BERNIE ECONOMIC PLAN Much Better for Black America Than Hillary's & Why. *Ball's In NY's Court*

[appalachiablue]

- Sen. Bernie Sanders Rally Speech at the Washington Avenue Armory, Albany, New York, April 11, 2016 -

Tues., April 12, "BERNIE'S ECONOMIC PLAN Much Better For Black Americans Than Hillary's. Here's Why", Daily Kos.

~'The proverbial ball (of history) is in your court New York. Choose the guy from Brooklyn & you'll slam home a winner!'~

If elected President, Bernie Sanders will pursue an economic agenda that should greatly increase the average wealth of Black Americans; in contrast Hillary Clinton's economic policies would have very little impact in this regard.

The current racial wealth gap is staggering. Black Americans on average have one thirteenth of the average accumulated wealth of White Americans. That's right: 1 to 13. (http://money.cnn.com/2016/01/25/news/economy/racial-wealth-gap/) Black American households currently average around $11,000 of accumulated wealth, while White American households are above $140,000. This is, of course, a direct legacy of slavery and Jim Crow; but it's also a circumstance not rectified by Clintonomics, nor by their extension in the Obama years.
Only one strategy has consistently improved this kind of economic disparity between communities in modern market economies: targeted fiscal expenditure plus a more strict regulatory regime (funded by reasonable, but not radical, re-distributive taxation). In other words, Bernie Sanders' platform.

>Here are the four key components of Sanders platform as they impact poor, working class, and middle class African-American communities:
1. The national $15/hr living wage. Black workers disproportionately receive substandard wages. Sanders' commitment to a living wage for workers will put more money in Black workers' pockets.
2. Sanders $1,000,000,000,000 targeted national infrastructure program that is estimated to produce 13 million new jobs. African-Americans have a much higher-than-average unemployment rate. So, once again this will produce more money in pockets - and these targeted projects will bring improved infrastructure to poorer communities; many black communities can look forward to better roads and social facilities, making them more attractive for private investment. (And it's even better than this, per targeted employment, as Sanders has partnered with Rep. John Conyers (D-MI) to author a Youth Jobs Bill.)

3. No more predatory lending. As #1 & #2 deliver more money into working class pockets, it's essential that money remain in those pockets to be spent in the workers' communities and not be stolen away by financial institutions like the super-predatory pay day lenders (which are now often "fronts"/subsidiaries for larger financial institutions) that are often the only way to turn a paycheck into cash in poor black communities. Sanders' proposal, supported by Elizabeth Warren, to turn Post Offices into low-cost check cashing and lending facilities means the money from the new higher wages stays at home!
4. Bernie is committed to re-building community investment institutions. One of the least heralded aspects of Bernie Sanders program is his commitment to Community Banking. Perhaps because Sanders relishes his role as a Jeremiah raging against the powers-that-be, Sanders has not emphasized how he is a great candidate for the aspirational, entrepreneurial crowd. But you only have to look at Burlington Vermont and see that it was transformed in Bernie's tenure as mayor into one of the most friendly cities/towns in America for new businesses; including the small family run service sector businesses that make for vibrant main streets in communities. Bernie did this by making sure investment was available to entrepeneurs.
>Yes, it may come as a surprise but Bernie Sanders is something of a hero to bankers - the right kind of bankers. The Independent Community Bankers of America have endorsed Sanders legislation to break up the big banks http://www.bizjournals.com/bizjournals/washingtonbureau/2015/05/community-bankers-back-bernie-sanders-bill.html) because the legislation is designed to help community banking flourish in the wake of the break-up - and this is important to Sanders, in large part, because he knows that poor and working class communities suffer from banking deserts and therefore cannot build the type of vibrant community economies that will lift these communities up economically.

