The 2020 California Primary Election will arrive on March 3.
For the first time in the 53 years of delivering student-focused news, The Mesa Press will be endorsing a Presidential nominee. This decision was made by both Editors-in-Chief Lance Nelson and Renee Schmiedeberg.
Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders is our candidate.
Although seven Republican candidates will challenge President Donald J. Trump on the California ballot, whoever wins the Democratic nomination will be going up against Trump in November. With a string of controversial actions that have repeatedly threatened our democracy, removing him from office is imperative. It is because of this that a strong vision of equality, fairness, and a return to holding officials responsible be supported. Our endorsement can be highlighted with three main points.
College for All
As students optimistically invest time and energy into a brighter future, balancing the rising cost of tuition can too often push individuals out of the education system— if they were fortunate to even get one step in. Professors can reminisce of two-year degrees costing half the price just 30 years ago while the average salary for a college graduate has yet to catch up. Meanwhile, students are choosing between eating and buying that $150 required textbook.
Sanders’ College for All platform proposes tuition-free public colleges, cancelling the $1.6 trillion owed in student debt by 45 million Americans, and investing in historically black and minority-serving colleges among other programs dedicated to ensuring higher education is available to everyone regardless of background.
We must address this financial burden that has disproportionately excluded individuals from attending college based on unfair disadvantages. These opportunities should be available to all who are willing to put in the work. Promoting a more educated country is not a radical idea, but rather an idea that would radically change how younger generations see their future as contributing citizens.
Medicare for All
We must also focus on building a healthier nation. The Medicare for All program will align the United States with every other major country around the world by providing healthcare to all citizens. His plan includes no premiums or deductibles when addressing dental, hearing, vision, mental health, substance abuse treatment, reproductive care, and other issues.
We want to applaud San Diego Mesa College on its commitment to offering free student health services including therapy, crisis counseling, and doctor visits. A great step to minimizing financial stress on students, we must take inspiration and stop the profiteering of insurance and pharmaceutical companies that leave so many afraid to seek help.
Tax on Extreme Wealth
Under the Tax on Extreme Wealth plan, an annual tax will be applied to those worth over $32 million which his campaign calculates will accumulate $4.35 trillion in a decade’s time. This redistribution of wealth would close the gap between the top 0.1% and the rest of us. Considering that we, the consumers, helped companies like Google and Amazon build astronomical deposits of wealth, it’s only fair that they pitch in too.
Sanders has stated that the money brought in by the tax on extreme wealth would be used for 10 million affordable housing units and a universal child care program, in addition to helping fund Medicare for All.
While some other Democratic candidates have adopted versions of free tuition, healthcare for all, raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour, and other popular progressive ideas, only one seems to be unwavering— Sanders. His record can attest to just that. Fighting for the working class is the only way forward.
As Mesa students, we are taught that education can open doors and passion can spark change in even the darkest situations. As Americans, we fight for what is right. The masses that stood up against past injustices and demanded a more equal nation are celebrated in our overpriced textbooks. We are the school that leads in equity and excellence. We are the generation that will take this country beyond what naysayers deem as “too extreme.” This is your chance to help write history and leave our planet better than what was left to us. Get out and be radical— Vote.
