Letter: Sanders is best hope for poor, middle class

Posted Saturday, January 9, 2016 9:58 am

To the editor:

Bernie Sanders is the most consistent, honest and straightforward politician I have followed in my 40 years of political involvement. He is, as Bob Dylan said of Johnny Cash, "The North Star" of the political world.

You may be surprised that you agree with so much of what he stands for, and that is all right. What he stands for, in my eyes, is a fairer economy for all people. He wants to put Americans back to work, and wants to help hard-working middle class and poorer Americans have a fighting chance to achieve decent, more stable lives.

As we look around our communities, our neighborhoods and our streets, we see more desperate and deprived folks. There are reasons for that, and one is that the powerful corporations and the very wealthy are getting more and more benefits every day and every year, while the working people of America are bearing most of the burden, and to me, that is not right.

Historically, higher tax rates on the very wealthiest actually help improve the economy, not weaken it. Check it out! Decent pay and jobs for the middle class raises all boats. If Bernie is elected, and he can be, these are the things he will address and these are the things we need done — now!

Voting for the same old politicians, who spout the same failed ideas, is the reason we have so violently declined in our economic stability. In the 1930s and '40s, America needed Franklin and Eleanor Roosevelt. In 2016, America needs Bernie Sanders. He may be our last best hope.

Joe LaBarbera, Pittsfield