Welcome to a new BERN (Bernie Election and Revolution News). The BERN diaries are a collaborative effort of the Daily Kos group,The Political Revolution. We are not affiliated with the campaign, except as volunteers. Numerous group members have contributed to this series in affirmation of Bernie’s campaign motto: “Not me. Us.”
This edition of BERN is dedicated to One Pissed Off Liberal, aka OPOL, who contributed so much to the Daily Kos community during the time he actively posted here.
Bernie Sanders recently came out with plans to eliminate the medical debt which has left many people struggling and to guarantee housing for all. (And not just any old housing...) These are very good progressive plans which deserve to be examined and discussed. In tonight’s BERN I’ll be looking at and sharing share some of the details of the Eliminate Medical Debt plan, and I’ll look at and share details of the Housing For All plan in the next BERN I do (tentatively scheduled for October 16).
But before I get to either of these newer plans, I’d like to look at the Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education which Bernie Sanders put forward back on a special day earlier this year, May 17th:
On this 65th anniversary of the Brown v. Board of Education decision, we are committed to creating an education system that works for all people, not just the wealthy and powerful.
~ Bernie Sanders
Thurgood Marshall was one of the leaders in the struggle to end the allegedly “separate but equal” system of public education which was separate but definitely not equal. The Brown v. Board of Education decision which Thurgood Marshall helped win was an important step toward achieving a fairer and better system of public education. That’s why Bernie Sanders chose Thurgood Marshall as the name for his own education plan — a plan for ways to continue working toward a public education system which is fairer and better for all.
The Thurgood Marshall Plan for Public Education
Thurgood Marshall said that all children have a right “to an equal opportunity to reach their full potential as citizens."
In my view, the only way to accomplish that goal is to guarantee every person in our country a quality education as a fundamental human right.
~ Bernie Sanders
First, let’s take a quick look at the problem, as outlined in the Thurgood Marshall Plan.
The United States, as the wealthiest country in history, should have the best education system in the world. Today, in a highly competitive global economy, if we are going to have the kind of standard of living that the people of this country deserve, we need to have the best educated workforce. But let me be very honest with you, and tell you that, sadly, that is not the case today.
Our nation used to lead the world in the percentage of young Americans with college degrees. We were number one. Today, we are number 11…
Over the past decade, states all over America have made savage cuts to education, while, at the same time, providing massive tax breaks to the wealthiest people and largest corporations in America. Our kids and our students are too important to cut back on education, especially when those cuts reduce educational opportunities for underserved students, students of color, low income students, LGBTQ students and students with disabilities.
Among the 35 countries that are members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, the U.S. ranked 30th in math and 19th in science. Reading scores for our students are not much better…
And, due to re-segregation of our K-12 schools, if you are a student of color, chances are your math, science and reading scores are even lower. Persistent disparities in achievement among underserved students means that we must do more to make sure that every student in the country gets a high-quality education regardless of how much income his or her family makes. If our public schools are struggling, then we cannot possibly expect our students to be prepared for success in postsecondary education.
In the twenty-first century, a free public education system that goes from kindergarten through high school is no longer good enough. If we are to succeed as a nation, public colleges and universities must be tuition free. Higher education should be a right for all, not a privilege for the few.
So how do we address this problem? The plan has 10 parts:
1. Combat Racial Discrimination and School Segregation
There are many items in the plan for doing this. Sanders plans to increase funding for desegregating US schools, increase funding for under-funded schools, increase access to English as a Second Language instruction, and increase the diversity of teachers hired:
In America today, only 20 percent of public school teachers are nonwhite, and with minority students comprising a majority in our public schools, the gap is growing. Research shows that students of color who have at least one teacher of color by third grade are more likely to graduate from high school and enroll in college. Nationwide, about 7 percent of public school teachers are black.
Another key item is addressing racial bias in school discipline:
Due to implicit racial bias, Black students, even in preschool, are nearly four times as likely to be suspended as Whites, putting them at greater risk of falling behind and getting caught up in the juvenile justice system. Black students and students with disabilities are more likely to be subjected to exclusionary discipline measures than their same age peers.
