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Nine Numbers That Cry Out: "Bring On Bernie!"
Dec 21, 2015
No individual can solve all our problems, especially with a contrarian and confrontational Congress. But greed, poverty, and inequality are some of the main targets of the Sanders campaign, and the matter of terrorism is likely to be addressed in a much more sensible way.
Here are some of the numbers that should shock us into rejecting every other candidate:
1. Terrorism: You're about as Likely to be Killed by a Toddler as a Terrorist
The candidates and the news outlets have driven us into a frenzy of fear, even though the number of Americans killed by toddlers is about the same per year as the number of violent jihadist attacks in the U.S. since 9/11. There are more terrorist attacks if the actions of white supremacists and non-Muslim extremists are included. But more toddler killings go unreported.
Sanders understands that "the disastrous invasion of Iraq...has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS." And that the United States should be "trying to use diplomacy before war."
2. Big Business: $296,000 is Spent on Stock Buybacks for Every Job Created
Buybacks are employed to boost stock prices for investors and management. Corporations that have benefited from our public research money, infrastructure, security, and patent law for a half-century are giving up on the American people, failing to create the jobs necessary to sustain a middle class.
3. Big Business: A 4-Cent Antibiotic Tablet Surges to $3.70 in One Year
We've heard about Shkreli's $13.50 to $750.00 drug price increase. About Gilead Science's $10 to $1,000 increase, but on a more day-to-day level, we find even generic drug makers taking advantage of consumers, imposing, for example, an 8,000% increase on a common antibiotic and a 4,000% increase on asthma pills.
4. Inequality: Unregulated Capitalism Allows ONE Person or Family to Own Nearly 1/1000 of Our ENTIRE National Wealth
A combination of financial chicanery and tax avoidance has flushed our national wealth toward the few people who know how to work the system or who were able to benefit from the "winner-take-all" attitude that has prevailed since Reagan. Thus, individuals or families, including Bill Gates, the Koch brothers, and the Walton siblings, each own approximately one-thousandth of our nation's $86 trillion total wealth.
No one is worth one-thousandth of our nation's total wealth. No matter what their claimed accomplishments, they have been subsidized in great measure not only by years of public support but also by a financial system that inflates investment wealth well beyond the earnings of most Americans. It's a massive failure of government that no measures are in place to prevent the "winner-take-all" skewing of our national wealth.
5. Inequality: A Poor Man Lives 13 Years Less Than a Rich Man
This is one of the deadly effects of inequality. According to a national study on the effects of aging, an upper-income 50-year-old man can expect to live to the age of 89, while a lower-income 50-year-old man will only make it to the age of 76.
6. Poverty: Middle-Class Housing was 15% of American Wealth in 1985. Now it's 5%.
The stunning collapse of housing (for 90% of us) from 15% to 5% of total U.S. wealth is mirrored in reverse by a surge in investment wealth among the richest .01% (just 12,000 households), who now have TWICE the value of that middle-class housing in their investment portfolios.
7. Poverty: There are 29 Available Homes for Every Homeless American
The values of wealthy American decision-makers are so distorted that a half-million people are forced to live on the streets on a January night, even though it is estimated that up to 29 homes or apartments are sitting vacant around the country, waiting to fetch a big profit for their owners and landlords.
8. Poverty: The Median Wealth of Young Adults Dropped 68% in 25 Years
From 1984 to 2009, the net worth of an American under 35 dropped from $11,521 to $3.662. For Americans over 65, it went up 42 percent.
9. Poverty: For Every 2 Homeless and Hungry Kids Ten Years Ago, There Are Now 3
When Congress cuts social programs, children suffer. Since 2007, over 6 million kids have been added to the recently cut food stamp program. And over approximately the same time, 1 million more kids have been forced into the streets or shelters.
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to show genuine empathy with the middle and lower classes and to demand changes in the tradition of Wall Street greed that has ripped our nation apart. And he's the only one to understand the true meaning of 'terror' for destitute and homeless Americans.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
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Paul Buchheit
Paul Buchheit is an advocate for social and economic justice, and the author of numerous papers on economic inequality and cognitive science. He was recently named one of 300 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models. He is the author of "American Wars: Illusions and Realities" (2008) and "Disposable Americans: Extreme Capitalism and the Case for a Guaranteed Income" (2017). Contact email: paul (at) youdeservefacts.org.
antibioticsbernie sandersbig businessbig pharmabill gateselection 2016greedinequalitypovertysocialismterrorismwall street
No individual can solve all our problems, especially with a contrarian and confrontational Congress. But greed, poverty, and inequality are some of the main targets of the Sanders campaign, and the matter of terrorism is likely to be addressed in a much more sensible way.
