Bernie Sanders is one of eighteen notable Democrat candidates running for office in the general election, but Sanders, in particular, is known for starting the push for socialism in the Democrat Party. He, along with others, has been pushing for policies that resemble outright Socialist policies among which include things like government-provided health care or government-provided housing. In fact, all of his policies are the stereotypical Socialists’ policies; Bernie himself has outright said that he likes Socialism and that he believes it would be good for America. What I want to do is take a close look at each of his main policies, attempt to explain each, and how Bernie Sanders plans to employ them into a government that’s relied on capitalism for hundreds of years. The policies include the following: Medicare for All, Green New Deal, College for All, Workplace Democracy, Expansion of Social Security, and Housing for All and each yellow heading is hyperlinked for your convenience.

Medicare for All

Starting from the top, Medicare for all is one of Sanders’s main policies and also one of his most ambitious; hoping to provide medical services for all as a government-provided service. It’s somewhat similar to Barack Obama’s healthcare policy “Obama Care” in which anybody who needed medical services could get free government-provided health care.

On Bernie Sanders’s campaign website he says America should join in with every other major country that provides healthcare as a basic human right, and the message is directed at privatized health care companies that often overcharge for things like healthcare. 

Green New Deal

One of his most important policies, The Green New Deal is at the forefront of issues facing the Democratic Party and its attempts to help slow down or outright prevent climate change.  The policy itself was sponsored and created by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) and calls for the federal government to wean from fossil fuels and curb carbon emissions. Sanders believes that the legislation is an opportunity for the United States to not only marginally slow down Climate Change, but also innovate and provide a more equitable future for future generations. Like with most policies the Green New Deal has its criticisms, the main one being the price tag which currently is almost impossible to estimate, but Republicans estimate it to be around $93 trillion.

College For All

College for all is one of Sanders’s most popular policies among the younger voters that have either been through college and suffered the cost, those who are in college, or those who are still in high school. The policy is based on the belief that education on all levels is a human right and that we should pursue the highest form of education we can, even if our families can’t afford it. Of course, there are already programs in place that help fund college, but Sanders is calling for outright free college for those eligible to go to college in the first place.

Workplace Democracy

Sanders is known for his very positive relationship with the worker Unions scattered throughout the country, a lot of which have actually donated to his campaign. One of his major policies revolving around this concept in the “Workplace Democracy” plan, Bernie believes that the trade union movement is what originally built the middle class and that it’ll be the thing that rebuilds the middle class.

Sanders believes that by redeveloping the Unions he will be able to store workers’ rights and bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions which tends to pull voters that are already working under a union. According to Sanders’s campaign website, union workers earn 22% more than non-union workers, so what Sanders really plans to do is spread unionization across all of America’s workforce.

Housing for All

Housing for all is a policy being pushed by many Democrats and is a very popular policy among those planning to vote for Sanders because similarly to Healthcare for all, Housing for all is being viewed as a human right. On Sanders’s campaign website, he describes America as “the richest country in the world” stating that every American should have the right to safe, decent, accessible, and affordable housing calling it a “fundamental right.” Sanders states that in cities, there are little to no affordable apartments for full-time minimum wage workers who may be working within that same city, and it’s people like that who tend to lean towards Bernie Sanders.