I was at Trump’s inauguration on Monday, and needless to say, I didn’t agree with everything he said.
What really struck me, however, wasn’t what he said, which wasn’t surprising given his general statements – but what he didn’t say. The simple truth is that Donald Trump gave an important speech, the first of his second presidency, and ignored almost every important issue facing this country’s working families.
How crazy is that?
Our health care system is broken, dysfunctional and prohibitively expensive. We are the only wealthy nation that does not guarantee health care for all. Not a word from Trump on how he will deal with the health care crisis.
We pay by far the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs – sometimes 10 times more than people in other countries – and one in four Americans cannot afford the prescriptions their doctors prescribe. . Not a word on the high cost of prescription drugs by Donald Trump.
We have 800,000 Americans who are homeless and millions of our people spend 50% or 60% of their limited income on housing. We have a major housing crisis in America – everyone knows it. And Trump didn’t spare a word for it in his inaugural address.
In America today, we have more income and wealth inequality than ever before. The three richest people in America now own more wealth than the bottom half of our society. But Trump had nothing to say about the growing gap between the very rich and everyone else. And maybe it’s because he had those three people — the three richest people in America — sitting right behind him at his inauguration. And, I should add, these three people — if you can believe it — have seen their wealth increase by more than $233 billion since the November election. No wonder he was sitting right behind Trump. They couldn’t be happier.
During his inaugural speech, Trump didn’t have a single word to say about how we’re going to deal with the planetary crisis of climate change. The past 10 years have been the hottest on record, and extreme weather events and natural disasters are occurring all over the world – from California to India, across Europe to North Carolina. Not a word about climate change – except to make it clear that he intends to make the dire situation worse by “drill, baby, drill”. Magnificent
In the coming months and years, our job is not just to respond to Trump’s every absurd statement. This is what Trump’s world wants from us. They want to define the parameters of the debate and let us live in their world. This is a trap we should not fall into.
Our job is to focus on the most pressing issues facing our nation’s working families, provide solutions to these crises, and hold Trump accountable.
Let me mention some of them:
Yes, health care is a human right and we should join every other major country in guaranteeing health care to all people through Medicare for All, a single payer program.
Yes, we should embrace the lure of big pharma and drastically reduce the cost of prescription drugs in this country.
Yes, we should build millions of units of low-income and affordable housing.
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Yes, we must ensure that all our young people have access to higher education by making public colleges and universities tuition-free.
Yes, we must work with the global community to combat climate change by reducing carbon emissions and transitioning our energy system away from fossil fuels and toward sustainable energy.
Yes, we should pass legislation to raise the federal minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to a minimum wage of $17 an hour.
Yes, we should pass the ProAct, and make it easier for workers to join trade unions and grow the union movement.
Yes, to help meet the needs of working families in this country, we must demand that the richest people, including the billionaires who sit right behind Donald Trump, pay their fair share in taxes. Get started.
Yes, we must end a corrupt campaign finance system, which allows a handful of billionaires to buy elections and rapidly move us into an oligarchy.
Bottom line: As we enter a new Trump presidency, we need to stay focused. We cannot panic. No matter how many executive orders and statements he signs, our goal remains the same. We have to educate. We have to organize. We have to bring people together on an agenda that works for all, not just a few.
Now more than ever, we must fight to build an America of economic, social, and environmental justice. Let’s get to work.
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Bernie Sanders He is a U.S. senator, and chairman of the Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee. He represents the state of Vermont, and is the longest-serving. free In History of Congress