Here are some of the numbers that should shock us into rejecting every other candidate:
1. Terrorism: You're about as Likely to be Killed by a Toddler as a Terrorist
The candidates and the news outlets have driven us into a frenzy of fear, even though the number of Americans killed by toddlers is about the same per year as the number of violent jihadist attacks in the U.S. since 9/11. There are more terrorist attacks if the actions of white supremacists and non-Muslim extremists are included. But more toddler killings go unreported.
Sanders understands that "the disastrous invasion of Iraq...has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS." And that the United States should be "trying to use diplomacy before war."
2. Big Business: $296,000 is Spent on Stock Buybacks for Every Job Created
Buybacks are employed to boost stock prices for investors and management. Corporations that have benefited from our public research money, infrastructure, security, and patent law for a half-century are giving up on the American people, failing to create the jobs necessary to sustain a middle class.
3. Big Business: A 4-Cent Antibiotic Tablet Surges to $3.70 in One Year
We've heard about Shkreli's $13.50 to $750.00 drug price increase. About Gilead Science's $10 to $1,000 increase, but on a more day-to-day level, we find even generic drug makers taking advantage of consumers, imposing, for example, an 8,000% increase on a common antibiotic and a 4,000% increase on asthma pills.
4. Inequality: Unregulated Capitalism Allows ONE Person or Family to Own Nearly 1/1000 of Our ENTIRE National Wealth
A combination of financial chicanery and tax avoidance has flushed our national wealth toward the few people who know how to work the system or who were able to benefit from the "winner-take-all" attitude that has prevailed since Reagan. Thus, individuals or families, including Bill Gates, the Koch brothers, and the Walton siblings, each own approximately one-thousandth of our nation's $86 trillion total wealth.
No one is worth one-thousandth of our nation's total wealth. No matter what their claimed accomplishments, they have been subsidized in great measure not only by years of public support but also by a financial system that inflates investment wealth well beyond the earnings of most Americans. It's a massive failure of government that no measures are in place to prevent the "winner-take-all" skewing of our national wealth.
5. Inequality: A Poor Man Lives 13 Years Less Than a Rich Man
This is one of the deadly effects of inequality. According to a national study on the effects of aging, an upper-income 50-year-old man can expect to live to the age of 89, while a lower-income 50-year-old man will only make it to the age of 76.
6. Poverty: Middle-Class Housing was 15% of American Wealth in 1985. Now it's 5%.
The stunning collapse of housing (for 90% of us) from 15% to 5% of total U.S. wealth is mirrored in reverse by a surge in investment wealth among the richest .01% (just 12,000 households), who now have TWICE the value of that middle-class housing in their investment portfolios.
7. Poverty: There are 29 Available Homes for Every Homeless American
The values of wealthy American decision-makers are so distorted that a half-million people are forced to live on the streets on a January night, even though it is estimated that up to 29 homes or apartments are sitting vacant around the country, waiting to fetch a big profit for their owners and landlords.
8. Poverty: The Median Wealth of Young Adults Dropped 68% in 25 Years
From 1984 to 2009, the net worth of an American under 35 dropped from $11,521 to $3.662. For Americans over 65, it went up 42 percent.
9. Poverty: For Every 2 Homeless and Hungry Kids Ten Years Ago, There Are Now 3
When Congress cuts social programs, children suffer. Since 2007, over 6 million kids have been added to the recently cut food stamp program. And over approximately the same time, 1 million more kids have been forced into the streets or shelters.
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to show genuine empathy with the middle and lower classes and to demand changes in the tradition of Wall Street greed that has ripped our nation apart. And he's the only one to understand the true meaning of 'terror' for destitute and homeless Americans.
