thenation--2020-04-23--Capitalism Is Killing Us

Capitalism Is Killing Us

In 2017 , overdoses became the leading cause of death among Americans 50 and under .
The same year , it was reported that there were 129 suicides per day , which is nearly triple the number of homicides .
Deaths related to alcohol killed nearly 1 million people between 1999 and 2017 , often brought upon by liver disease like cirrhosis .
For a long time , deaths of this sort were understudied or slipped below the media radar—perceived as tragedies that had to do with individual stories rather than with systemic issues .
Deaths of Despair and the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton published a paper that was the first to group deaths from overdose , suicide , and liver cirrhosis under the umbrella of despair .
This study , alongside their subsequent research , led to the popularization of the phrase “ deaths of despair.
” The coinage specifically applied to middle-aged working-class white people who were dying prematurely in such high numbers that it was raising the entire country ’ s midlife death rate .
Mortality rates , from suicide in particular , had been steadily falling @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States .
Life expectancy , a basic indicator of a society ’ s health , was simultaneously improving around the world , except in the United States .
Case and Deaton sounded the alarm , and captured the attention of journalists and writers who were struggling to grasp the political appeal of Donald J. Trump ’ s then-nascent presidential campaign .
His so-called “ forgotten people ” happen to fit the precise demographic criteria Case and Deaton studied : white , middle-aged , without a college degree .
Days after their @ @ @ @ @ @ @ summarized its findings in an op-ed column with the headline , “ Despair , American Style.
” Krugman dismissed the usual suspects put forth by conservatives , like welfare dependency or secular society ’ s annihilation of family values .
The “ materialist ” explanation put forth by Case and Deaton seemed more plausible to Krugman : that rising mortality can be traced back to inequality and the “ hollowing out ” of the middle class .
Ultimately , Krugman concluded that he wasn ’ t sure what was causing despair , or @ @ @ @ @ @ @ could bring relief from “ existential despair.
” Case and Deaton expand on their 2015 study in their new book , Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism , in which they argue that suicides , overdoses , and income inequality are consequences of capitalism in America as it is constructed in the 21st century .
The authors write that we are living in a “ mirror-image ” of a Robin Hood society , where resources are being redistributed upward from the poor to the rich .
The primary culprits plundering America @ @ @ @ @ @ @ price-fixing pharmaceutical companies whose drugs are massively overprescribed , corporate rent-seeking , wage stagnation , the deterioration of unions , and a health care system they call “ a disgrace.
” To cope with diminishing social and economic status , white people without a college education are , they find , increasingly turning to opioids , alcohol , and more drastic measures in the face of a more unequal society .
“ It is not only the radical left that is concerned about the future of capitalism and democracy as they are practiced @ @ @ @ @ @ @ write .
“ There is a recent flood of books not only by long-standing critics but also by erstwhile defenders , successful entrepreneurs , and powerful ex-policy makers.
” Case and Deaton ’ s book is a grim addition to this flood of concern from capitalism ’ s usual boosters .
They marshal more than a dozen studies to make the case that American capitalism is failing an aging white working class .
Interwoven with their narrative of generational entropy are even more statistics measuring levels of physical pain , addiction , suicide @ @ @ @ @ @ @ jobs with lower wages that illustrate how hard life has become for those without a college degree .
Deaton ’ s previous work , The Great Escape , praised the power of markets and capitalism to lift people out of poverty and improve living standards for billions of people .
This book , mapping capitalism ’ s dark side , does not do that .
That deprivation and austerity harm workers is ( of course ) central to the “ radical left ” critique of capitalism .
Exercising freedom in a democracy means @ @ @ @ @ @ @ economic self-determination .
Now that those who ’ ve crunched the numbers see how deadly American capitalism can be—are they also coming around to some of the left ’ s proposals to fix it ?
Case and Deaton model their theory of despair on French sociologist Émile Durkheim ’ s 1897 monograph Le Suicide .
Durkheim ’ s methodology , which was pioneering at the time , involved traveling around France in search of death certificates , looking not only for the manner of death but also demographic and biographical details of the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ he believed , could the social patterns of suicide across France and other European countries be understood .
Prior to Durkhim , suicide was thought of strictly in individual terms ; but his study upended this view , positing that people are most at risk during times of external discord and societal upheaval .
Unanchored from the structures of daily life that make the world comprehensible , meaningful , and joyful , people , Durkheim argued , become isolated and adrift .
The Promise of a Universal Basic Income—and Its Limitations Despair may @ @ @ @ @ @ @ to study , but using education as a dividing line—which for them is a close proxy for class—Case and Deaton ’ s data illustrates just how despair has creeped into the lives of many .
Over the last 20 years , representative national surveys show , white people without a bachelor ’ s degree have reported greater difficulty shopping , watching a movie , relaxing at home , and socializing with friends .
They also have reported higher levels of pain , mental distress , and ill health .
The percentage of white @ @ @ @ @ @ @ s degree reporting they ’ re unable to work rose to 13 percent in 2017 from 4 percent in 1993 .
For Case and Deaton , the deterioration of conditions of daily life is one of the “ background ” causes of deaths of despair .
