To the Editor;

Many people do not have enough information about Bernie Sanders to decide, on a rational basis, whether or not to support him.  Much of what you read and hear on the news is misleading. Luckily, Sanders supplies incredible detail about all his programs on his website. But I do business research for a living, so I look up everything. Here are some of the facts that swayed me:

• The Economy. Zero wage growth in 20 years, while the cost of everything — especially health care and education — has skyrocketed. In our consumer economy, if consumers are too broke to spend, everything grinds to a halt. A lot of folks have been fooled by center-right politicians into believing that the ultra-wealthy need more tax cuts, and that the poor, the elderly and veterans should take benefits cuts. Yet International Business Times, Forbes and The Economist have featured studies (for example, U. of Chicago/National Bureau of Econ. Research) showing that tax cuts for the lower middle class and working poor create more jobs and more economic growth.

Sanders’ plan to raise the minimum wage and create millions of jobs by investing in our failing infrastructure would mean a surge in basic spending. Unless you make over $500,000 a year — and only a tiny fraction of Americans do — Bernie’s plan would put more in your pocket. 

• Health Care. We have ruinously expensive health care, the most expensive in the world. Medical bills are the leading cause of personal bankruptcy in the U.S. High deductibles are the norm. Americans live in constant terror of an accident or illness that can take away everything. It doesn’t have to be this way. And in Canada, Australia, Japan, Europe … it isn’t. They have systems similar to Medicare (“single-payer”) that everyone, not just the elderly, can enroll in. “Isn’t that expensive?” Yes, but less expensive than what you are probably spending now; and it would also save money for employers who provide insurance! “Isn’t that socialist?” Well, Reagan said Medicare was a socialist program that was going to destroy America. Ask your mother if she hates that nasty socialist Medicare.

• War, Terror, and the Military. Sanders voted against Iraq in 2002, which he rightly said was going to drag us into a quagmire and breed terrorists. Then, he aggressively fought for increased veterans benefits. His largest group of donors? Combat veterans and active-duty military. 

• Electability. Clinton’s unfavorability rating hit an all-time high last Tuesday and she is under imminent threat of indictment. In national polls, Sanders (unlike Clinton) beats all possible Republican challengers by a hefty margin. Why? Because for most of his career he was an Independent, and Independents now comprise nearly 40 percent of our electorate. Plus, he has a long career of working with Congress to get things done (just Google “Amendment King”).

Vote Bernie Sanders on March 15.

Jeannette Cabanis-Brewin

Tuckasegee