Response to Tom Borthwick's posting, Bernie Sanders for President

In response to Tom Borthwick's latest blog posting, promoting the Presidential campaign of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders.  You can link to Tom's posting HERE.

* * * * * *

Hey Tom, glad to see you posting again.  I'd say "keep it up", but I don't want to jinx anything.

I view Bernie Sanders like many other politicians.  While Rafael Cruz panders to the far right, sometimes (well most of the time) Senator Sanders does the same to far left.  He's right about climate change, but  he's also guilty of sound-byte commentary on the equal pay issue, quoting an incorrect 78% statistics.   Here's a very good & quick read on the issue by the not-conservative Pew Research Center that proves my point -

http://www.pewresearch.org/fact-tank/2015/04/14/on-equal-pay-day-everything-you-need-to-know-about-the-gender-pay-gap/

In summary, he's simply wrong when citing a 78% wage gap.  Sloppy and pandering.

I'll also call him guilty of pandering on the promotion of trade unions as well; "card check", in place of secret ballots for union elections, is bad policy that opens the door for strong-arm tactics.  If a union is right for an organization, then what's to fear from a secret ballot election?  That employees will actually vote their conscience?

Lastly, as for "taking on Wall Street", well don't you see just a bit of irony in the U.S. federal government, the ultimate expression of "too big to fail" telling others that they are "too big to fail" and therefore should be broken up?  Now conceptually I actually agree that too much power is concentrated in too few financial institutions, but I simply don't trust the federal government enough to make those decisions.  Who gets broken up?  Who gets to own the pieces?  If anything, "too big to fail" targets are a smoke screen for the federal government's inability to actually prosecute the bad actors in the last financial crisis.  How many big CEOs went to jail after the 2008 collapse?  I know, that's a trick question, in part because greed isn't really a crime, but then again stupidity isn't either (and large financial institutions count on the financial illiteracy of Americans).

Anyway, welcome back Tom.  It's going to be an interesting summer.

Regards,
- Steve