Bernie Sanders erred calling himself a socialist. The electorate will not allow a socialist to live in the White House. Nevertheless, many enlightened people would vote for him. Here is a list of policies he would attempt to implement:

1. Guaranteed housing: Government should assure that no one is homeless by providing all the bare essentials of housing. Local governments that have paid to have the homeless housed have learned it is more cost-effective than leaving them in the streets.

2. Universal healthcare: The United Kingdom’s National Health Service is a government-run system that ranks at the top and costs half what the U.S. system costs. Given that none of us ask to be born, healthcare is our human right.

3. Free education: Education should be free. Additionally, higher education should pay a stipend to counteract the opportunity cost that comes with foregoing employment as a young adult. 4. Guaranteed employment: Everyone wanting a job should be able to find one. That’s difficult. It is also necessary that firms be able to hire the best labor and fire those who aren’t up to the job at hand. Employment should ensure that society gains from it. That means employees should be allowed to unionize and bargain on their own behalf. It means that those who become unemployed receive financial support.

5. Fighting climate change: By limitlessly emitting carbon, we are destroying the human race. We should impose a carbon tax that will provide the government the revenue to reduce taxes elsewhere. We must not destroy the habitability of our planet for future generations.

Sanders may have no hope of winning the Democratic Party’s nomination, but his candidacy has forced these issues to emerge. That is a victory in itself. Will we wake up in time, or wait until the elite live in luxury while the rest of us live in squalor?

Cy F. Baumgartner

Mercer Island