As feelings of physical pain and social isolation have made life harder to bear , manufacturing jobs have been replaced by service jobs , which have fewer benefits and lower wages , a central issue in the authors ’ “ upheaval ” narrative .
The primary upheaval @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , according to the authors , is the power imbalance between capital and labor .
This imbalance has been a “ slowly unfolding calamity , ” according to Case and Deaton .
“ Rising economic and political power of corporations , and the declining economic and political power of workers , allows corporations to gain at the expense of ordinary people , consumers and particularly workers , ” they write .
Meanwhile , those at the top of corporations have seen their wealth soar .
“ Among America ’ s 350 largest firms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ $ 17.2 million , 278 times average earnings.
” In the 1960s , the difference in compensation “ was only 20 to 1 , ” and nearly a third of workers had a union job .
Today , union density hovers at around just 10 percent .
Union halls were once the “ center of social life , ” according to Case and Deaton , but work life today is more lonely and atomized , and low-wage work , with few benefits , feels impersonal and unfulfilling .
Low-wage work has also led @ @ @ @ @ @ @ purchasing power for the working class , all while the cost of health care has skyrocketed , largely because of effective lobbying and government capture .
The very structure of the financial system in this country , Case and Deaton argue , is largely responsible for the “ deaths of despair ” crisis they warned about in 2015 .
It wasn ’ t long ago that a union job in a manufacturing town meant the ability to be the breadwinner .
You could afford to buy a home and a car , raise @ @ @ @ @ @ @ family on a vacation once a year—all without a college degree .
A recent study compared counties that retained auto plants with those that lost auto plants and , in Durkheimian fashion , found that opioid overdose deaths increased 85 percent in the counties where plants had closed .
Of course , these conditions aren ’ t experienced only by middle-aged white people .
But long protected by a governmental and societal safety net , the white working class is now , in Case and Deaton ’ s telling , in free fall @ @ @ @ @ @ @ book is that the deaths of despair reflect a long-term and slowly unfolding loss of a way of life for the white , less-educated , working class.
” In a chapter titled “ Black and White Deaths , ” Case and Deaton seek parallels between present-day white despair and what they term “ African-American despair , ” which descended upon cities after 1970 .
“ What happened to blacks and whites differs perhaps more in when than in what , ” they write .
When manufacturing jobs disappeared in Rust Belt cities , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ disadvantage as a result of discriminatory housing and lending policies , were hit hardest .
What followed were twin epidemics—HIV/AIDS and crack cocaine—that devastated black communities and which the government did little to alleviate .
There are indeed eerie similarities between the deprivation experienced by white people today and the black despair from decades ago .
But the latter ’ s never really ended .
Despite the alarming death rates among white people of a certain age and class , mortality rates among black Americans are higher and their life expectancy remains lower @ @ @ @ @ @ @ men account for more new HIV infections than any other group in the United States .
African Americans also have more than twice the infant mortality rate as white Americans .
The over-quantification of Case and Deaton ’ s narrative ultimately hinders their analysis of race and the politics of health .
Despair in African American communities , especially during the crack era , can not be fully comprehended without factoring in policing and incarceration , which Case and Deaton spend little time discussing .
While billions of dollars were being allocated for @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the state doled out brute force and militant policing toward crack cocaine .
Simultaneously , President Ronald Reagan slashed funding for public housing .
Case and Deaton appear much more comfortable identifying the deadly rot in America ’ s economy than they do in calling for its excision .
Rather than ending corporate “ plunder ” for good , they call for “ reducing ” it ; rather than ending rent-seeking , the accumulation of wealth without creating any new wealth , they call for “ limiting ” it .
“ We do @ @ @ @ @ @ @ rich , ” they write , because , curiously , they do not see inequality itself as “ the fundamental problem , ” even though earlier in their book they observe that despair , death , and inequality are all linked .
Rather , they conclude , “ the fundamental problem is unfairness.
” Their data illustrates every way life has only gotten harder for those without a bachelor ’ s degree .
“ A four-year degree has become the key marker of social status , ” they write , “ as if @ @ @ @ @ @ @ wear a circular scarlet badge bearing the letters ‘ BA ’ crossed through by a diagonal red line.
” Later , they sound more like a Pete Buttigieg campaign ad , writing that providing free college “ would be extremely expensive and would distribute most of the benefits to those who need them least.
” Would free public college , as in Bernie Sanders ’ s proposal , really do much to benefit millionaires and billionaires ?
If free public college sounded expensive , providing the barest moral minimum in response to the @ @ @ @ @ @ @ trillions of dollars .
The conditions for despair to set in took decades to materialize .
Now , in just two weeks , some 20 million Americans have filed for unemployment .
The government ’ s gutted administrative state , its frail and antiquated safety net , and a for-profit health care system are proving to be utterly incapable of protecting our collective health and well-being .
The path out of despair favored by Case and Deaton—tweaking capitalism to be more fair—is in contention with the alarm bell they ’ re ringing .
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ from suicide , alcohol , and overdoses combined didn ’ t already make this clear , the threat of Covid-19 means that now is no time for half-measures .

