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  • 6 months ago
Speaking to CNN's Dana Bash, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) was asked about voters being skeptical of government.
Transcript
00:00What makes you so sure that the solution that you're offering, which is a more assertive
00:05federal government, is something that is going to fly in places where people have been voting
00:12in recent years, Republican, and have an inherent distrust of government?
00:18Well, they should, and they should have a distrust for a number of reasons.
00:23Government is too bureaucratic and not responsive. But, and let me tell you what I'm sure you
00:31already know, is that if you look at the polling, and I asked the people here today, you heard
00:36me ask.
00:36Anybody here think that the American health care system is vaguely effective?
00:45Nobody in America thinks it's working. We spent twice as much as other countries, 85 million
00:50uninsured or underinsured. 60,000 people die a year because they can't get to a doctor
00:55on time. Do you think that in America, with all of our genius, all of our capabilities,
01:00we, spending so much money, cannot provide a high-quality system that guarantees health
01:05care to all people? And do you think people here don't know that? They know. They know
01:09we can do it. Throughout Europe and other countries, you don't have to leave college
01:13$50,000, $100,000 in debt, or half a million dollars in debt if you're going to medical
01:18school. That makes zero sense. Look, let's be clear in the message of tonight and what
01:23I will continue to give. You have a government today that is run by the wealthiest people
01:29in this country. They are extremely greedy people. They want it all, and we've got to
01:35stand up to them. Unfortunately, for many decades, that has not been the Democratic Party, and
01:40that has got to change.
01:42I'm sure you've heard about some Democrats who are talking about embracing the so-called
01:47abundance movement, the idea that liberal politicians have created too much regulatory
01:53red tape, and it stops government from getting anything done. I spoke recently to Democratic
01:59Congressman Richie Torres, who said that Democrats shouldn't be the party of more government,
02:04but the party of better, cheaper, and faster government. What do you make of that idea?
02:09Well, I think that it is clear. Look, I deal with bureaucracy every day at the federal level,
02:14the state level, at the local level. It's absolutely true. To build a house, to do this,
02:19do that, you have to go through all kinds of things. To apply for, you know, Medicare,
02:24you've got to fill out 87 forms. Dealing with your insurance companies, you've got to fill
02:27out a million forms. We live in a world which is much, much too complicated. So if the goal
02:31is to make sure that within environmental safeguards, we can move forward much faster, the answer
02:38is yes. But that is not the fundamental problem facing America. The fundamental problem facing
02:43America is that you've got a handful of oligarchs who have enormous wealth, enormous economic power,
02:50enormous political power, and they want even more. That is the fundamental issue. Should
02:54we make government more efficient? Absolutely.
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