In America today, working class people live, on average, 7 years shorter lives than the wealthy. Stress kills. In Altoona, Wisconsin this weekend I asked people how economic stress impacted their lives. The responses I got were painful, but not surprising.
Yes, the oligarchs are enormously powerful. They have endless amounts of money. They control our economy. They own much of the media and have enormous political power. I am convinced, however, that they can be defeated. My thoughts on the current moment:
Next week, @Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and I will be taking the Fighting Oligarchy tour out west. We will be in Nevada, Arizona, and Colorado to hold town meetings with working people who are profoundly disgusted with what is going on in Washington, D.C. I hope you'll join us.
The 2.2 million people in Gaza have endured unimaginable suffering. More than 47,000 killed. More than 111,000 injured. Schools, hospitals, homes - all destroyed. Now Trump wants to force them out of their homeland so he can turn it into a playground for the rich. Unspeakable.
Great rally in Kenosha. 4,000 people came out to say: NO tax breaks for billionaires. NO cuts to Medicaid. NO oligarchy. NO authoritarianism. NO MORE billionaires buying elections.
Americans are embarrassed and ashamed that we have a President who says that Ukraine started the war with Russia. We must defend the 250 year tradition of being the Democratic leader of the world, and not turn our backs on a struggling country that is trying to save its people.
Thank you, Folsom! In a city of 85,000, in a Republican county, more than 30,000 people came out on a Tuesday night. We can and WILL defeat Trump and the oligarchs.
Enough of this Red State / Blue State nonsense. We are one people. And we all deserve a government of the people, by the people, for the people. Not a government of the billionaires, by the billionaires, for the billionaires.
We’re in rural Altoona, Wisconsin, where the population is 9,287. More than 2,000 people have lined up for our town hall today. The working class of this country is very clear: We will NOT accept oligarchy in America.
The video speaks for itself. 34,000 people out in Denver. Largest political rally there since 2008. The message is clear: NO to authoritarianism. NO to oligarchy. NO to Trumpism. We are ready to fight back. Now it’s on to Tucson.
To our establishment friends in the Democratic Party: the status quo is not working and cannot be defended. We will not shrink from big ideas. We are prepared to take on the big money interests who dominate society. And we know the American people are with us in that fight.
We can stop Trumpism. We can defeat oligarchy. We can fight back against authoritarianism. How? By coming together and getting involved in the political process. We can create the kind of nation we want to become.
I'm no mathematician, but I do know this: 99% is a hell of a lot bigger than 1%. Together, the American people can defeat Trump's advances toward authoritarianism and create an economy that works for all of us, not just the billionaire class.