To this day, I still cannot believe that Congress's response to the worst economic crisis since the 1930s was more tax cuts for the wealthy. - Bernie Sanders

These days, the American dream is more apt to be realized in South America, in places such as Ecuador, Venezuela and Argentina, where incomes are actually more equal today than they are in the land of Horatio Alger. Who's the banana republic now?

The headlines dominating the news understandably deal with the outrageous behavior of President Donald Trump and the attempted coup he inspired at our nation’s Capitol. Yes, it was important for the House of Representatives to impeach Trump. Yes, the Senate must convict him. No president, now or in the future, can lead an insurrection against the United States government and get away with it. But as enormously important as that is, we must not lose sight of the pain and anxiety of millions of working families all over this country, as they suffer through the worst public health and economic crises in the modern history of our country. In fact, many working families are facing more economic desperation today than any time since the Great Depression. As a result of the pandemic, tens of millions of our fellow citizens have lost their jobs and incomes. Hunger is at its highest level in decades, and 40 million could be on the brink of eviction when the federal moratorium expires at the end of January. While more than 24 million people in our country have tested positive for the Covid-19 virus, tens of millions of Americans are uninsured or under-insured.

We are going to transform this country and finally create an economy and a government which works for all of us, not just the 1 percent. The underlying principles of our government will not be greed, hatred and lies. It will not be racism, sexism, xenophobia, homophobia and religious bigotry. This campaign will be based on justice—on economic justice, on social justice, on racial justice, on environmental justice.