I don't support Bernie's plan for free healthcare / education. I think education could be something you could work off to the gov't - say serving in the Peace Corp and doing public service for 2-4 years after you graduate. How do you make it happen? How do you create enough seats for all the students too? Lots of things need to be address. It's easy to give things out for free, but much harder to actual figure out how to make it work. Sander would run into a brick wall and not get much done. He's a great advocate, but he'd be a terrible president. We need less ideologues whether they are on the left or the right, and we need people more like Obama who are open to truly working with the other side.
I don't see free education as some thing that is just giving something up for free. I see it as investing in the future, making sure your future citizens have skills and are intelligent as that usually helps a country long term. Instead, we're actually seeing more and more Americans go overseas for education because it simply costs too much here. So surely, at this pace, we're headed to brain drain territory if this continues to increase. Healthcare is a human right I believe. People should not go into crippling debt because of poor health...which is usually poor because they couldn't get cheaper preventative care. Also, Sanders would get things passed if he had the house and senate to do so. Right now, not much will get done with this partisanship no matter the president. If you think Mitch is going to give Klobuchar, Pete, or Biden any wins you're kidding yourself. This is the man that made Obama's 2nd term hell and he was as moderate as possible. I think there's enough support to get affordable education passed with a blue majority and healthcare, seriously, poll the public on this stuff. This is what people want. If other countries can do it, America can to. It's a new thing for Americans to say other countries can do things better than us...yet they are.
I don’t know if this has previously been discussed but if debts are forgiven for education and free education becomes available won’t there be a discrimination against those who went to an institution that offers free education and won’t there be resentment for those who saves and paid for their education?
How do you pay for it? And how do you accommodate everyone? Look at our public education system - especially in places like the inner cities. WE can't even fix that. Free college sounds wonderful but it isn't a cure-all and you have to be able to pay for it. Where do you get $1.5 Trillion dollars to forgive all that debt??? This is my problem with Sanders - he says things that are just ridiculously impractical.
$100,000,000,000,000 over 10 years... Ten trillion dollars a year for eternity. I don’t think it is possible.
It didn’t work because of the GOP who will obstruct anything because that has been their strategy since Newt Gingrich. They intentionally muddle everything the Dems do so they can turn around and say “see, told you”. ACA, they intentionally don’t expand it and intentionally not fund key aspects which raises rates moreso than had they tried to implement it. The 2007 economic crisis.... the GOP thought it would be a great time for austerity. Get a clue to the bigger picture.
You take it from the ridiculously large military budget? Other countries educate their children better...and do it for free. People tell me these things are impossible when they literally happen around the world.
Maybe, but the argument against shouldn't be "Well, I had to pay for it so you should too!" With this argument you'd never improve anything out of spite.
I literally said this in this thread though? The GOP is going to try to obstruct everything, it doesn't matter if you put a moderate in there, like Obama, they are still going to do so.
Because Bernie just gives them more ammo and a bigger target. Bernie only excites progressives and GOP strategists. Moderates have a shot at least getting stuff done.
No, it wasn't all at once, but people are saying it shouldn't exist period. Aren't they? That there isn't money for it, period, that's what I'm being told. One thing history is clear about is that the accessibility to schooling changed America for the better. I don't think so. I think the GOP doesn't care who they are going against. You think they won't ruthlessly drag Pete through the mud? Or Klobuchar? This is the same party that brought Bill's accusers to the front row of a debate. This is who we'll be going against. This was against Clinton. They are not going to be nicer to a moderate. They don't care, they want to win, they'll do almost anything to win. They are not trying to reach across the aisle to share power. If they could, they'd have full control of the senate, house, and 9 SCOTUS judges, they don't GAF if that's not representative of the country. Also, Bernie's numbers for independents are not bad. Bernie drove out the vote in Iowa when it comes to young voters...and young voters are very finicky. Good luck getting them out again as the party continues to want their support but to also give them nothing.
Who are they? The US incrementally improving public education has been key, yes. And Bernie gives them a different type of ammo than moderates. You are really undervaluing “traditions” and historic narratives surrounding “individualism”. If youth voters will only come out for socialism then Trump will win handily in 2020.
So what would you do to keep America competitive with schooling? I don't think Bernie's plan gets in the way of individualism. Not only that, I think you are undervaluing how many people actually desire a universal plan. Polls show that most Americans actually want this. Even among Republicans it polls well. There's tons of polls out there you can pick and choose, whether that's with a private option or not, something has to dramatically change here. Youth voters would like to be included I think. The polling for free or affordable education to me is shameful. The older generations had completely affordable education and are kicking the ladder away for their own successors and saying no, you can't have that. Then they wonder why so many of the youth still live with their parents and won't have kids. At some point we have to realize what we are doing to younger generations isn't working. People want to blame youth voters for not coming out but you have to give people a reason to vote. Everyone on the left talks about getting out the youth vote then ignore the actual politicians that do it or insult them and try to drive them out of the party.
That's a fair question. Honestly, I have thought about this a lot lately. I simply cannot support oligarchy. It's is the antithesis of everything I believe in as a progressive. Trump and Bloomberg are from the same class of people leading the massive rise of wealth inequality in this country. I will not get behind that all. If the Democratic Party becomes so pathetic and dysfunctional that its only chance of defeating Trump is a former Republican with unlimited money and terrible record as mayor, then I find it within my conscience to let this party crash and burn. Perhaps, something positive can rise from its ashes. Now I will still vote in November because that's my civic duty. As a Texan, voting democrat for president makes no difference anyway because of the winner takes all electoral college. However, my vote is much needed and very useful in down ballot races for state and local representatives. So I will fullfill my duty to that extend and simply omit choosing a president. That is the compromise I'm willing to make.