In 2017, overdoses became the leading cause of death among Americans 50 and under. The same year, it was reported that there were 129 suicides per day, which is nearly triple the number of homicides. Deaths related to alcohol killed nearly 1 million people between 1999 and 2017, often brought upon by liver disease like cirrhosis. For a long time, deaths of this sort were understudied or slipped below the media radar—perceived as tragedies that had to do with individual stories rather than with systemic issues. Books in Review Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism By Anne Case & Angus Deaton Buy this book
In November 2015, Princeton economists Anne Case and Angus Deaton published a paper that was the first to group deaths from overdose, suicide, and liver cirrhosis under the umbrella of despair. This study, alongside their subsequent research, led to the popularization of the phrase “deaths of despair.” The coinage specifically applied to middle-aged working-class white people who were dying prematurely in such high numbers that it was raising the entire country’s midlife death rate. Mortality rates, from suicide in particular, had been steadily falling among other wealthy countries, except in the United States. Life expectancy, a basic indicator of a society’s health, was simultaneously improving around the world, except in the United States.
Case and Deaton sounded the alarm, and captured the attention of journalists and writers who were struggling to grasp the political appeal of Donald J. Trump’s then-nascent presidential campaign. His so-called “forgotten people” happen to fit the precise demographic criteria Case and Deaton studied: white, middle-aged, without a college degree. Days after their study was published, economist Paul Krugman summarized its findings in an op-ed column with the headline, “Despair, American Style.” Krugman dismissed the usual suspects put forth by conservatives, like welfare dependency or secular society’s annihilation of family values. The “materialist” explanation put forth by Case and Deaton seemed more plausible to Krugman: that rising mortality can be traced back to inequality and the “hollowing out” of the middle class. Ultimately, Krugman concluded that he wasn’t sure what was causing despair, or whether universal health care and higher wages could bring relief from “existential despair.”
Case and Deaton expand on their 2015 study in their new book, Deaths of Despair and the Future of Capitalism, in which they argue that suicides, overdoses, and income inequality are consequences of capitalism in America as it is constructed in the 21st century. The authors write that we are living in a “mirror-image” of a Robin Hood society, where resources are being redistributed upward from the poor to the rich. The primary culprits plundering America’s economy may sound familiar: price-fixing pharmaceutical companies whose drugs are massively overprescribed, corporate rent-seeking, wage stagnation, the deterioration of unions, and a health care system they call “a disgrace.” To cope with diminishing social and economic status, white people without a college education are, they find, increasingly turning to opioids, alcohol, and more drastic measures in the face of a more unequal society. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
“It is not only the radical left that is concerned about the future of capitalism and democracy as they are practiced in America,” Case and Deaton write. “There is a recent flood of books not only by long-standing critics but also by erstwhile defenders, successful entrepreneurs, and powerful ex-policy makers.” Case and Deaton’s book is a grim addition to this flood of concern from capitalism’s usual boosters. They marshal more than a dozen studies to make the case that American capitalism is failing an aging white working class. Interwoven with their narrative of generational entropy are even more statistics measuring levels of physical pain, addiction, suicide, mental distress, and increasingly worse jobs with lower wages that illustrate how hard life has become for those without a college degree. Deaton’s previous work, The Great Escape, praised the power of markets and capitalism to lift people out of poverty and improve living standards for billions of people. This book, mapping capitalism’s dark side, does not do that.
That deprivation and austerity harm workers is (of course) central to the “radical left” critique of capitalism. Exercising freedom in a democracy means little without the ability to also exercise economic self-determination. Now that those who’ve crunched the numbers see how deadly American capitalism can be—are they also coming around to some of the left’s proposals to fix it?
Case and Deaton model their theory of despair on French sociologist Émile Durkheim’s 1897 monograph Le Suicide. Durkheim’s methodology, which was pioneering at the time, involved traveling around France in search of death certificates, looking not only for the manner of death but also demographic and biographical details of the deceased. Only in the aggregate, he believed, could the social patterns of suicide across France and other European countries be understood. Prior to Durkhim, suicide was thought of strictly in individual terms; but his study upended this view, positing that people are most at risk during times of external discord and societal upheaval. Unanchored from the structures of daily life that make the world comprehensible, meaningful, and joyful, people, Durkheim argued, become isolated and adrift. Related Article The Promise of a Universal Basic Income—and Its Limitations Bryce Covert
Despair may sound like an abstract phenomenon for economists to study, but using education as a dividing line—which for them is a close proxy for class—Case and Deaton’s data illustrates just how despair has creeped into the lives of many. Over the last 20 years, representative national surveys show, white people without a bachelor’s degree have reported greater difficulty shopping, watching a movie, relaxing at home, and socializing with friends. They also have reported higher levels of pain, mental distress, and ill health. The percentage of white people ages 45–54 without a bachelor’s degree reporting they’re unable to work rose to 13 percent in 2017 from 4 percent in 1993. For Case and Deaton, the deterioration of conditions of daily life is one of the “background” causes of deaths of despair.
