Have you been "Feeling the Bern" lately? No? Maybe this video will spark a little something. Bernie Sanders' Facebook page's latest video post is short, but extremely significant, letting the world know that the 15 richest Americans made more than the bottom 100 million combined.
"Is the economy rigged?" the video begins. Check out the rest below.
Bottom 100 MillionThe 15 richest Americans acquired more wealth in two years than the bottom 100 million people combined.
Posted by Bernie Sanders on Tuesday, December 29, 2015
It's amazing that we live in the wealthiest country in the history of the world, yet the distribution of wealth is great still. And in a Democracy, no less, where the people should have the power.
Instead, if you have the money, then you have the power.
No longer does America live in a Democracy. It lives in an extremely abused capitalist system where people in the top 0.1 percent of the country control more wealth (and new wealth, meaning earned each year) than the bottom 90 percent. How anyone can defend such a system is beyond my comprehension.
Don't get me wrong, capitalism is great. A free market is great. It creates competition and a culture where it's good to create, invent and pursue your passion. However, without the right regulations, the suffering that has occurred in every great civilization for the people at the bottom of the totem pole continues to exist.
Let's take a look at the claim above: "the 15 richest Americans acquired more wealth in two years than the bottom 100 million people combined."
How much money are those bottom 100 million people making each year?
According to the Census Bureau via usnews.com (and keep in mind, that article was from 2012, and people are making slightly more money), 46.2 million people lived below the poverty line or at the level of being able to afford the bare essentials, which was estimated at around $23,000 per family of four. Even with two working parents, if you couldn't afford to go to college, odds are you fell into this line and combined, you only make $23,000 per year while working full time at minimum or near minimum wage. But now it's 2015, so let's say that average has risen to $25,000 at this point for a family of four. Not really that much better, but still.
The other, roughly, half of the bottom 100 million Americans are blue collar workers, known as the working class (the lowest tier of the quote-on-quote middle class). Annually, the incomes for these types of households would be between $25,000 and $35,000.
So just think about that? These people, regular, everyday people for the most part and over 25 percent of our country, work 40-plus hours a week, barely get to see their families and can't afford to have them either.
It's an embarrassment. Americans should be embarrassed that their country has not lived up to its ideals. And its ideals were not to have about five percent of the country live luxuriously, or extraordinarily luxuriously -- if you're in the top 0.1 percent. This country was founded to build a culture in which everyone had an equal opportunity.
If you want to know how the billionaire class has rigged the economy, read this: https://t.co/d6S2fm3HtZ
— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) December 29, 2015
Right now, we do not have equal opportunity. There are people in America who are at a distinct disadvantage still, and it's wrong, and it's perpetuated by politicians and the mainstream media who are bought by that top one percent.
What people don't realize is that Sanders does not want to get rid of rich people or the opportunity to better yourself and get to that level if you miraculously can. But if you're one of the 99 percent of this country who aren't ever going to be able to make millions or billions each year, then you shouldn't suffer. Everything is good in moderation, and right now, there's no moderation.
The middle class, lower-middle class, working class and poor need help -- all of them. It's time the playing field was leveled just a little bit.
All I can say is, I hope people go out and vote. Go out and vote, especially the young people who may not believe their vote matters. It truly does this year.
#FeeltheBern
