I find it funny how the press keeps calling Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders “radical” because he challenges business as usual in Washington, D.C. He offers common-sense solutions to the really big problems that few other candidates will even talk about.

His opponents call him a “socialist,” yet he actually identifies himself as a “democratic socialist.” Democratic socialism is a mixed form of government where the market drives the economy, except where national interests are at stake. There is nothing “radical” about that idea. It was the moderate American approach before the fashion arose to completely dismantle the government.

In our system, the government is supposed to be the collective power of the people steering the course of the country. One person equals one vote. There have always been some corrupt officials, but with the disastrous 2010 Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. the Federal Election Commission, the high court gave the right of free speech to corporations even though they are not living people. Furthermore, the court decided that the corporations could exercise that free speech in the form of dollars, donated to candidates of their choice, in any amount. This changed politics to one dollar equals one vote. The decision made bribery of officials by corporate lobbyists completely legal.

The lobbyists took no time in taking advantage of the situation, and so the problem of money in politics went completely out of control in the good old USA. Last year, a Princeton University study concluded that we no longer have a democratic form of government here in America. The study defined our government as an oligarchy, which is the rule of the masses by a small elite group. Anyone who has been paying attention to national politics has seen this evolution take place.

To be elected, members of both parties need astronomical “donations” from politically active corporations. One elite family, the Koch brothers, has pledged to spend nearly a billion dollars before the 2016 elections! The politicians become indebted to the same industries they are supposed to oversee. The poor middle class and small-business owners are the ones who lose out. Our interests are only being looked after by a few “radicals” like Bernie Sanders.

Sanders has pledged not to take any corporate donations on a matter of principle. His average donation size is around $30 from normal people like you and me who trust his record of integrity in fighting for regular people. Not surprisingly, he wants to reverse the Citizens United decision and to establish public funding of elections.

Bernie Sanders is drawing enormous crowds to his rallies. Yet you do not hear about it on the network news. A week ago, he swept the West Coast and drew a total of over 100,000 supporters to see him speak. The overflow crowds were in the thousands, and he spoke to them, too. Do you know what his platform is? It is well worth researching. He wants to stop government subsidies and tax loopholes for corporations whose profits are in the billions of dollars (not small businesses) and improve the quality of life for the rest of us.

Lisa Bates is a graduate student in Nonprofit Management and Leadership and holds a Bachelor of Social Work degree. She lives in Provo with her husband and lovable dog.