As feelings of physical pain and social isolation have made life harder to bear, manufacturing jobs have been replaced by service jobs, which have fewer benefits and lower wages, a central issue in the authors’ “upheaval” narrative. The primary upheaval experienced by the white working class today, according to the authors, is the power imbalance between capital and labor. This imbalance has been a “slowly unfolding calamity,” according to Case and Deaton. “Rising economic and political power of corporations, and the declining economic and political power of workers, allows corporations to gain at the expense of ordinary people, consumers and particularly workers,” they write. Meanwhile, those at the top of corporations have seen their wealth soar.
“Among America’s 350 largest firms, average CEO earnings in 2018 was $17.2 million, 278 times average earnings.” In the 1960s, the difference in compensation “was only 20 to 1,” and nearly a third of workers had a union job. Today, union density hovers at around just 10 percent. Union halls were once the “center of social life,” according to Case and Deaton, but work life today is more lonely and atomized, and low-wage work, with few benefits, feels impersonal and unfulfilling. Low-wage work has also led to the stagnation of real wages and purchasing power for the working class, all while the cost of health care has skyrocketed, largely because of effective lobbying and government capture. The very structure of the financial system in this country, Case and Deaton argue, is largely responsible for the “deaths of despair” crisis they warned about in 2015.
It wasn’t long ago that a union job in a manufacturing town meant the ability to be the breadwinner. You could afford to buy a home and a car, raise a family, and even take that family on a vacation once a year—all without a college degree. A recent study compared counties that retained auto plants with those that lost auto plants and, in Durkheimian fashion, found that opioid overdose deaths increased 85 percent in the counties where plants had closed.
Of course, these conditions aren’t experienced only by middle-aged white people. But long protected by a governmental and societal safety net, the white working class is now, in Case and Deaton’s telling, in free fall: “Our main argument in this book is that the deaths of despair reflect a long-term and slowly unfolding loss of a way of life for the white, less-educated, working class.”
In a chapter titled “Black and White Deaths,” Case and Deaton seek parallels between present-day white despair and what they term “African-American despair,” which descended upon cities after 1970. “What happened to blacks and whites differs perhaps more in when than in what,” they write. When manufacturing jobs disappeared in Rust Belt cities, low-skilled black workers, already at a disadvantage as a result of discriminatory housing and lending policies, were hit hardest. What followed were twin epidemics—HIV/AIDS and crack cocaine—that devastated black communities and which the government did little to alleviate.
There are indeed eerie similarities between the deprivation experienced by white people today and the black despair from decades ago. But the latter’s never really ended. Despite the alarming death rates among white people of a certain age and class, mortality rates among black Americans are higher and their life expectancy remains lower. To this day, young black men account for more new HIV infections than any other group in the United States. African Americans also have more than twice the infant mortality rate as white Americans.
The over-quantification of Case and Deaton’s narrative ultimately hinders their analysis of race and the politics of health. Despair in African American communities, especially during the crack era, cannot be fully comprehended without factoring in policing and incarceration, which Case and Deaton spend little time discussing. While billions of dollars were being allocated for more health-oriented solutions to opioid deaths, the state doled out brute force and militant policing toward crack cocaine. Simultaneously, President Ronald Reagan slashed funding for public housing.
Case and Deaton appear much more comfortable identifying the deadly rot in America’s economy than they do in calling for its excision. Rather than ending corporate “plunder” for good, they call for “reducing” it; rather than ending rent-seeking, the accumulation of wealth without creating any new wealth, they call for “limiting” it. “We do not argue for higher taxes on the rich,” they write, because, curiously, they do not see inequality itself as “the fundamental problem,” even though earlier in their book they observe that despair, death, and inequality are all linked. Rather, they conclude, “the fundamental problem is unfairness.”
Their data illustrates every way life has only gotten harder for those without a bachelor’s degree. “A four-year degree has become the key marker of social status,” they write, “as if there were a requirement for non-graduates to wear a circular scarlet badge bearing the letters ‘BA’ crossed through by a diagonal red line.” Later, they sound more like a Pete Buttigieg campaign ad, writing that providing free college “would be extremely expensive and would distribute most of the benefits to those who need them least.” Would free public college, as in Bernie Sanders’s proposal, really do much to benefit millionaires and billionaires?
If free public college sounded expensive, providing the barest moral minimum in response to the current coronavirus pandemic will cost the government trillions of dollars. The conditions for despair to set in took decades to materialize. Now, in just two weeks, some 20 million Americans have filed for unemployment. The government’s gutted administrative state, its frail and antiquated safety net, and a for-profit health care system are proving to be utterly incapable of protecting our collective health and well-being.
The path out of despair favored by Case and Deaton—tweaking capitalism to be more fair—is in contention with the alarm bell they’re ringing. If the estimated 150,000 deaths this year from suicide, alcohol, and overdoses combined didn’t already make this clear, the threat of Covid-19 means that now is no time for half-measures.


thenation--2020-04-23--Here’s How the CARES Act Impacts Your Student Loans

Even before the pandemic , millions struggled to pay monthly student loan bills .
And in a rapidly deteriorating economy , the expectation that borrowers will continue making burdensome student loan payments is , to put it mildly , unrealistic .