Paul Buchheit
Paul Buchheit is an advocate for social and economic justice, and the author of numerous papers on economic inequality and cognitive science. He was recently named one of 300 Living Peace and Justice Leaders and Models. He is the author of "American Wars: Illusions and Realities" (2008) and "Disposable Americans: Extreme Capitalism and the Case for a Guaranteed Income" (2017). Contact email: paul (at) youdeservefacts.org.
No individual can solve all our problems, especially with a contrarian and confrontational Congress. But greed, poverty, and inequality are some of the main targets of the Sanders campaign, and the matter of terrorism is likely to be addressed in a much more sensible way.
Here are some of the numbers that should shock us into rejecting every other candidate:
1. Terrorism: You're about as Likely to be Killed by a Toddler as a Terrorist
The candidates and the news outlets have driven us into a frenzy of fear, even though the number of Americans killed by toddlers is about the same per year as the number of violent jihadist attacks in the U.S. since 9/11. There are more terrorist attacks if the actions of white supremacists and non-Muslim extremists are included. But more toddler killings go unreported.
Sanders understands that "the disastrous invasion of Iraq...has unraveled the region completely and led to the rise of al-Qaeda and ISIS." And that the United States should be "trying to use diplomacy before war."
2. Big Business: $296,000 is Spent on Stock Buybacks for Every Job Created
Buybacks are employed to boost stock prices for investors and management. Corporations that have benefited from our public research money, infrastructure, security, and patent law for a half-century are giving up on the American people, failing to create the jobs necessary to sustain a middle class.
3. Big Business: A 4-Cent Antibiotic Tablet Surges to $3.70 in One Year
We've heard about Shkreli's $13.50 to $750.00 drug price increase. About Gilead Science's $10 to $1,000 increase, but on a more day-to-day level, we find even generic drug makers taking advantage of consumers, imposing, for example, an 8,000% increase on a common antibiotic and a 4,000% increase on asthma pills.
4. Inequality: Unregulated Capitalism Allows ONE Person or Family to Own Nearly 1/1000 of Our ENTIRE National Wealth
A combination of financial chicanery and tax avoidance has flushed our national wealth toward the few people who know how to work the system or who were able to benefit from the "winner-take-all" attitude that has prevailed since Reagan. Thus, individuals or families, including Bill Gates, the Koch brothers, and the Walton siblings, each own approximately one-thousandth of our nation's $86 trillion total wealth.
No one is worth one-thousandth of our nation's total wealth. No matter what their claimed accomplishments, they have been subsidized in great measure not only by years of public support but also by a financial system that inflates investment wealth well beyond the earnings of most Americans. It's a massive failure of government that no measures are in place to prevent the "winner-take-all" skewing of our national wealth.
5. Inequality: A Poor Man Lives 13 Years Less Than a Rich Man
This is one of the deadly effects of inequality. According to a national study on the effects of aging, an upper-income 50-year-old man can expect to live to the age of 89, while a lower-income 50-year-old man will only make it to the age of 76.
6. Poverty: Middle-Class Housing was 15% of American Wealth in 1985. Now it's 5%.
The stunning collapse of housing (for 90% of us) from 15% to 5% of total U.S. wealth is mirrored in reverse by a surge in investment wealth among the richest .01% (just 12,000 households), who now have TWICE the value of that middle-class housing in their investment portfolios.
7. Poverty: There are 29 Available Homes for Every Homeless American
The values of wealthy American decision-makers are so distorted that a half-million people are forced to live on the streets on a January night, even though it is estimated that up to 29 homes or apartments are sitting vacant around the country, waiting to fetch a big profit for their owners and landlords.
8. Poverty: The Median Wealth of Young Adults Dropped 68% in 25 Years
From 1984 to 2009, the net worth of an American under 35 dropped from $11,521 to $3.662. For Americans over 65, it went up 42 percent.
9. Poverty: For Every 2 Homeless and Hungry Kids Ten Years Ago, There Are Now 3
When Congress cuts social programs, children suffer. Since 2007, over 6 million kids have been added to the recently cut food stamp program. And over approximately the same time, 1 million more kids have been forced into the streets or shelters.
Bernie Sanders is the only candidate to show genuine empathy with the middle and lower classes and to demand changes in the tradition of Wall Street greed that has ripped our nation apart. And he's the only one to understand the true meaning of 'terror' for destitute and homeless Americans.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.