Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) is once again raising concerns about a system he believes favors the ultra-wealthy while leaving working Americans behind.
“The system is just not working for the average American,” Sanders wrote in a recent post on X. “Not wages, not health care, not housing, not educational opportunity, not retirement security.” He added, “I know it’s a radical idea, but we need a government that represents working families, not the billionaire class.”
Challenging Corporate Power in Red States
During a recent CNN interview while on his “Fighting Oligarchy” tour through Republican strongholds like West Virginia, Sanders criticized the Democratic Party for failing working-class Americans. “This used to be, decades ago, one of the strongest Democratic states in the country,” he said. “Now it’s a strong Republican state because, in many ways, the Democratic Party has turned its back on its base.”
Sanders emphasized that economic issues affect people across political lines. Many residents in red states want affordable housing, better wages, and guaranteed health care. “They don’t want tax breaks for billionaires. They don’t want the rich to get richer. They want health care as a human right. They want a minimum wage that’s a living wage,” he said.
He also criticized then-Vice President Kamala Harris’ presidential campaign, saying she was influenced too heavily by wealthy donors. “She had too many billionaires telling her not to speak up for the working class of this country,” Sanders said.
A Broken System That Protects the Powerful
In June, Sanders warned of a new class of “uber capitalists” who believe they deserve to rule, speaking on the Flagrant podcast. “There is a new breed of uber capitalists out there who really believe… that they are superior human beings,” he said, citing far-right rhetoric that dismisses democracy in favor of elite rule.
He compared this attitude to outdated ideas of divine entitlement. “Back in the 19th century… I am the king. God made my family king. Sorry you’re starving to death, but that’s the way life goes,” he said.
Sanders criticized billionaires for hoarding wealth and only giving it away late in life, calling it a system with the resources to solve real problems that refuses to act. “We are the richest country in the history of the world,” he said. “And yet 60% of people live paycheck to paycheck.”
“Is it a radical idea to join every other major country on Earth and guarantee health care for people?” Sanders asked. “Is it a radical idea to raise the minimum wage to $17 an hour?”
For Sanders, these aren’t extreme proposals—they are common sense in much of the developed world.