Americans from every community are facing unemployment , food and housing insecurity , and unforeseen medical costs .
Student loan payments are frequently another crushing burden in an already impossible situation .
This story was produced for Student Nation , a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words .
For more @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Are you a student with a campus activism story ?
Send questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at samantha @ thenation.com .
The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation .
There is some good news : The CARES Act passed by Congress and signed into law includes some student debt relief .
Unfortunately , the relief applies to only some student loan borrowers .
Much more needs to be done .
First , a quick look at how the CARES Act works for federal student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ by Congress mandates a temporary suspension on federally held student loan payments and interest .
It also stops collection on defaulted federal student loans .
The suspension is automatic , meaning borrowers do not have to contact their servicer to request a stop on payments .
Those who can afford to do so can continue making payments during this automatic suspension , to more quickly pay down the principal .
But the CARES Act falls short of providing relief for all of America ’ s 46 million student loan borrowers .
Because of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ student loan system , millions of federal student loans held by borrowers are actually in the portfolios of commercial lenders and universities , not the Department of Education .
Borrowers with privately held Federal Family Education Loans and Perkins Loans that are not owned by the US Department of Education do not receive the payment suspension .
Many more people with private student loans from banks are also excluded from the emergency provisions as well .
Consumer advocates are well aware of the many obstacles that can prevent people from accessing the student @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Their efforts ensured that the coronavirus stimulus ’ s six-month payment and interest suspension period still qualifies as time spent in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program .
This federal program forgives the remaining loan balance for people who have worked over 10 years in critical public service jobs as firefighters , teachers , nurses , and many of the people currently on the front lines of this crisis .
When this program was rolled out in the fall of 2017 , thousands of borrowers saw their applications denied because of myriad @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Congress is designed to not create additional roadblocks—but it didn ’ t do anything to remove existing problems , either .
The CARES Act includes relief for borrowers in default : the most distressed and underserved borrowers .
This legislation directs federal debt collection agencies to suspend the garnishment of wages , tax refunds , Social Security benefits , and other collection actions on federally held student loans .
If collections against you were being processed after March 13 , you may request a refund on that amount from your federal loan servicer @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in the right direction and will provide critical short-term , economic relief to millions of borrowers and their families .
But , let ’ s face it—this is far from enough .
While the student debt relief provided in this stimulus package is unprecedented , it fails to address the fact that the economic consequences of this health pandemic will far outlast a six-month period .
Advocates are echoing the calls from legislators in Congress and the Senate to pass broad debt cancellation to create long-term relief from the weight of student loans @ @ @ @ @ @ @ is emerging to continue advocating for those left out of the CARES act : More than 550,000 people signed the petition to cancel student debt altogether ; over 475,000 letters have been sent to legislators directly ; and record numbers are signing up for “ Tele-Townhalls ” to address the crisis and help borrowers navigate this bewildering time .
Millions of Americans are shouldering the burden of student debt .
We believe it will take millions of us to demand that it ends .
Want to get involved ?
Student Debt Crisis is @ @ @ @ @ @ @ grassroots movement : Sign this urgent petition !
In order to assist borrowers struggling to make their payments , the consumer advocates at Student Debt Crisis , along with Savi , a social impact tech startup , created a completely free tool for student loan borrowers affected by the COVID-19 crisis .
If you or someone you know has lost their job , had their hours reduced , and are worried about making their student loan payments for longer than the automatic six-month suspension , this new tool allows borrowers to quickly and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ or even eliminate payments for 12 months .
You can check out the tool online at https : //crisishelp.bysavi.com .

EDITOR’S NOTE: The Nation believes that helping readers stay informed about the impact of the coronavirus crisis is a form of public service. For that reason, this article, and all of our coronavirus coverage, is now free. Please subscribe to support our writers and staff, and stay healthy.
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Get The Nation’s Weekly Newsletter Fridays. The best of the week. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Fridays. The best of the week.
Thank you for signing up for The Nation’s weekly newsletter.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
Even before the pandemic, millions struggled to pay monthly student loan bills.
And in a rapidly deteriorating economy, the expectation that borrowers will continue making burdensome student loan payments is, to put it mildly, unrealistic. Americans from every community are facing unemployment, food and housing insecurity, and unforeseen medical costs. Student loan payments are frequently another crushing burden in an already impossible situation. This story was produced for Student Nation, a section devoted to highlighting campus activism and student movements from students in their own words. For more Student Nation, check out our archive. Are you a student with a campus activism story? Send questions and pitches to Samantha Schuyler at [email protected]. The Student Nation program is made possible through generous funding from The Puffin Foundation.
There is some good news: The CARES Act passed by Congress and signed into law includes some student debt relief. Unfortunately, the relief applies to only some student loan borrowers. Much more needs to be done.
First, a quick look at how the CARES Act works for federal student loan borrowers: The stimulus package passed by Congress mandates a temporary suspension on federally held student loan payments and interest. It also stops collection on defaulted federal student loans. The suspension is automatic, meaning borrowers do not have to contact their servicer to request a stop on payments. Those who can afford to do so can continue making payments during this automatic suspension, to more quickly pay down the principal.