Under the Thurgood Marshall plan, that kind of discrimination will no longer be tolerated.
2: Regulate Charter Schools
Just as Bernie Sanders would ban for-profit prisons, he would ban any new for-profit charter schools and regulate the existing one. Here are some of the ways existing charter schools would be regulated:
We do not need two schools systems; we need to invest in our public schools system. That said, existing charter schools must be made accountable by:
- Mandating that charter schools comply with the same oversight requirements as public schools.
- Mandating that at least half of all charter school boards are teachers and parents.
- Disclosing student attrition rates, non-public funding sources, financial interests and other relevant data.
- Matching employment practices at charters with neighboring district schools, including standards set by collective bargaining agreements and restrictions on exorbitant CEO pay.
- Supporting the efforts of charter school teachers to unionize and bringing charter schools to the negotiating table.
And while existing charter schools would be permitted to continue as long as they met these standards, under the Thurgood Marshall plan the use of public funds to support charter schools would be stopped. Public funds would instead go to support public schools, as they’re supposed to.
Which brings us to a key issue the plan addresses, the need to —
3: Fund Schools Fairly
The current method of funding public schools is largely through property taxes. That means schools in wealthy neighborhoods receive lots of money to fund their schools, schools in less-wealthy neighborhoods receive less money, and schools in low-income neighborhoods are grossly underfunded.
Since school districts are funded out of local property taxes, less is invested in the education of children from low-income families compared with their more affluent peers. In America, the quality of a child’s education should not and cannot depend on their zip code.
Under the Thurgood Marshall plan, the federal government would provide funding to make sure that all schools (including rural schools, schools on reservations, and schools in Puerto Rico and other US territories) are adequately funded. All schools should have the money they need to hire enough teachers and build enough classrooms that over-crowding in the classrooms is not a problem, and under the Thurgood Marshall plan they will.
4. Strengthen the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Over 40 years ago, the federal government made a promise to school districts around the country to fund 40 percent of the cost of special education. It is an understatement to point out that the federal government has not come close to keeping this promise.
Special Education is an expensive proposition and because of inadequate federal funding, property taxes around the country are increasing while kids with disabilities are not getting the attention they deserve.
The Thurgood Marshall plan would increase federal funding so that more special education teachers can be hired (and so that those who are hired can have more manageable workloads and increased pay), and so that special education classes have the materials and equipment they need to provide a high-quality education.
5. Pay Teachers Better and More Fairly
Some of the things the Thurgood Marshall plan would do include:
- Set a starting salary for teachers at no less than $60,000 (and tie that to cost of living so it doesn’t remain stuck there).
- End racial and gender disparities in teacher pay.
- Reimburse teachers for the money they spend out of their own pockets (currently about $500 a year) on classroom expenses
- Provide teachers with continuing education and mentorship programs.
- Guarantee collective bargaining rights to teachers.
If we are a nation that can pay baseball players hundreds of millions of dollars, don't tell me we can't afford to pay teachers the salaries they deserve.
~ Bernie Sanders
6. Expand After-School and Summer Programs
Research shows that quality after-school / summer programs give students the academic, social, and professional skills they need to succeed. Students who regularly attend after-school programs have better attendance, grades, and behavior in school; better peer relations and emotional adjustment; and lower incidence of drug-use, violence, and unintended pregnancy.
Currently there are not enough of these after-school and summer programs, and not enough space in the ones that do exists for all the students who’d like to take part. (And Donald Trump wants to drastically cut rather than increase the funding.) The Thurgood Marshall plan would provide $5 billion annually to expand these programs.
On a related note, the Thurgood Marshall Plan would work to —
7. Help Make Schools Community Centers
Our public schools can and should be more than just places where children learn – they can be community centers that build the health and well-being of students. We must act to transform our education system into a high-quality public good that connects education, health, and social-services to young people. A strong investment in sustainable community school programs can help us achieve that.
