Senator Sanders admits terrible class divide in America

 Senator Bernie Sanders says it is not acceptable that in America today the very rich get much richer, while working families struggle. No more austerity economics. We need an economy that works for all, not just the few.

The latest Census figures show this official poverty rate inching downward from 12.3 percent in 2017 to 11.8 percent last year. That means about 38.1 million Americans are below the official poverty line. 

In a 2017 study, the Institute for Policy Studies and the Poor People’s Campaign counted the number of people living at up to twice the SPM. All told, they found around 140 million Americans who are poor or low-income. These roughly 140 million people make up over 43 percent of the population — about equal to the proportion of Americans the Fed found who can't afford a single $400 emergency. 

hat means about 100 million Americans are effectively hidden by official poverty statistics.

The Poor People’s Campaign, co-chaired by the Revs. William Barber Jr and Liz Theoharis and organized by poor people in 43 states, wants to put those 140 million people at the center of our politics. Picking up where Martin Luther King, Jr.’s original Poor People’s Campaign left off in the 1960s, they argue that this hardship is not the fault of the poor. Instead, they say it’s the inevitable result of systemic racism, anti-poor public policies, ecological destruction and militarism. 

Meanwhile, transferring $350 billion from the enormous U.S. military budget — which would still leave it larger than China, Russia, and Iran’s combined — could additionally be used to fund Medicare for All or other universal programs.

Whatever the new numbers say, the reality is that nearly 140 million of us are either living in poverty or just one setback away from it. It’s not just the 38 million below the official poverty line who stand to lose if the administration gets its way, but the hidden 100 million more who are treading water to stay above it.