A Bernie Sanders Shocker Is Coming

[Indydem]

200. Ok, we can go through these.

1. The repeal of Glass-Steagall isn't what caused the economic collapse. Many many many factors went into the collapse, but allowing banks to diversify their holdings and make investments with their holdings was a minor, if not microscopic contributor. In fact, they were already doing this before the GLBA, and reinstating sections 20 and 32 won't protect us from a future collapse that is influenced by the same factors as the one that was suffered in 2007. I'd be glad to have a greater discussion on this particular topic but here is where I differ from Sanders on this: like so many of his "solutions" to the issues we face, Sanders points to the repeal of Glass-Steagall and says "SEE! This is why we have problems in this country! Reenact this legislation and everything will be great!!!" Never mind that the votes aren't there in congress to reinstate it, and they aren't going to magically appear if Bernie is elected as president. Beyond being the wrong solution, it's a solution he'll be incapable of instituting.

2. TPP is a free trade agreement. We don't know what's in it. We don't know what is being negotiated. We do know that Barack Obama is the President of the United States, and he has been working behind the scenes to build this agreement. We know that he has faith in it and supports it. So you can look at it two ways: A) "All free trade is bad and hurts American workers and we should oppose this and all free trade agreements from now until the end of time based strictly on protectionism of American workers." or B) "Barack Obama is the President I voted for, and he has shown to be competent, fair, and far smarter than his opposition - I will trust him on this issue and have a little faith that inside this agreement are clauses and agreements that will make the Earth a better place and America better off." Bernie is in the "A" camp. I disagree. I am at least in the B camp, and I can see an economic benefit to free trade in general. No, I don't know what is in the TPP - but Barack Obama does, and he's not let me down more than other politicians, so I'll give it a spin and see where it goes.

3. Medicare for all is a terrible plan for America. "Medicare for All" is a clever attempt at branding. It's not great, and it fails to acknowledge or even see the basic failures of Medicare. As a health care provider, I do not have to accept Medicare / Medicaid. And frankly, many health care professionals do NOT accept Medicare/Medicaid because reimbursement rates are too low, and the patients who tend to use it are the worst cases with the most health issues. Therefore, you have to do more work for the same outcome and you get paid far less than it is worth. My opinion on this is that we need to be transitioning to a more highly regulated health market. I want to advocate for single payer, but the realist in me recognizes that in a nation of 350 million people with diverse cultural and economic backgrounds, there isn't a silver bullet or magic wand. The ACA was a step in the right direction, but I do NOT like the mandatory purchase of health insurance from a private corporation - especially from those who have no choice but to purchase from one vendor via the exchange. There are a lot of ways to reform health care. I think Single Payer (at least in my lifetime) is a nonstarter - not only for the millions of people who will lose their jobs in the health insurance and administration fields, but because millions of people will have nowhere to receive care when doctors refuse to accept the product and people are left with a "Medicare for All" care that gets them nothing.

4. For-Profit Prisons is a scapegoating issue. It drives me crazy that this is given so much focus by the progressives in our party. The issue is being looked at through the wrong optics, as usual. Private prisons account for “6 percent of state prisoners, 16 percent of federal prisoners, and inmates in local jails in Texas, Louisiana, and a handful of other states” according to the ACLU - a tiny percentage of total incarcerations. Progressives and people like Sanders are so GD worried about a single dollar of public money going to private corporations in their continuing efforts to demonize corporations, business, and profits, that they completely missed the fucking point. TOO MANY GOD DAMN AMERICAN CITIZENS ARE IN JAIL!!! We need sentencing reform at all levels in this country - an issue that Bernie Sanders has never had a word to say about. Barack Obama supports this reform, as does O-Malley, Hillary, and even Rand fucking Paul. There are a number of sentencing reform bills in play in the Senate right now - Bernie Senders isn’t a cosponsor to a single one of them. So yeah, I don’t really give a crap who gets paid to keep a man in a cage. I care more about getting the man OUT of the cage. We need to legalize Marijuana, get drug users into counseling and programs, and quit sending them to jail - regardless of who is paying to keep them behind bars.