But the CARES Act falls short of providing relief for all of America’s 46 million student loan borrowers. Because of the complexities of the government’s student loan system, millions of federal student loans held by borrowers are actually in the portfolios of commercial lenders and universities, not the Department of Education.
Borrowers with privately held Federal Family Education Loans and Perkins Loans that are not owned by the US Department of Education do not receive the payment suspension. Many more people with private student loans from banks are also excluded from the emergency provisions as well.
Consumer advocates are well aware of the many obstacles that can prevent people from accessing the student loan forgiveness offered to them by law. Their efforts ensured that the coronavirus stimulus’s six-month payment and interest suspension period still qualifies as time spent in the Public Service Loan Forgiveness program. This federal program forgives the remaining loan balance for people who have worked over 10 years in critical public service jobs as firefighters, teachers, nurses, and many of the people currently on the front lines of this crisis. Current Issue View our current issue
When this program was rolled out in the fall of 2017, thousands of borrowers saw their applications denied because of myriad obstacles. The emergency relief passed by Congress is designed to not create additional roadblocks—but it didn’t do anything to remove existing problems, either. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
The CARES Act includes relief for borrowers in default: the most distressed and underserved borrowers. This legislation directs federal debt collection agencies to suspend the garnishment of wages, tax refunds, Social Security benefits, and other collection actions on federally held student loans. If collections against you were being processed after March 13, you may request a refund on that amount from your federal loan servicer.
These changes are certainly a step in the right direction and will provide critical short-term, economic relief to millions of borrowers and their families.
But, let’s face it—this is far from enough. While the student debt relief provided in this stimulus package is unprecedented, it fails to address the fact that the economic consequences of this health pandemic will far outlast a six-month period. Advocates are echoing the calls from legislators in Congress and the Senate to pass broad debt cancellation to create long-term relief from the weight of student loans.
The good news is that support is emerging to continue advocating for those left out of the CARES act: More than 550,000 people signed the petition to cancel student debt altogether; over 475,000 letters have been sent to legislators directly; and record numbers are signing up for “Tele-Townhalls” to address the crisis and help borrowers navigate this bewildering time.
Millions of Americans are shouldering the burden of student debt. We believe it will take millions of us to demand that it ends.
Want to get involved?
Student Debt Crisis is calling on everyone to join a growing grassroots movement: Sign this urgent petition!
In order to assist borrowers struggling to make their payments, the consumer advocates at Student Debt Crisis, along with Savi, a social impact tech startup, created a completely free tool for student loan borrowers affected by the COVID-19 crisis.
If you or someone you know has lost their job, had their hours reduced, and are worried about making their student loan payments for longer than the automatic six-month suspension, this new tool allows borrowers to quickly and accurately apply for income-driven repayment—which can reduce or even eliminate payments for 12 months. You can check out the tool online at https://crisishelp.bysavi.com.


thenation--2020-04-23--Coronavirus at the Bottom of the Supply Chain

The coronavirus will likely strike the Global South more viciously than it is currently hitting the United States and other well-off nations .
The pandemic has the potential to devastate poorer nations with weak health care systems .
But the drop in demand from the richer nations is already harming the economies of countries in Africa , Latin America , and South Asia that depend on exports .
Science Will Not Come on a White Horse With a Solution Sara Nelson Says People Are Ready for Solidarity In Bangladesh , for example , the ready-made garment industry normally employs 4 @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in Europe and the United States .
Garments account for 84 percent of the nation ’ s $ 40 billion a year export sector .
The coronavirus has yet to land in full force , but the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic is causing desperation—and big clothing importers in the US and Europe like Gap and Walmart share the blame .
Kalpona Akter , 44 years old , is one of the most prominent union leaders in the country , and the executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity @ @ @ @ @ @ @ in 2013 , when I visited Dhaka to report on the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster , when a factory building collapsed , killing 1,129 workers .
Akter left school at age 12 to work in a garment factory , and was elected president of her local union at 15 .
She is courageous and revered by the young workers , 80 percent of whom are women .
James North : The press is is reporting that laid-off garment workers in Bangladesh are staging big demonstrations .
One report said 20,000 people @ @ @ @ @ @ @ happening ?
Kalpona Akter : The workers are marching because they didn ’ t get paid their wages for last month .
Once the coronavirus crisis hit , the international brands that import from Bangladesh canceled their orders , even for clothing that was already sewn .
So the local factory owners say that because they haven ’ t gotten paid , they can ’ t pay their workers .
During the month , our workers get their groceries from the stores , and they pay the stores back at the end of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent of our workers have not been paid yet .
They also owe on their leases where they rent .
JN : Bangladesh is supposed to be under a lockdown .
Aren ’ t the garment workers risking their health by demonstrating together in the streets ?
KA : Absolutely .
But they know they may die anyway if they don ’ t get paid .
JN : During my visit to Bangladesh , I remember meeting garment workers who were living in crowded quarters .
How can people stay quarantined under such @ @ @ @ @ @ @ America are calling social distancing ?
KA : It is very crowded .
One room will have three to four people living there .
Twenty families will share four cooking burners , two toilets , and one or two showers .