Hillary, in contrast, doesn't endorse any of these four points: she's for a lower national minimum wage than Sanders (and doesn't even use the term living wage); an infrastructure program one-quarter the size of Sanders (and even that's not a major priority for her); she doesn't endorse the Post Office plan and has expressed only tepid opposition to payday predatory lending (which is aggressively defended by her ally Debbie Wasserman Schultz); and, of course, Hillary is against breaking up the big banks, which is a precondition for community banks returning to prominence.
...Alas, none of that changes what, as a student of history I know to be true: that Hillary Clinton will be more of the (inadequate) same; while Bernie Sanders will be a transformative President, much like Barack Obama (though in a different, more-policy focused way), for Black America.
*The proverbial ball (of history) is in your court New York. Choose the guy from Brooklyn and you'll slam home a winner!
MUCH MORE TO READ: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2016/04/12/1514365/-Bernie-s-Economic-Program-is-Much-Better-for-Black-America-than-Hillary-s-Here-s-why

[choie]

1. Brava!!!!

[appalachiablue]

2. Great article outline and so very important. Spread the Word! And Get Out The *Damn VOTE!!*

[appalachiablue]

3. The rare excellence and ability of Bernie to mobilize this country WON'T COME FOR ANOTHER 50 YEARS!

[jillan]

4. Tavis Smiley gave Bernie a brief second of praise on this on Lawrence tonite. They were discussing &

dissing Trump & how he says he is going to bring jobs back esp to the AA population & Smiley said something like that is why so many people are listening to Bernie.

Almost fell over. Tavis is a tough critic.

[appalachiablue]

5. That's terrific and Michelle Alexander's significant interview with Chris Hayes last week

is also posted here today which is excellent. She said she did a rally I think with Nina Turner, AND endorses the Political Revolution.

People better spread the word, and fast because NEW YORK is pivotal, coming in 8 days, Sweet Jesus that is soon. Things will be much more difficult if not impossible should Bernie not do very well there as we know. And the sharks have been circling of course.
There won't be another candidate of Bernie's caliber and ability to mobilize people for 50 years if ever.

Tavis' program I really enjoy, but lately I haven't followed him or PBS as much due to interest in this critical Primary.

[jillan]

6. Come look!!

http://www.democraticunderground.com/12511718677

[appalachiablue]

7. Fantastic News! Warrants a New Op, or Two Now! Have a cookie, pass 'em around!

~ GO NEW YORK!! 8 Days...

[jillan]

8. Go for it!!

[ViseGrip]

9. Kick!

[Baobab]

10. Services liberalisation likely will hurt US workers and help workers in developing countries by givi

ng the foreign subcontracting company employers of some of those high skill guest workers employment here

(Note its temporary, likely no more than 5 years for workers and 7 years for managers, so its not immigration)

and possibly lowering wages for the rest. Increasing profits for the business owners due to higher efficiency.

So called "progressive liberalisation" (irreversible privatization) has been the subject of a great many negotiations going back for 20 years (most recently in Doha, bali, Hong Kong and Nairobi) but the long planned opening up of developing countries service markets has been held back by negotiations that have repeatedly stalled over the job-trading ("Mode Four&quot issue.

It works both ways. if US multinational corporation - staffing businesses are the low bidders on services contracts in other countries, skilled and semi skilled Americans could be sent there to work. perhaps at the higher of the two countries minimum wages. This is seen as a way to employ skilled workers like doctors, nurses, teachers at more competitive wages.

(See World Competition Day - link)

[Duckfan]

11. I would not shed a tear if the Payday lender scumbags fall off the planet.

There are so many of those places here it's sickening. I ride my bike past one of these toilets regularly and there is never anyone in the parking lot. Yet the neon sign in window flashes "Open".

But on the jobs aspect, I hope part of the plan includes bringing back many of the companies that went overseas to rebuild the poorer communities here. I have faith he will do this.

[Baobab]

12. If only we were allowed to have post office banks.

Up until the mid 1990s (1995 or 1998 ) when a 'standstill" due to trade policy made it impossible, it would have been possible to open new "financial" public services like banks in post offices or public health insurance.

[appalachiablue]

13. Amen to all of those hopes!