5. “Free” Tuition, again, is missing the point entirely. I’m not sure where to start this takedown, but I guess let’s start at the beginning.
a. High School is where this issue starts. It used to be that when you graduated high school, you were equipped to go out and get some kind of low-level job in some kind of industry. You might be able to go and be a secretary in an office or a book keeper. You might be able to go get a factory job, or even a retail job with the possibility of advancement. No longer. Kids are being taught tests in school, and nothing else. You can’t get a job out of high school that has any hope of advancing beyond entry level. If you want to have a career in America now, you need at least an associate’s degree. This is where reform has to start. Kids coming out of high school need to have real skills, even if that skill is just showing up on time and balancing a checkbook. They aren’t getting that, so everyone tells them to go to College - that leads us to the second issue.
b. College isn’t for everyone. Some people aren’t cut out for college. They lack the aptitude, the dedication, the commitment, or they just plain can’t cut it. But because of issue a - they have to go to college to make anything of themselves, and colleges are happy to let them in. They take their money, they send them off to some remedial classes, which the student promptly fails, and TA-DA, the student has debt they can’t pay, and the college got their cut. So what is the solution to this? Every college needs to increase their admission standards, and every student wishing to go to college had better show they have the ability to cut it. Otherwise, even under the current financing model, we are throwing money away every single day, on students who are never going to get a degree, and are never going to repay the loans they get. So, since college isn’t for everyone, we’d be a hell of a lot better off to encourage and develop vocational training programs that get students who aren’t cut out to go to college into a trade that they can make a decent living at.
c. College is expensive - but why? Most colleges are being subsidized by their respective states and communities. But you never hear a politician say “maybe a college president shouldn’t make $1 million (Ohio State) $853,000 (Indiana University) $645,000 (Michigan State University) $496,000 (Ball State University) $466,000 (Purdue University).” These are PUBLIC UNIVERSITIES, that receive a huge portion of their funding from taxpayers, and they are paying their president that much?!? Maybe we could reduce the amount students have to borrow by keeping the presidents of their respective universities from driving Maybachs? Of course, this trickles down to Deans, VP’s, etc. There has been an explosion of growth in costs for education in the last 20 years, and it sure as hell isn’t going to professors. So maybe Sanders could support some reforms in the education sector that affect those running the Universities? Yes, I know his plan includes some kind of cost cutting efforts that put the onus on the states to control the costs of education - but I have yet to hear Bernie Sanders (or any other politician for that matter) say - “hey, maybe college costs too much because of greedy fuckers in our public institutions.”
d. College shouldn’t be free. There, I said it. It won’t be popular with the progressives on the DU, but I don’t much care. I’ve lived it, and I can tell you that the old adage is absolutely true: when you have to work for it, you value it more. When I went to college, I started out on an academic scholarship, paired with a local scholarship I received from a non-profit. Put together with attending a lower cost state school and monies from my parents and savings from working summers throughout high school, I was able to go to college without borrowing anything. Ugh - what a terrible plan. That lasted the first two years. My academic performance was less than stellar. I skipped classes, had too much fun, and basically screwed myself out of the scholarships. As the scholarships fell off, my parents added more money and I burnt through my savings faster. Finally, after my sophomore year, the savings were gone, the parents cut me off, and I had to make a decision. That summer I worked 2 jobs, I went back in the fall with a student loan, and knowing that I was paying my own way from there on out. I worked a part time job for the University and took some side jobs. I got a 4.0 for the next two semesters. I only missed one class during that time (car accident) and I appreciated every minute of every class. Once I had to pay for it myself - it had value. When it was handed to me, it had none. Obviously, this isn’t going to be the case for everyone. I am making a generalization. But I am not alone in this experience. People I knew (including my college girlfriend) received tens of thousands in grants, and borrowed tens of thousands of dollars, and never even finished their degrees. Students should have to work for their education, either academically or by being employed. If they have to take out a loan - then I hope they recognize what that really means - that they will be paying for it later.

So there you go. This is long. You may not even read it. I probably won’t change your mind on anything, but I have legitimate reasons for not supporting Sanders. These are just the 5 you brought up. I also don’t hate Wall Street, blame corporations for everything that is wrong with our country, and demonize the “billionaire class” (all 615 of them). I recognize that we are a divided nation and that there is a huge group of people that don’t agree with me on social issues, and think I want to steal their money and give it away. I don’t hate those people, or call them names. I recognize that we have to work with them to move this country forward, and Bernie Sanders has shown that he can’t do that. So yeah - I’ll be happy to explain anything else if you want, throw it out there.

BTW, I am only 34, but I do understand the difference between what Kennedy supported, and what Bernie (and progressives) are after. They are not the same.