Political Thoughts and Actions: Bernie Sanders for President!

By Matthew Dunn

Last month the news of Puerto Rico’s impending default on its national debts made headlines. Puerto Rico owes over $70 billion in debts and they simply cannot pay it. So why is Puerto Rico so in debt? Part of the reason owes to new policies it has carried out involving taxes and wealthy residents. Under this tax law, new residents of Puerto Rico would pay no local or federal taxes on capital gains (profits made on trading securities such as stocks and bonds). This was clearly a move to try and get wealthy residents to move to the island.[i]

One of the big supporters of this idea was John Paulson, a wealthy hedge fund operator. Paulson is an investor who made one of his biggest profits betting against the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Paulson invested heavily in Puerto Rico and also campaigned for wealthy individuals to move there. So because Puerto Rico would not charge any taxes on capital gains (this is how many wealthy individuals make much of their money) they had to borrow in order to finance their government. So who was one of the most prominent lenders to Puerto Rico? You guessed it, John Paulson. So after being convinced by wealthy individuals to eliminate taxes on capital gains, they then lend money to the distressed government. With Puerto Rico now defaulting on its bonds, the bondholders will determine the government’s actions for some time. Meanwhile the people who suffer are the ordinary people of Puerto Rico who have an official unemployment rate of 12%, well higher than any U.S. state.[ii] It appears that the old trickle-down theory of economics, is more like flooding up economics.

Now, this is just a symptom of a system gone terribly out of control. The economic system of the United States has become so based on speculation and finance that speculators are basically free to do whatever they want. There were almost no consequences for those responsible for the Great Recession. Unless bankers committed outright fraud, none did any jailtime. Meanwhile Wall Street continues to profit off of ordinary Americans, and right wing politicians and pundits keep clamoring on for de-regulation and lower taxes on the wealthy.

Bernie Sanders is a politician who is against all of this. He is the only Presidential candidate who is prepared to take on Wall Street interests. He wants to tax Wall Street. He wants to create a federal jobs program to put Americans to work. He wants America to be a more equitable place, and not just an opportunity for investment for the wealthy few. And although he is running in the Democratic Primary, he has been a proud independent member of Congress for decades. He is not beholden to any large financial powers.

Bernie Sanders will not be politics as usual. Mr. Sanders talks about issues that other politicians ignore and does not give puff piece interviews. He is the kind of president that we need. We don’t need another Bush or Clinton in the White House.

Vote Bernie Sanders in 2016!

https://www.berniesanders.com