Robert Reich: Bernie Sanders’ Movement Must Continue
Bernie Sanders faces an uphill battle for the nomination in July. Some supporters are feeling primary race fatigue. Others are feeling discouraged that voters will, once again, elect a presidential candidate that will continue the country’s path of self-destruction. In a Facebook post to followers, Sanders supporter and world-renowned economist Robert Reich urged Bernie Sanders supporters to never stop fighting. He advised them to do three things.
Continue to work hard to increase Bernie’s chance of success … California’s June 7 primary will be critical.
If Bernie doesn’t win the nomination, you have to decide for yourself how active you’ll be in supporting Hillary Clinton. If Trump is the Republican nominee, my personal view is Hillary’s election to the presidency is absolutely essential to the future of this nation and the world.
Finally … remember that you’re part of a long-term movement to reclaim our democracy and economy from the moneyed interests that now have a chokehold on both. No movement to change the allocation of power in America can succeed in a single presidential election. It will take time and effort … Do not give up. Never stop fighting.
When the nation was at the height of the Occupy Wall Street movement, people took to the streets to protest against a rigged economy. When Sanders announced his candidacy one year ago, he was the answer to lingering resentment among Americans who felt powerless in an economic system that favors the wealthy. He became the de facto leader of a movement that had struggled to gain legitimacy. Bernie Sanders gave a voice to pain and desperation of millions of Americans, and finally they began to listen.
Since he began his campaign, Sanders has been highly critical of corporations that benefit from tax incentives, or “corporate welfare.” Walmart is a favorite target of his, due to its ubiquitous presence in the United States. During an event in New Hampshire in February, Sanders noted that the heirs to the Walmart dynasty have more wealth among themselves than the bottom 40 percent of the population.
Indeed, a 2014 report by Forbes found that a typical Walmart Supercenter costs local taxpayers more than $900,000 per year in the form of welfare benefits for its workers. In 2013, Walmart workers made up 18 percent of the total SNAP (food stamp) benefits in the United States; a whopping $13.5 billion for that group alone.
But Walmart isn’t the only company benefitting from government programs. Some of them profit off corporate welfare by taking advantage of NAFTA, a trade agreement that makes it easier for companies to move to other countries on the North American continent. It has resulted in millions of Americans losing their jobs as companies move operations to Mexico. Those workers left out in the cold are often forced to take advantage of SNAP and other welfare programs as a means to survive while their former employers reap bigger profits from cheaper labor.
Bernie’s movement is a call for Americans to stand up to big money, to make a commitment to take our country back from the oligarchs who currently control it. Because, let’s face it, this country is not becoming an oligarchy, it already is an oligarchy. The political revolution does not belong to him alone. It belongs to all Americans. And as Reich said, no matter the outcome in July, one truth remains.
The movement, the political revolution, must not die.
[Photo by Joe Raedle/Getty]
