This is what Bernie Sanders doesn't understand about the economy
REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
Bernie Sanders is no Ron Paul, but he has had great success in galvanizing masses of Americans – particularly young voters – by communicating a populist message of anger against Wall Street. Tuesday's surprise victory in Michigan is the latest example of Sanders's ability to tap into the distrust many Americans have of the current system.
Sanders is perhaps at his most effective when drawing direct parallels between the treatment of banking elites against those of average Americans. As the Senator said during a Democratic debate last month:
Goldman Sachs was one of those companies whose illegal activity helped destroy our economy and ruin the lives of millions of Americans. But this is what a rigged economy and a corrupt campaign finance system and a broken criminal justice is about. These guys are so powerful that not one of the executives on Wall Street has been charged with anything after paying, in this case of Goldman Sachs, a $5 billion fine.
Kid gets caught with marijuana, that kid has a police record. A Wall Street executive destroys the economy, $5 billion settlement with the government, no criminal record. That is what power is about. That is what corruption is about. And that is what has to change in the United States of America.
Overlooking the point about campaign finance, which seems quaint given the success of Donald Trump and the failure of Jeb Bush, Bernie’s larger point maintains some validity. The rules that are used to imprison and steal from Americans in Georgia, Montana, or Iowa are often very different than those enforced against the powerful people found in Washington, DC or New York City. For example, Bernie’s kid caught with marijuana has a police record, while Joe Biden’s son suffers no such consequences for being busted for cocaine use.
Unfortunately, as is the case with almost every half-decent point Bernie Sanders makes, he fails to recognize that this is the direct result of the government he advocates to expand. While Sanders supporters will immediately start chanting “white privilege”, the reality is that this is really about State privilege.
Of course, the government’s rigging of the economy obviously goes much further than Goldman Sachs executives not facing criminal consequences for their role in the financial crisis. It’s what happens when politicians, such as Sanders, try to score cheap political points among frustrated voters by championing foolish policies such as raising the minimum wage to $15 – having no care for the fact that it makes it much harder for any worker with a limited skill set to get a job.
REUTERS/Carlo Allegri
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