KT edit: Biden could benefit from Sanders's ideas as he forges ahead

The US has been a paragon of free market economy.

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Published: Wed 18 Mar 2020, 8:00 PM

Last updated: Wed 18 Mar 2020, 10:39 PM

The Covid-19 pandemic is weighing heavy on minds across the globe. The number of people reporting infections are rising by the minute. The US has more than 6,500 cases, and yet, Americans braved the threat of exposure to the virus and came out to vote for Tuesday's primaries and back Joe Biden. The former vice-president is likely to be the Democratic nominee to face US President Donald Trump in elections in November. Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont, a veteran who professes a more socialist model, has got a drubbing. He has lost in Arizona, Florida and Illinois, and might withdraw from the race sooner than later. Perhaps, the voters did not connect with his kind of socialism which, if we rationally argue, is apt for the twenty-first century. It would be good for the Americans, too.
The US has been a paragon of free market economy. Its free rein to the private sector has surely helped in the rise of ventures, corporate firms and the whole private sector economy like nowhere else in the world. It's a bastion of capitalism, but Sanders is right in appealing that its current model hasn't helped everybody. The economy has left behind a large number of people, made them more vulnerable and is pushing them towards the edge. Sanders suffered due to his image of a socialist, but as Biden builds on the momentum of his success in these primaries, his campaign should include some of Sanders's ideas. He has been advocating a more equitable model for the Americans, and is right in questioning the system that has allowed the rich to become richer and pushed the poor further down the pyramid of wealth. The American system should give an equitable chance of upward mobility to all. At the height of the pandemic spread that we are experiencing today, Sanders is right in asking for a more humane national health cover for all Americans which, if you look around, is a hallmark in all developed Western countries.
Biden is connecting well with a large majority of the Americans. He also has an edge over Sanders due to his experience as the vice-president during Barack Obama's eight-year tenure. This might be making Americans more comfortable with him rather than relying on Sanders who gives the impression of an activist. Biden, if elected, would have formidable challenges in resurrecting America's standing as the global leader. Trump's America First approach has compromised the long-standing cooperation with different countries. But as Biden tries to heal ties with the West, he would do well to adopt and work on some of Sanders's ideas at home.
 


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