washington
University.
Sanders quoted FDR's 1944 State of the Unionaddress: "We have come to
a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot
exist without economic security and independence."
Sanders, like FDR, proposed an Economic Bill of Rights, including the
rights to health care, affordable housing, education, a living wage
and retirement.
"Economic rights are human rights," Sanders declared. "That is what I
mean by democratic socialism."
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Sanders cited figures of vast wealth disparity in the United States,
where "the top 1 percent of people own more wealth than the bottom 92
percent."
He
said there is higher income and wealth inequality today than at any
time since the 1920s. And, Sanders stated, "despite an explosion in
technology and worker productivity, the average wage of the American
worker in real dollars is no higher than it was 46 years ago and
millions of people are forced to work two or three jobs just to survive."
He also noted, "in America today, the very rich live on average 15
years longer than the poorest Americans."
Economic Rights Are Human Rights
The Universal Declaration of Human Rightssets forth two different
categories of human rights: (1) civil and political rights, and (2)
economic, social and cultural rights.
Civil and political rights comprise the rights to life, a fair trial
and self-determination; freedom of speech, expression, assembly and
religion; and freedom from torture, cruel treatment and arbitrary detention.
Economic,
social and cultural rights include the rights to health care,
education and social security; the right to form and join unions and
to strike; and the right to equal pay for equal work, unemployment
insurance, paid maternity leave, and the prevention, treatment and control of
diseases.
U.S. policy since Reagan has been to define human rights only as civil
and political, excluding economic rights.
These two types of human rights are enshrined in two international
treaties
- the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights(ICCPR) and
the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights(ICESCR).
The United States has ratified the ICCPR, but not the ICESCR. U.S.
policy since the Reagan administration has been to define human rights
only as civil and political rights, excluding economic, social and
cultural rights from the realm of human rights.
The ICESCR, which has been ratified by 169 countries, guarantees the
rights to work with favorable conditions, to the highest attainable
standards of physical and mental health, to education, to housing, to
an adequate standard of living, and to enjoy the benefits of
scientific progress and cultural freedom. It protects the rights to
form and join trade unions, social security and social insurance,
equal rights for men and women, and protection and assistance to the family.
Cuba, whose human rights record is frequently criticizedby the U.S.
government, puts the United States to shame with its recognition of
economic rights. Cubans enjoy universal health care, universal free
education including higher education, the right to form and join
unions, and government-subsidized abortion and family planning. Cuba
has a higher life expectancy than the U.S., as well as a relatively
small ecological footprint due to low energy consumption.
Democratic Socialism vs. Corporate Socialism
Trump and his fellow oligarchs oppose democratic socialism, Sanders
said, but "they don't really oppose all forms of socialism." Indeed,
"they absolutely love corporate socialism that enriches Trump and
other billionaires."
Sanders noted that FDR and his progressive coalition were successful,
and their legacies continue to flourish.
Sanders cited the $700 billion bailout of Wall Street in 2008 by the
Treasury Department "after their greed, recklessness and illegal
behavior created the worst financial disaster since the Great
Depression - with millions of Americans losing their jobs, their homes
and their life savings
- Wall Street's religious adherence to unfettered capitalism suddenly
came to an end."
He also mentioned tax breaks and loopholes for fossil fuel companies,
pharmaceutical companies, Amazon, and the Trump family who "got $885
million worth of tax breaks and subsidies for your family's housing
empire that is built on racial discrimination."
As Dr. King observed, the United States "has socialism for the rich,
rugged individualism for the poor."
Embracing Socialism Is a Winning Strategy
Sanders noted that FDR and his progressive coalition were successful,
and their legacies continue to flourish in programs and protections
like Social Security, regulation of Wall Street and unemployment
compensation. He pointed out that Roosevelt aimed to go further.
"In 1944, FDR proposed an economic bill of rights but died a year
later and was never able to fulfill that vision. Our job, 75 years
later," Sanders said, "is to complete what Roosevelt started."
He then set forth his vision of a 21st Century Economic Bill of
Rights, which would recognize that all Americans should have:
.The right to a decent job that pays a living wage .The right to
quality health care .The right to a complete education .The right to
affordable housing .The right to a clean environment .The right to a
secure retirement
Sanders listed Democratic presidents vilified by the oligarchs of
their time for their programs of alleged "socialism." Lyndon Johnson
was attacked for Medicare, Harry Truman's proposed national health
care program was dubbed "socialized medicine," and Newt Gingrich
called Bill Clinton's health care plan "centralized bureaucratic
socialism."
55 percent of women ages of 18 to 54 would prefer to live in a
socialist country.
Although none of the other leading 2020 Democratic presidential
candidates has embraced socialism, the party's base has. Candidate
John Hickenlooper, former governor of Colorado, was roundly booedat
the California Democratic convention earlier this month when he said,
"If we want to beat Donald Trump and achieve big progressive goals,
socialism is not the answer."
Indeed, Thomas Piketty, author of Capital in the Twenty-First Century,
argues, "Without a strong egalitarian-internationalist platform, it is
difficult to unite low-education, low-income voters from all origins
within the same coalition and to deliver a reduction in inequality."
Keith A. Spencer, writing at Salon, cites Pikettyfor the proposition
that "nominating centrist Democrats who don't speak to class issues
will result in a great swathe of voters simply not voting."
"The only way we achieve these goals is through a political revolution."
Moreover, a 2018 Gallup poll determined that a majority of young
Americans have a positive opinion of socialism. According to a recent
Axios poll, 55 percent of women ages of 18 to 54 would prefer to live
in a socialist country.
Sanders said the U.S. and the rest of the world face two different
political paths. "On one hand," he noted, "there is a growing movement
towards oligarchy and authoritarianism in which a small number of
incredibly wealthy and powerful billionaires own and control a
significant part of the economy and exert enormous influence over the
political life of our country. On the other hand, in opposition to
oligarchy, there is a movement of working people and young people who,
in ever increasing numbers, are fighting for justice."
After his speech, Sanders told CNN's Anderson Cooper, that real change
is generated by mass movements. He cited the civil rights movement,
the women's movement, the gay movement and the labor movement.
"It is time for the American people to stand up and fight for their
right to freedom, human dignity and security," Sanders affirmed. "This
is the core of what my politics is all about." He clarified, "the only
way we achieve these goals is through a political revolution
