The Democratic Socialist senator from Vermont acknowledged to the crowd the oddity of him campaigning in such a conservative state as Texas. Wikipedia defines Democratic Socialism as, "a political ideology advocating a democratic political system alongside a socialist economic system, involving a combination of political democracy with social ownership of the means of production." Sanders spoke of the need for democratic candidates to visit conservative strongholds and reach out to working and lower class families that may feel neglected by the Republican agenda. "We are not going to abandoned them," Sanders proclaimed while revealing that the United States currently has the highest childhood poverty rate among developed nations. Emphasizing his point by noting that 26% of children in Texas living in poverty. Additionally, 24% of Texans are uninsured, 168,000 Texans incarcerated, and thousands are struggling to make ends meet off minimum wage. It was to these individuals that his proclamation to "not abandon them" was directed.
Shifting the focus to the nation, he encouraged Texans to ask their Republican lawmakers if it makes sense to cut billions from Medicare, Medicaid, Pell grants, nutrition programs such as WIC, send low income jobs overseas, while giving billions in tax breaks to the top 1%, as the recent, Republican-led budget created
According to Sanders, "What politics is about is determining how we can go forward to improve the lives of our people." Sanders continued by talking to the crowd about the growing income inequality in America as well as the unemployment rate among youth (17-20). Currently, 33% of Caucasian youth, 36% of Hispanic youth, and an eyebrow-raising 51% of African-American youth are unemployed. "We are turning our back to an entire generation of young people," Sanders stressed while building a correlation between unemployment and the high number of incarcerated youth individuals. Using this information to argue the need for prison reform to include educating youth to decrease the chance for repeat offenders.
Sanders also spoke of the income/social inequality between men and women. Women make 78 cents for every dollar men earn. Sanders told the crowd that that is indefensible, and women and men should be compensated equally. Promising that he would introduce legislature to push this agenda. He also heralded his support for contraceptives being made more accessible to women.
Sanders followed by tackling the issues of marriage equality, the need for companies to offer more maternity time and work benefits, repairing the country's crumbling infrastructure, the negative effects of free trade agreements, and various other issues facing the country including globalization. The global economy has made it to where companies can hire the best person for the job, from anywhere in the world. Sanders believes an overhaul of our higher education system will allow for Americans to be more competitive in the global job market. He also stressed the need for people to rise against corporate interests and vote. 63% of the public, including 80% of youth, did not vote in the last election cycle.
Bernie concluded his speaking engagement by announcing to the mesmerized crowd, "When we stand together, there is nothing, nothing, NOTHING, we cannot accomplish. This is OUR country, let's make sure we take it back!"
By Jason J. Rivas/ Staff Writer