At the March 1 primary, I will vote for Bernie Sanders for president.
For years, I have watched our government become less and less responsive to issues such as climate change, air and water pollution, homelessness, voting rights, minority rights, low wages, an unyielding NRA, high suicide and drug addiction rates among our veterans and more. After millions lost their homes to corrupt bank and brokerage schemes, CEOs remained unpunished.
Overcrowded prisons, which cost us billions annually, hold mainly black men convicted of crimes that many whites are never called to account for. And while our tax dollars subsidize coal and oil companies, our roads and water systems have been neglected to the point of becoming dangerous.
Bernie Sanders struggles with these issues in the Senate. Frustrated, he realized that the only way to achieve real change would be if he personally ran for president. A former and successful mayor of Burlington, Vt., Bernie understands the problems people struggle with. He has a plan, with a way to pay for it, to rectify these issues. As a Democratic Socialist, Bernie believes that those who have more than enough have a duty to help those who are struggling. This very socialist philosophy drove our nation to create Social Security, Medicare, SNAP benefits, subsidized housing, public schools, roads and bridges, police and fire protection and more. These programs are paid for with tax dollars from those with adequate wages and benefit everyone. It is time that the wealthy and the corporations paid their fair share, too.
Bernie has never accepted BIG MONEY or PACs, making him a man who is free to work for the good of all instead of for those who might have been his highest bidders. Intelligent, honest, moral and experienced, here is a man who could lead our nation with honor, candor and vision.
Vote for HOPE! Join me in voting for Bernie Sanders for President on March 1.
LOUISE AMYOT
Greenfield