I was at the Trump inauguration on Monday, and needless to say, I disagree with almost everything he had to say.
What really struck me, however, is not what he said, which was not surprising given his general rhetoric – but what he didn’t say. The simple truth is that Donald Trump gave a major speech, the first speech of his second presidency, and ignored almost every significant issue facing the working families of this country.
How crazy is that?
Our healthcare system is broken, is dysfunctional and is wildly expensive. We remain the only wealthy nation not to guarantee healthcare for all. Not one word from Trump about how he is going to address the healthcare crisis.
We pay, by far, the highest prices in the world for prescription drugs – sometimes 10 times more than the people in other countries – and one out of four Americans is unable to afford the prescriptions that their doctors prescribe. Not one word from Donald Trump on the high cost of prescription drugs.
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, in his inaugural address, did not devote one word to it.
Today in America, we have more income and wealth inequality than we have ever had. The wealthiest three 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 everybody else. And maybe that’s because he had those three people – the three wealthiest people in America – sitting right behind him at his inauguration. And, I should add, those three people – if you can believe it – saw their wealth increase by more than $233bn since the November elections. No wonder they were sitting right behind Trump. They couldn’t be happier.
During his inaugural speech, Trump did not have one word to say about how we are going to address the planetary crisis of climate change. The last 10 years have been the warmest ever recorded, and extreme weather disturbances and natural disasters are taking place all over the world – from California to India, across Europe to North Carolina. Not one word about climate change – except, of course, to make it clear that he intends to make this horrific situation even worse with “drill, baby, drill”. Brilliant.
In the coming months and years, our job is not just to respond to every absurd statement that Trump makes. That is what the Trump world wants us to do. They want to define the parameters of debate and have us live within their world. That’s a trap we should not fall into.
Our job is to stay focused on the most important issues facing the working families of our country, provide solutions to those crises and demand that Trump responds to us.
Let me mention just some of them:
Yes, healthcare is a human right and we must join every other major country in guaranteeing healthcare to all people through a Medicare for All, single-payer program.
Yes, we must take on the greed of big pharma and substantially lower the cost of prescription drugs in this country.
Yes, we must build millions of units of low-income and affordable housing.
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Yes, we must make sure that all of our young people have the ability to get a higher education by making public colleges and universities tuition-free.
Yes, we must work with the global community to combat climate change by cutting carbon emissions and transforming our energy system away from fossil fuels and into sustainable energy.
Yes, we must pass legislation to raise the absurdly low federal minimum wage of $7.25 an hour to a living wage of $17 an hour.
Yes, we must pass the Pro Act, and make it easier for workers to join trade unions and grow the union movement.
Yes, in order to help fund the needs of working families in this country, we must demand that the wealthiest people, including those multibillionaires sitting right behind Donald Trump, start paying their fair share in taxes.
Yes, we must end a corrupt campaign finance system, which allows a handful of billionaires to buy elections and move us rapidly into oligarchy.
Bottom line: as we enter the new Trump presidency, we have got to remain focused. We can’t panic. No matter how many executive orders he signs and statements he issues, our goal remains the same. We have got to educate. We have got to organize. We have got to bring people together around an agenda that works for all, not just the few.
Now more than ever, we have to fight to create an America based on economic, social and environmental justice. Let’s get to work.
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Bernie Sanders is a US senator, and chair of the health, education, labor and pensions committee. He represents the state of Vermont, and is the longest-serving independent in the history of Congress
