Going Forward by U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders

[Chris Santee]

Going Forward
By Sen. Bernie Sanders

I want to take this opportunity to thank the citizens of Vermont for allowing me to continue representing them in the U.S. Senate. These are tough times for our country, and I promise to continue working as hard as I can to address the very serious crises that we face.

Let me provide a brief overview of just a few of the areas that I will be focusing on.

THE ECONOMY: The U.S. economy today is working very well – for millionaires and billionaires. Not so well for the disappearing middle class. While we have come a long way in the last four years since Wall Street greed drove us to the verge of a worldwide depression, much more has to be done to create the millions of jobs that we need.

In America today we have the most unequal distribution of wealth and income of any major country on earth. The top 1 percent owns 42 percent of the nation's wealth, while the bottom 60 percent owns 2.3 percent. In the last study done on income distribution, we learned that 93 percent of all new income generated between 2009 and 2010 went to the top 1 percent, while the bottom 99 percent split the remaining 7 percent. This extraordinary unfairness is not only morally reprehensible, it is bad economics. It will be very difficult to create the jobs that our people need when so many Americans have little or no money to spend.

As Vermont's senator I will be pushing for a major jobs program to put millions of people back to work rebuilding our crumbling infrastructure. In Vermont and around the country we need a massive effort to improve our roads, bridges, water and wastewater systems, airports, rail system, broadband and cell phone service. Rebuilding our infrastructure makes us more productive and internationally competitive — and creates a whole lot of jobs.

DEFICIT REDUCTION: In 2001, when Bill Clinton left office, this country had a $236 billion surplus. As a result of wars in Iraq and Afghanistan that were unpaid for, huge tax breaks for the rich, a Medicare prescription drug program put on the credit card and a significant decline in federal revenues because of the recession, we now have a $1 trillion deficit and a $16 trillion national debt.

Congress must address the deficit situation, but we must do it in a way that is fair. At a time when the wealthiest people in this country are doing extremely well and their effective tax rates are extremely low (think Mitt Romney), the people on top must pay their fair share of taxes to help us deal with the deficit. The idea that Republicans are united in wanting to extend Bush's tax breaks for the top 2 percent is beyond comprehension. We must also end the outrageous loop-holes that allow one out of four large profitable corporations to pay nothing in federal corporate taxes. We must also end the absurdity of allowing the wealthy and large corporations to avoid paying over $100 billion a year in federal taxes because they are able to stash their money in tax havens in the Cayman Islands, Bermuda and elsewhere.
 
We must also take a hard look at wasteful spending in the Defense Department where we now spend almost as much money as the rest of the world combined. There are also other federal agencies where significant savings can be found.

What we must not do, however is to move toward a balanced budget on the backs of the elderly, the children, the sick and the poor. That is what virtually all Republicans and some Democrats want to do, but as Vermont's senator I will do all that I can to prevent cuts in Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid education and other programs vitally important to the working families of America.

GLOBAL WARMING: If the destruction caused by Tropical Storm Irene was not enough of a wake-up call for the country, then Hurricane Sandy surely should be. Virtually all the scientists who study this issue agree that global warming is real, that it is significantly caused by human activity and that it is already wreaking havoc on this planet in terms of floods, drought, wild-fires and severe weather disturbances.
 
The scientists also tell us that the destructive impact of global warming will only become more severe and more frequent if we do not dramatically reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

As Vermont's senator, I will do all that I can to move our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and such sustainable energies as wind, solar, geo-thermal and bio-mass. This is not only imperative for the future of our planet, but it will improve our economy by creating a significant number of green jobs.

These are only a few of the issues that my office will be working on. Needless to say, we have got to continue going forward to provide health care for all our people, protect women's rights, do all that we can to make college affordable and fight for the well-being of family based agriculture. As a member of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, I will continue my efforts on behalf of those who have put their lives on the line defending our country.

If there are any problems my office can help you with, or opinions you wish to express, please call us at 1-800-339-9834 or go to my website at sanders.senate.gov.