Under the Thurgood Marshall plan, schools would be encouraged to community centers where people can attend job training classes, English As Second Language classes, GED classes for those who didn’t finish high school, as well as places for showcasing art and places to receive dental care, mental health care, and substance abuse help. (And the plan would spend another $5 billion annually to help schools provide these services to their communities.)
8. Make Sure No Student Goes Hungry
"School lunch debt" is not a concept that should exist in the wealthiest country on Earth. We must provide free, universal school meals to all children in America.
~ Bernie Sanders
As the Thurgood Marshall plan explains:
In America today, one in every six kids goes hungry. Instead of addressing this crisis, students with lunch debt are sometimes denied meals, have debt collectors sent after their families, and are even denied their diplomas. Unacceptable. It is not a radical idea that no child in this country should go hungry. We must ensure that all students have access to healthy school meals.
Therefore the Thurgood Marshall plan would “provide year-round, free universal school meals — breakfast, lunch and snacks through our school meals programs — and offer incentives for sourcing food from local sources.”
In addition to providing free meals at school so that no child goes hungry during the school year, the Thurgood Marshall plan would also fund an expanded Summer EBT to make sure no child goes hungry during summer vacation.
9. Fix Crumbling School Infrastructure
Schools across urban and rural America are crumbling. A 2014 study found that at least 53 percent of the nation’s schools need immediate repair…. Stories abound about heating systems giving out in the winter, ceilings leaking during storms and mold accumulating in plain sight. That is unacceptable and has got to change.
If Bernie Sanders becomes president he intends to fund a program to renovate and modernize all schools in need of fixing up — and do it green ways as part of the Green New Deal.
10. Make Schools a Safe and Inclusive Place for All
Our schools must be safe for all students. Period. It is disgusting that our children must face the terrifying reality of being at risk of being killed in their own schools, and that school districts must resort to measures like this to try to keep kids safe. We must ensure LGBTQ students can attend school without fear of bullying, and work to substantially reduce suicides.
To accomplish this, the Thurgood Marshall plan calls for making sure Title IX of the education act passed in 1972, which bans sex discrimination in schools, is fully enforced, and that the more comprehensive Safe Schools Improvement Act (which was introduced in congress earlier this year) is also passed and fully enforced.
What’s the Safe Schools Improvement Act, you ask? Here is a quick explanation:
The Safe Schools Improvement Act (SSIA) would amend the Elementary and Secondary Education Act (ESEA) to require school districts in states that receive ESEA funds to adopt codes of conduct specifically prohibiting bullying and harassment, including on the basis of race, color, national origin, sex, disability, sexual orientation, gender identity, and religion. SSIA would also require that states report data on bullying and harassment to the Department of Education. The Department of Education would then be required to provide Congress with a report on the state reported data every two years.
Sanders would also press for the passage of comprehensive gun violence prevention laws to end the epidemic of gun violence in this country and in our schools.
The very concept of medical debt should not exist. In the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one illness or disease should not ruin a family's financial life and future...
~ Bernie Sanders
A Plan to Eliminate Medical Debt
This is pretty simple. As Bernie Sanders says: ”No one in America should go bankrupt because of medical debt. We will eliminate all past due medical debt in this country.” And that’s what the plan does.
From the plan, here’s a somewhat more detailed summary of the problem.
In the United States of America, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, one illness or disease should not ruin a family’s financial life and future. In America today, it is unacceptable that one out of every six Americans have past-due medical bills on their credit report, totaling $81 billion...
A staggering 79 million Americans struggle to pay their medical bills or are paying off medical debt, including more than half of those making less than $40,000 a year. Last year alone, 8 million people were pushed into poverty due to medical expenses.
Nearly half of Americans fear a major medical event could lead to their bankruptcy, according to Gallup, and one out of every four people in America said that sometime in the past year they had skipped medical treatment because of concerns about cost.
