Sanders would have Wall Street pay for programs

Democratic candidate for president Sen. Bernie Sanders assured his supporters that taking a hard look at the national priorities is what his campaign is about.
On Friday, Sanders brought his HBCU tour to Claflin University to gain support for Saturday’s South Carolina Democratic primary. His message was clear, stating the reason he is running for president is because he feels it is time to change the same old, same old.
“Our country today faces very serious problems,” Sanders said. “We have too much unemployment in this county.”
He said there is a large amount of the children living in poverty and African-American youth employment is at 51 percent. Sanders also explained that we don’t have a minimum wage that is a living wage.
“We have too much unemployment in this county,” Sanders said. He said his plan to provide free college education to students -- the way it is structured throughout elementary through high school – will help alleviate this problem.
To pay for this, he will put into practice a Wall Street speculation tax. “I am prepared to take on Wall Street, to take on the big money interest who are doing so much harm to our country,” Sanders said.
He wants America to remain a democracy, where people’s voices are taken into consideration, instead of becoming an oligarchy where the rich hold the power. “It is wrong in America when so few have so much,” Sanders said.
He went on to speak of the need for police department reform. “Why do we have more people in jail than any other country?” Sanders asked. He made it known that if elected, with every instance of police brutality, the police officer(s) involved must be held accountable.
Sanders says he also plans to demilitarize local police departments believing that their function is to protect the people, not to oppress. He wants police departments to look like the diversity of the community they are serving.
Another issue Bernie Sanders looks to improve upon is the treatment of drug-related crimes.
“Substance abuse is a health issue, not a criminal issue,” Sanders said. He wants to treat people with addictions with medical care rather than imprisonment. He also plans to remove marijuana from the schedule of the federal Controlled Substances Act and eliminate the classification of it as a dangerous drug.
He also said that he is opposed to the death penalty. “I do not believe that the government should be involved in the killing of people,” Sanders said. He went on to explain that throughout the course of our history, many inmates have been unjustly executed.
Sanders reminded the audience how important their voices will be in the South Carolina Democratic primaru. Presently, Hillary Clinton has a substantial lead in South Carolina polls, but Sanders believes that if everyone stands together, extraordinary things can happen.
Bernie Sanders’ HBCU Tour will visit historically black colleges and universities along its route to encourage more students and citizens to become more involved.