Middle-class struggles — the kind I am covering in my Restless Project — are now front and center in this year’s presidential election . And whatever you think about his ideas, Bernie Sanders deserves credit for sharpening the spotlight on those struggles. Whether his ideas — which are unquestionably radical — can survive a presidential campaign, let alone interaction with Congress, is a very open question.
Last week, I wrote a piece for Grow / Acorns about the Republican candidates and what the impact they might have on your wallet if elected. This week, I wrote about the Democrats for Grow. Again, it’s a brief overview. But if we spend the next several months talking about issues like student loans, health care reform, family leave and the financial industry, that can only be good for America. Feel free to posts links to stories or data sources you feel add something to the discussion.
Sanders and Clinton are on the same side of many issues — but on most, Sanders goes quite a farther than his chief rival.
On the minimum wage, for example, Clinton says she supports an increase to $12 an hour; Sanders supports $15. Clinton’s “New College Compact” would make community colleges free. Sanders “College for All” Act would make all public colleges and universities free. Clinton wants to improve Obamacare by allowing the federal government to negotiate with drug companies for lower prices. Sanders wants to replace Obamacare with a “single-payer” system, similar to covering all Americans under Medicare.
Sanders has some other radical ideas, too. He has said he would like to cap credit card interest rates at 15 percent, for example.
Perhaps his most radical idea, however, is his willingness to raise taxes — even on the middle class. Both Clinton and Sanders support family leave. Sanders’ FAMILY Act would give family members 12 weeks of paid leave to stay home with a newborn baby or a sick relative. Sanders would pay for it by adding a payroll tax to all Americans’ paychecks, estimated to be $1.38 per week for the average worker and employer.
“I think that’s a pretty good investment and I would hope every candidate running for president of the United States would be a strong advocate of this legislation,” Sanders has said.
Clinton supports similar benefits, but says she would make only the wealthy pay it — she rejects the notion of a payroll tax, saying middle class families don’t need a tax increase. Instead, she’d “ask the wealthiest Americans to pay their fair share.” Previously, she has said “middle-class” includes households earning up to $250,000 annually, suggesting only those earning more would pay for a fund to cover family leave costs.
To learn more about Sanders and Clinton’s ideas on health care, taxes, students loans, etc., please click over to my story at Acorn’s new personal finance site, Grow.
If you’d like to try Acorns, use my referral code by clicking on this link and you’ll get a $5 bonus deposited into your account. BIG DISCLOSURE: I will get $5 also if you use my referral code.
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