Most Americans should understand that a ‘label’ is an identifier, or
more aptly put a word or short phrase that describes someone or
something. Republicans are real big on labels, and they have had a fair
measure of success improperly labeling “socialism” as any policy or
agenda that does not enrich corporations and the wealthy, spend half the
budget on the military, or create greater numbers of poverty level
Americans. To be fair, America does have one purely ‘socialistic’
program in the Veterans Administration, but other than that one agency,
America is the epitome of anti-socialist.
In its basic form, socialism is simply organized
society in which all major industries and financial institutions are
owned and controlled by the government rather than by individual people
and corporations. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont self-describes
himself as a ‘democratic socialist,’ but there is not only
nothing ‘socialistic’ about his policies, those he does espouse are
supported by the majority of Americans that likely rail at the idea they
are socialists. It is why he is having a measure of success creating a
grass roots movement and may have even more if he did not self-label as a
socialist.
The reason Sanders is unlikely to win the nomination for president is because
only 31% of Americans “
react positively”
to the word socialism. However, among 18 to 29-year olds, about half
view socialism favorable and only 47% see capitalism as a good thing.
Still, even with the ‘socialist’ label, Senator Sanders’ policy
positions enjoy a great deal of support among the population and it
should not only frighten Republicans, it should, and is, pull Hillary
Rodham Clinton farther to the left; the left that twenty years ago was
decidedly Centrist. One thing is clear; even as a self-described
socialist, Sanders’ views on ‘key political issues’ are more in line
with mainstream Americans’ opinions of, expectations for, and demands of
government.
Senator Sanders’ concept of tax reform is the
reverse of Republicans, and what they say Americans demand, and believes
the system overtly favors the rich at the expense of the government and
rest of the population. Sanders believes the rich do not pay nearly
enough in income taxes and recently supported returning to the 90% tax
rates established during Republican President Dwight D. Eisenhower
administration. Socialist moniker or no, a February poll revealed that
68 percent of voters said wealthy households pay far too little in federal taxes. Voters also agree with Sanders’ policy, and
legislation
that cracked-down on offshore tax havens for the rich and corporations.
Sanders’ bill required corporations to pay the top corporate tax rate
on profits they hide offshore. Interestingly, a stunning
85 percent of business owners favor closing all overseas tax loopholes in their entirety and
68 percent of the public agrees that the government should “
close any and all tax loopholes for large corporations that ship jobs offshore.”
Americans also closely align with self-described
‘socialist’ Sanders on campaign finance. Senator Sanders rails against
Citizens United and has a called for a constitutional amendment that
would effectively prevent corporations from making political donations
and buying the government; he also support public funding of elections.
Although most Americans think corporations should have a very limited
right to make political donations, over half say
ban all
political donations from individuals and private groups and shift to a
government-funded system; only 44 percent of voters oppose such a law.
Sanders believes, like many Americans, that “
Instead of cutting Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and nutrition programs, we should be expanding these programs.” Many polls
reveal that
majorities of voters, including Republican voters, demand that Social Security is expanded and a
poll
last year showed that even Republicans in red states want Medicaid
expanded. Most Americans also support expanding nutrition and housing
programs. A poll conducted last year showed that even voters in red
states want to expand Medicaid. In a January 2015 poll, it
found that over 50 percent of likely voters agree with Sanders and support a single-payer healthcare system.
On regulations, a surprising sixty-four percent of
Americans agree with Senator Sanders and strongly support regulating
greenhouse gas emissions from power plants, factories and cars to reduce
global climate change; they also support a federal law requiring
utilities to generate more power from low-carbon sources. Americans are
not, as Republicans claim, in favor of deregulating banks or abolishing
the Dodd-Frank financial reform law. In fact, a substantial majority of
Americans agree with Sanders
that big banks “
are too powerful to be reformed and must be broken up.” A recent survey revealed that
58 percent of voters agree with ‘socialist’ Sanders and support “breaking up big banks.”
It is almost a no-brainer, but over 63 percent of
Americans completely agree with Sanders that it is imperative to raise
the minimum wage to $15 an hour “
over the next few years.”
Americans want the minimum at $15 an hour by 2020. What is surprising,
and should worry Koch Republicans in Congress and states, is that
Senator Sanders support for legislation guaranteeing that workers can
form and join a union is
favored by 53 percent of Americans. In fact, that 53 percent actually “
supports a new law that would make it easier for labor unions to organize workers.”
It is glaringly obvious that for regardless the
reason Senator Sanders self-labels himself as a “democratic socialist,”
or whatever negative connotations that label socialist has according to
constant harping by Republicans, most Americans support Mr. Sanders’
policies. Of course the truth of the matter is there is nothing, nothing
whatsoever, in any of Senator Sanders policies that are remotely
‘socialistic,’ and he may enjoy even greater success if he would just
drop the label and be what he, and most Americans really are on social
and legislative issues; liberal.
Republicans
have for too long enjoyed success by labeling progressives, liberals,
secularists, and indeed, Democrats as some kind of anti-American
monsters. However, the more people like Senator Sanders, and by force of
public opinion Hillary Rodham Clinton, expose their popular policy
positions as “good for all Americans” and America, the quicker the
Republican label machine will be exposed for what it really is; contrary
to the popular will of most American people.
