opinion

Bernie Sanders: We will create a government that represents the working class, not billionaires

As the Feb. 3 caucus approaches, Iowans face a choice: Are we going to settle for a status quo that is leaving so many behind? Or are we going to come together to finally transform our country so that our government works for all of us?

Our grassroots campaign clearly represents the latter — which is why polls consistently show us defeating Donald Trump, who is the most dangerous and corrupt president in modern history.

As you consider which Democratic candidate to support, you deserve to know exactly how our agenda stands out — and how it takes on the corporations, the billionaires and the corruption that is harming America.

We are the only leading campaign that has not taken any money from billionaires. We reject corporate money. Unlike some other candidates, our campaign is not relying on a super PAC — we are pushing to outlaw super PACs. We are a 100 percent grassroots-funded effort through small-dollar donations from working people.

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Our campaign is taking on the insurance and drug companies by unequivocally supporting a Medicare for All program that will make health care a human right. Unlike some of our opponents, we are not proposing to appease pharmaceutical companies and the health insurance industry that are bankrupting over 500,000 people every year and denying Americans adequate medical treatment — we are going to end their profiteering once and for all.

Our campaign is taking on the fossil fuel industry whose emissions are creating a climate emergency that can be seen in Iowa’s devastating floods. We are demanding a Green New Deal that will transition us to 100% renewable energy and create 20 million good-paying jobs in the process.

Our campaign is taking on corporate agribusinesses that are polluting Iowa and using their market power to squeeze Iowa’s family farms. We will break up those monopolies and enforce environmental laws.

Our campaign is taking on the greed of corporate CEOs who pay workers inadequate wages, offshore jobs, bust unions and evade taxes. We are demanding better wages, new workplace protections and new laws that force large profitable corporations to pay their fair share of taxes.

You can read our campaign’s detailed plans at BernieSanders.com. You will find that no matter the issue, our agenda is rooted in a core principle: “Not me, us.”

What that means is that our campaign is focused on making sure the government stops representing billionaires and start representing us — the working class of this country.

“Not me, us” means our campaign is about justice for people like Rebecca in Wellman, Iowa, who was diagnosed with a neuromuscular disease and then saw a pharmaceutical company charge her $375,000 for the medicine she needed. When we defeat Trump, we are going to end that corporate greed — whether the pharmaceutical companies like it or not.

“Not me, us” means our campaign is about justice for Iowans like April from Boone, who attended one of our campaign’s town hall meetings. She told us about how she was between jobs and tragically lost her pregnancy — and then faced a massive medical bill. When we defeat Trump, we’re canceling Americans’ medical debt.

“Not me, us” means our campaign is about justice for Iowans like Bob from Burlington, who told me his story about how he was one of 125 union workers laid off from Siemens’ factory — all while Trump gave Siemens hundreds of millions of dollars of government contracts. When we defeat Trump, we are terminating those contracts, and giving them to companies that treat workers with the respect they deserve.

Of course, making this agenda a reality will not be easy. But that is why our campaign is so focused on “not me, us.” It means that to transform America, we cannot simply rely on a president alone — we must build a mass movement that fights for justice not just during an election, but once we are in office.

We are building that movement — and with Iowans’ help on Feb. 3, we can start making this working-class agenda a reality.

Bernie Sanders, a U.S. senator from Vermont, is a Democratic candidate for president.

To readers

Major candidates for president were invited to submit an op ed column to the Register ahead of the Feb. 3 caucuses. Twelve Democrats accepted the invitation, and their columns will appear every day except Sundays through Jan. 15, in an order determined by drawing.