Bernard Sanders: “as the only Independent in the U.S. Congress, I have the responsibility to raise issues that my Democratic and…”

“as the only Independent in the U.S. Congress, I have the responsibility to raise issues that my Democratic and Republican colleagues choose not to deal with. Let me briefly touch upon three issues of enormous consequence which, while ignored in Congress, must be addressed by the American people. The United States is, increasingly, an oligarchy. The richest 1 percent of our population now owns 37 percent of the wealth, more than the bottom 90 percent of the people. The CEO's of the Forbes 500 corporations earn 157 times more than their average worker, and the gap between the rich and the poor is wider than at any time since the 1920's. From 1983 to 1989, 55 percent of the increase in family wealth accrued to the richest half of 1 percent of families, while the lower-middle and bottom wealth classes lost over $250 billion dollars' worth of wealth. But oligarchy refers not just to the unfair distribution of wealth, but to the fact that the decisions which shape our consciousness and affect our lives are made by a very small and powerful group of people.”