Running water is also a problem .
In some places you have to take your buckets to shared water faucets only between certain hours .
JN : But despite these risks , you in the union movement still called for the garment factories to close ?
KA : Absolutely , that was @ @ @ @ @ @ @ factories , workers sit at sewing machines with just a one-foot gap between them .
Thousands of people are working together in the same building .
You could have a situation where two workers infect an entire factory of 5,000 .
And Bangladesh has a shortage of medical facilities , which makes our country one of the most vulnerable .
We have a broken health system .
It would be a nightmare for workers to try and get access to health care or a hospital .
So that ’ s why we called @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
JN : Please explain how the big importing brands acted once the crisis started .
KA : At first , all of the brands canceled their orders .
This was not just a few million dollars , but nearly $ 3 billion .
None of the brands did the right thing .
But then we in the union movement started to name and shame them globally .
So some of them did say they would at least pay for the clothing that our workers had already finished .
The Worker Rights Consortium @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the United States ] does have a website where you can check to see which brands have agreed to pay for orders that are complete or were already in production , and which are not .
[ As of April 20 , H & M , Target , and PVH , ( which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger ) were paying .
Gap , JCPenney , Walmart .
and Urban Outfitters were not . ]
JN : You also warned publicly that you will carry out a global campaign against the big @ @ @ @ @ @ @ KA : Yes .
We may start working with the Avaaz campaign [ an online activist network ] to pursue the other brands to do the right thing .
JN : When I visited you back in 2013 , the union movement in Bangladesh had started to make significant progress .
What has happened since then ?
KA : The owners fought back , and our workers are still struggling to organize .
There were two big crackdowns , in 2016 and 2018 .
Thousands of workers lost their jobs , including trained @ @ @ @ @ @ @ blacklisted .
JN : What about workplace safety ?
I know that pressure from both Bangladeshi unionists and international solidarity did bring about improvements after the Rana Plaza disaster .
KA : I am very worried .
The Bangladesh Accord ends on June 1 this year .
[ The Accord was an agreement among some brands and labor unions that has led to 30,000 safety inspections in 1,000 factories , and fixed 90 percent of the violations found . ]
Once the Accord expires , I am worried about safety .
JN : @ @ @ @ @ @ @ question I asked you back in 2013 .
People here in America who learn about how the global brands and local owners mistreat Bangladeshi workers may decide that they should stop buying anything with the “ Made in Bangladesh ” label .
What do you say to them ?
KA : I have a very strong message to such people : No boycott .
Not buying our clothing is not the solution .
That will mean we won ’ t have jobs .
We need these 4 million jobs .
But we also @ @ @ @ @ @ @ , to pay enough to ensure the workers get a living wage , to make sure the factories are safer for the workers , and to give workers a chance to raise their voices and practice their union rights .
We need jobs , but we want them with dignity .

The coronavirus will likely strike the Global South more viciously than it is currently hitting the United States and other well-off nations. The pandemic has the potential to devastate poorer nations with weak health care systems. But the drop in demand from the richer nations is already harming the economies of countries in Africa, Latin America, and South Asia that depend on exports. The Q&A Science Will Not Come on a White Horse With a Solution Nawal Arjini ‘Horror Story After Horror Story’: A Frontline Nurse Discusses the Crisis Sarah Jaffe Sara Nelson Says People Are Ready for Solidarity Sarah Jaffe
In Bangladesh, for example, the ready-made garment industry normally employs 4 million people to produce clothing for brands in Europe and the United States. Garments account for 84 percent of the nation’s $40 billion a year export sector. The coronavirus has yet to land in full force, but the global economic crisis caused by the pandemic is causing desperation—and big clothing importers in the US and Europe like Gap and Walmart share the blame.
Kalpona Akter, 44 years old, is one of the most prominent union leaders in the country, and the executive director of the Bangladesh Center for Worker Solidarity. I got to know her back in 2013, when I visited Dhaka to report on the aftermath of the Rana Plaza disaster, when a factory building collapsed, killing 1,129 workers. Akter left school at age 12 to work in a garment factory, and was elected president of her local union at 15. She is courageous and revered by the young workers, 80 percent of whom are women.
—James North
James North: The press is is reporting that laid-off garment workers in Bangladesh are staging big demonstrations. One report said 20,000 people marched on April 12. What is happening?
Kalpona Akter: The workers are marching because they didn’t get paid their wages for last month. Once the coronavirus crisis hit, the international brands that import from Bangladesh canceled their orders, even for clothing that was already sewn. So the local factory owners say that because they haven’t gotten paid, they can’t pay their workers. During the month, our workers get their groceries from the stores, and they pay the stores back at the end of the month. But somewhere around 70 percent of our workers have not been paid yet. They also owe on their leases where they rent. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
JN: Bangladesh is supposed to be under a lockdown. Aren’t the garment workers risking their health by demonstrating together in the streets? Current Issue View our current issue
KA: Absolutely. But they know they may die anyway if they don’t get paid.
JN: During my visit to Bangladesh, I remember meeting garment workers who were living in crowded quarters. How can people stay quarantined under such conditions, maintaining what we here in America are calling social distancing?