Once again, thank you very much for allowing me to represent our great state in the U.S. Senate.

[rod anode]

what an idiot ,of coarse he talks about it now that the election in over same with the media.....everything was rosey before oooooobut now we are going over the cliff,the republicans better not stand in our way.....well bernie you frog I hope they not only stand in your way I hope they step on your toes because your part of the problem not the solution

[Harold]

Thank you, Bernie.  Keep up the good work.

[rod anode]

yea thanks bernie for relaxing the federal standards on poor people so they could get housing loans and drive this country further down the craper,oh and thank you bernie for giving out and price fixixng milk prices so our milk is worthless now,oh oh and thank you bernie for allowing illeagal immagrants to get drivers lisences without insurance and to stay here on the dime of taxpayers without any fear of getting relocated.oh and thankyou bernie for being a socialist commie pinko and distributing the wealth more evenly instead of actually having to work for it..oh oh and thank you bernie for.....................

[Rev. Elizabeth]

..and thank you, Bernie, for working for a democratic system that freely allows "Ed" to openly express is dismay and dislike for you and  your policies. Viva democracy!

[gasman353]

Edited due to guest posting

[rod anode]

oh and thank you bernie for taxing me at 40 % so that i can help pay for the 47 % that dont get taxed ...oh and thank you bernie for not getting more power than you already have so I can keep thanking you cause we know if your kind had the majority we would lose this right under your teniour........MEATHEAD

[Thor]

Ed,

      Suffice it to say, there is something to it, when a self proclaimed socialist continues to get re-elected here. I cannot wait until my kids are done with school here, because I am outta here!!! He just keeps promising to bring down those evil folks who make a good living, regardless of how many jobs one works to get there.

      I wonder what Sanders is worth.... where he has his money hidden, so he can avoid paying his "fair share"? And it makes me laugh, freakin Dems still defining a "millionaire" as someone who makes $250K a year or more. That is genius and idiotic at the same time!!

[rod anode]

hhhhuuuummmm rod for senate that has a ring to it ,but so does marrage ,engagement ring ,wedding ring ,suffering

[Thor]

Ed,

      We would do well to purchase a book on Thomas Jefferson, and send it to Sanders. Maybe.... just maybe, he would get it. But probably not. He does not have an ideology, he has a socialist sickness.

       We might do well to ask him about the US Postal Service, which he is such a strong supporter of. They only lost $15.9 billion this year. If that doesn't define stupidity, I am not sure what does.

       Lastly Ed.... do not run for Senate. They do a lobotomy on you when you first show up. They don't want anyone down there who knows how to balance a checkbook. And you do not want to be there when the whole thing implodes. And it is going to implode.

[nhibbard]

It's my understanding that the Post Office is being force to make payments into a retirement fund that no other department has to, thus making it insolvent. This is due to some middle of the road oversite where they are supposed to be pseudo private in how they operate. Odd how at the same time, checks are being written out of Social Security.

There really won't be a balanced budget until DoD gets brought into the budget and all spending is known. The pet projects could stand to go as well. But even in Vermont, businesses wouldn't be able to operate without government subsidies. I'm not saying all because most business make it without but some industries think they should get special funding even though their business model can't survive in the current climate.

I never liked but where did Bernie stand on the lack of oversite for those large solar projects that were a flop. Or the Recovery Grant that created more dead trees than it did lasting jobs. All those highway jobs were in the pipeline already. How many real jobs did that money create and how much overtime for the already working employees.

And lastly, another who seems to think college needs to be affordable. How about making education more available rather than subsidizing jobs that aren't paying. I said it during the elections but there needs to be a refocus on trades and an acceptance of alternative training. Receptionists don't need 4 year degrees, and people who say they are proficient with computers often mean they can type in Word and Excel rather than know how to actually use the other 99 percent of their features.

[Stand Alone Defense]

Vermont needs to take notes from Texas on how to operate a business friendly state and be self-sufficient!!