Right now, medical debt is the leading cause of consumer bankruptcy in America. In fact, 66.5 percent of all bankruptcies are connected to medical issues — both because of the skyrocketing cost of care, and because of a patient’s time away from work and the subsequent expenses and lack of income. Studies show that 500,000 people are bankrupted by medical expenses each and every year — and the true number may be far higher.
Poor credit caused by illness can condemn families to cycles of further indebtedness. It can destroy credit scores, which in turn can force families to pay more in rent, make it harder to purchase a vehicle, force them to pay outrageous interest rates to payday lenders, and force families to forgo necessary medical care.
It is immoral and unconscionable that families across the country are being evicted, having their heat disconnected, or having their already-inadequate wages garnished because of crippling medical debt while the health care industry made more than $100 billion in profits last year...
Sanders’ plan to deal with this is fairly simple.
First, there’s that $81 billion in already-existing past-due medical debt. The government would take responsibility for negotiating and paying off all the past-due medical bills that have been reported to credit agencies.
Second, there’s the problem of debt collectors. Limits would be put on what debt collectors are and are not allowed to do, and those limits would be strictly enforced. Debt collectors who engaged in the abusive practices so prevalent at present would be prosecuted.
Third: in 2005 a bankruptcy “reform” bill was passed which substantially rigged the system in favor of banks and against borrowers — especially against Black borrowers. A new law needs to be passed genuinely reforming the bankruptcy system in order to end the abuses it currently causes.
And fourthly, there’s the problem with our current credit registry system:
Our current lending system relies on three major unsecure, for-profit credit registries to determine creditworthiness. In 2017, the credit reporting agency Equifax suffered a breach that exposed the personal information of more than 140 million Americans. Instead of material consequences, Equifax’s CEO retired with a $90 million pay day. Tens of millions of consumers have incorrect information on their credit reports, which can prevent them from receiving home loans, rental apartments, or good jobs.
To fix this, Sanders proposes creating a free public registry people can use instead of the for-profit commercial ones. This registry would use a public, transparent algorithm to determine creditworthiness, which should help eliminate the racial bias present in the current system.
Then there’s the other problem with the current credit registry system:
For millions of Americans, one unforeseen medical emergency or illness could send a family into financial destitution or a spiraling debt trap.
To help fix that, Sanders proposes removing and excluding medical debt from credit reports.
If you buy things more expensive than you can afford and can’t pay the bills when they arrive, that’s one thing. It’s something you chose to do, so it reflects on future choices you might make; it reflects on how responsible you are with your money. It’s reasonable for someone thinking about loaning you money to be able to take that into consideration.
Having a health emergency and being charged an enormous amount of money is different. It’s generally not something people choose to do, and it shouldn’t be treated as such. Under a Sanders presidency, It won’t be.
That’s a pretty major change in how things work. It’s one I think makes a lot of sense.
Our ideas used to be "too radical."
Now they are being adopted by candidates from school board to president.
This is what we mean when we say we're going to transform the country.
~ Bernie Sanders
And now, a few words about Bernie Sanders’ recent hospital visit:
.
And a few more words...
I'm looking forward to sharing our vision for transforming this country at the next debate.
I am lucky to have great health care, but millions of Americans are not. Some 87 million Americans are uninsured or underinsured.
That is unacceptable to me. We need Medicare for All.
~ Bernie Sanders
And here are a few words from Beto O’Rourke. He was asked whether the physical fitness of a candidate matters. Here is his answer, as quoted by Amy Wang of the Washington Post:
Beto O’Rourke: Yes, it does. But if you're asking me about Bernie Sanders, specifically, there isn't a more important voice out there on some of the most important issues that this country faces. There isn't a more energized, energetic candidate and campaigner keeping up a relentless schedule. I have no fears about Bernie Sanders, and [it] does not cause me any concern at all. And really all I wish for him is a full and speedy recovery, and his ability to get back after it on the campaign trail. I'm grateful that he's a candidate and grateful to be in this race with him.
If anyone would like to donate
to Bernie Sanders’ campaign,
here’s a link to the secure ActBlue site
which will let you do so.