Market Mad House

In individuals, insanity is rare; but in groups, parties, nations and epochs, it is the rule. Friedrich Nietzsche

Politics

Numbers show why Bernie could be President

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Disturbingly, there are a wide variety of numbers that show Bernie could be President of the United States. To explain, data demonstrates the US economy is so terrible for average Americans that self-proclaimed democratic socialist US Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) could win the 2020 presidential election.

In detail, people will vote for candidates that promise more government benefits when their bank accounts are empty. For instance, Franklin D. Roosevelt (D-New York); the father of the American welfare state, won landslide presidential victories during the Great Depression of the 1930s.

Unfortunately, the numbers indicate many Americans’ pockets and bank accounts are empty. Thus, Sanders appeal is far greater than many of us will admit. Hence, critics need to examine these numbers before they dismiss Sanders as a “crank who cannot get elected.”

Notably, many of us expressed similar sentiments about Sanders’ fellow New Yorker Donald J. Trump in 2016. Remember, Trump won partially because of his focus on economic issues other candidates; like Hillary R. Clinton (D-New York) and Jeb Bush (R-Florida), ignored.

Numbers that Prove Bernie could be President

78%, The percentage of Americans who admit they are “living paycheck to paycheck” in a 2017 Harris Poll commissioned by Career Builder.

Some numbers that support Sanders’ popularity include:

  • 78%. The percentage of Americans who admit they are “living paycheck to paycheck” in a 2017 Harris Poll commissioned by Career Builder.
  • 25%. The percentage of Americans that admit they could not meet ends meet at least once in the last year in the Career Builder survey.
  • 20%. The percentage of Americans that admit they could not pay bills at least once a year in the Career Builder survey.
  • 54%. The percentage of Americans that told Career Builder their debt is unmanageable.
  • 0.2%.  The rate at which the Economic Policy Institute claims “median real incomes” for Americans grew in 2017. To explain, the median real income is the amount of money the average American makes each year.
  • 25%.  The percentage of Americans workers who make less than $10 an hour according to the Balance.
  • 0%. The growth in the average American’s purchasing power between 1979 and 2018, according to Pew Research’s calculates. Hence, the average American’s purchasing power is roughly the same as it was in 1979.

Bernie can win because Americans have no retirement Savings

  • 23%. The Percentage of American workers participating in a pension plan in 2017 according to the Pensions Rights Center.
  • 46%. The percentage of American employees not participating in any workplace retirement plan in 2017, according to the Pension Rights Center.
  • 57%. The percentage of American adults who admit they have less than $1,000 saved for retirement, according to GoBankingRates.
  • 75%. The percentage of Americans who admit they have less than $10,000 saved for retirement, according to GoBankingRates.

Bernie can win because of Medical Debt and Student Loans

  • 530,000. The number of American families that medical bills bankrupt each year, StudyFinds claims. This statistic comes from a study led by Dr. David Himmelstein, Distinguished Professor at the City University of New York’s (CUNY) Hunter College and Lecturer at Harvard Medical School.
  • $1.56 Trillion. The total amount of Student Loan Debt in the United States in 2019 according to StudentLoanHero.
  • 44.7 Million. The number of Americans who owe student loan debt according student loan debt, StudentLoanHero calculates
  • 11.5%. The percentage of American Student Loans that are 90 days or more delinquent or in default, Student Loan Hero estimates.
  • $393. The average Student Monthly Loan Payment in America according to Student Loan Hero.
  • 1.173 Million. The number of Americans that applied for Public Student Loan Forgiveness in 2018 according to Student Loan Hero. To clarify, this means the borrowers ask the government to forgive the loans.

Bernie can Win because of Income Inequality

  • 3.9%. The percentage by which the incomes of 99% of Americans grew between 2014 and 2015, according to the University of California at Berkeley Economist Emmanuel Saez.
  • 52%. The percentage of US real income growth captured by Americans in the top 1% income bracket between 2013 and 2015, Saez claims.
  • 50.5%. Saez’s estimate of the share of America’s national income in the hands of the Americans in the top 10% income brackets in 2015.
  • 34.7%. The amount by which the incomes of the top 1% of Americans grew between 2009 and 2012, according to Saez.
  • 0.8%. The rate by which the incomes of 99% of Americans grew between 2009 and 2012 according to Saez’s calculations.
  • 91%. The amount of income gains captured by America’s top 1% in 2009-2012; the three years after the economic crisis of 2008, in Saez’s estimation.

The Numbers prove Bernie Can Win

These are just a few of the statistics that show why Sanders’ agenda of expanded Social Security, Medicare for All, free college, student loan forgiveness, higher taxes, a Federal Jobs Guarantee, and a $15 minimum wage is so popular.

Those who dislike Bernie and his politics must take stock of these numbers and offer solutions for the problems they expose. If conservatives, moderates, and others do not grasp the significance of these numbers, Bernie could be President in 2021.