When it comes to addressing economic disparities, it’s no surprise that Sanders fully backs the Fight for $15, in whic “It is a national disgrace that millions of full-time workers are living in poverty and millions more are forced to work two or three jobs just to pay their bills,” he says. “A job must lift workers out of poverty, not keep them in it. The current federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour is a starvation wage and must be raised to a living wage.”
Sanders has already introduced a minimum wage bill and proposes a menu of solutions to end income inequality.
College Affordability
Education is a key to raising incomes. But the ever increasing cost of a college education discourages many and keeps others in debt—sometimes for years after earning a degree.
Sanders proposes a six-step solution toward free tuition at public colleges and universities. As president, Sanders would also push for sharp reductions in student-loan interest rates and allow refinancing for those already burdened with high interest rates.
Where does the money come from for free tuition? A tax on Wall Street. Sanders says that more than 1,000 economists have endorsed his proposal to impose a small tax on speculators “who nearly destroyed the economy.”
Health Care
Sanders supports the Affordable Care Act but doesn’t think it goes far enough. He told CNN, after the Supreme Court’s decision in June to uphold key provisions of the health care law, that the United States should guarantee health care as a right, as other wealthy Western countries do.
Sanders also vows to fight for affordable prescription drugs. His plan includes requiring Medicare to negotiate with pharmaceutical companies for better prices and allowing the import of prescription drugs from licensed Canadian pharmacies.
Gun Control
An area of vulnerability for Sanders as a Democratic candidate is his record on gun control in the aftermath of the Charleston, S.C., church massacre last year.
During the Democratic debate in October, CNN’s Anderson Cooper noted that Sanders opposed the Brady Act’s mandatory background check and waiting period; he also resisted holding gun manufacturers accountable for mass shootings.
“I think guns and gun control is an issue that needs to be discussed,” Sanders told NPR. “Let me add to that, I think that urban America has got to respect what rural America is about, where 99 percent of the people in my state who hunt are law-abiding people.”
Sanders, though, supports President Barack Obama’s recent executive action on gun control. He told CNN that bipartisan action would have been preferable, but the GOP is not interested in gun safety.“The vast majority of the American people are horrified by the mass shootings we have seen. They want action,” he said.
Nigel Roberts is a New York City-based freelance writer. Follow him on Twitter and Facebook.