KA: It is very crowded. One room will have three to four people living there. Twenty families will share four cooking burners, two toilets, and one or two showers. Running water is also a problem. In some places you have to take your buckets to shared water faucets only between certain hours.
JN: But despite these risks, you in the union movement still called for the garment factories to close?
KA: Absolutely, that was a top priority demand. In the factories, workers sit at sewing machines with just a one-foot gap between them. Thousands of people are working together in the same building. You could have a situation where two workers infect an entire factory of 5,000. And Bangladesh has a shortage of medical facilities, which makes our country one of the most vulnerable. We have a broken health system. It would be a nightmare for workers to try and get access to health care or a hospital. So that’s why we called for the factories to be locked down.
JN: Please explain how the big importing brands acted once the crisis started.
KA: At first, all of the brands canceled their orders. This was not just a few million dollars, but nearly $3 billion. None of the brands did the right thing. But then we in the union movement started to name and shame them globally. So some of them did say they would at least pay for the clothing that our workers had already finished.
The Worker Rights Consortium [a solidarity organization, based in the United States] does have a website where you can check to see which brands have agreed to pay for orders that are complete or were already in production, and which are not. [As of April 20, H&M, Target, and PVH, (which owns Calvin Klein and Tommy Hilfiger) were paying. Gap, JCPenney, Walmart. and Urban Outfitters were not.] Related Article Bangladeshi Garment Workers Fight Back James North
JN: You also warned publicly that you will carry out a global campaign against the big importers that continue refusing to pay.
KA: Yes. We may start working with the Avaaz campaign [an online activist network] to pursue the other brands to do the right thing.
JN: When I visited you back in 2013, the union movement in Bangladesh had started to make significant progress. What has happened since then?
KA: The owners fought back, and our workers are still struggling to organize. There were two big crackdowns, in 2016 and 2018. Thousands of workers lost their jobs, including trained union leaders; they got fired and blacklisted.
JN: What about workplace safety? I know that pressure from both Bangladeshi unionists and international solidarity did bring about improvements after the Rana Plaza disaster.
KA: I am very worried. The Bangladesh Accord ends on June 1 this year. [The Accord was an agreement among some brands and labor unions that has led to 30,000 safety inspections in 1,000 factories, and fixed 90 percent of the violations found.] Once the Accord expires, I am worried about safety.
JN: Finally, here’s the same question I asked you back in 2013. People here in America who learn about how the global brands and local owners mistreat Bangladeshi workers may decide that they should stop buying anything with the “Made in Bangladesh” label. What do you say to them?
KA: I have a very strong message to such people: No boycott. Not buying our clothing is not the solution. That will mean we won’t have jobs. We need these 4 million jobs. But we also need the big brands to be accountable, to pay enough to ensure the workers get a living wage, to make sure the factories are safer for the workers, and to give workers a chance to raise their voices and practice their union rights. We need jobs, but we want them with dignity.


Bigger Than Bernie

Bernie Sanders ’ s abrupt suspension of his presidential campaign and rapid endorsement of Joe Biden stunned his most ardent supporters .
The Twitterverse teemed with expressions of grief and anger .
Some , like his campaign press secretary , Briahna Joy Gray , angrily tweeted that they don ’ t endorse Biden ; others that they would just not be involved .
Sanders reacted harshly , denouncing as “ irresponsible ” those who say they would “ choose to sit it out and allow the most dangerous president in modern American history to get reelected.
” The unfortunate exchange @ @ @ @ @ @ @ embracing Biden and dropping out .
But that ignores the opportunity that derives from what Sanders ’ s campaign has built—and the imperatives of the mission that Sanders himself laid out .
In announcing its suspension , Bernie Sanders proudly recounted his campaign ’ s major accomplishments .
It won the debate on ideas , broke the monopoly of big money on our politics , and mobilized an unprecedented network of volunteers .
It captured the future , winning the vast majority of votes from those 30 and under and the plurality of @ @ @ @ @ @ @ among Latinx voters , America ’ s largest minority .
“ We have never been just a campaign , ’ ’ Sanders concluded , “ We are a grass-roots , multiracial multigenerational movement.… While this campaign is coming to an end , our movement is not.
” Let Us Now Praise Bernie Sanders Biden ’ s Not the One How should that movement continue to build in the face of a savage pandemic , a deepening economic depression , and the threat posed by Trump and his race-based right-wing populism , with Joe @ @ @ @ @ @ @ race ?
Trump must be defeated for any progress to be made , but folding Sanders into the Biden campaign as a surrogate isn ’ t likely to be credible .
What ’ s needed now is to sustain an independent campaign , making the case for bold reform , running not only through the Democratic convention , if there is one , but through the election and beyond .
Sanders would be wise not simply to serve as a figurehead for the effort but to use it to help elevate the next @ @ @ @ @ @ @ struggle .
The Biden campaign and the Democratic establishment understandably seek a unified party against Trump .
Sanders ’ s early suspension and endorsement have transformed him from “ selfish ” villain to “ selfless ” hero .
“ An American original , ” former president Obama intoned , “ who has devoted his life to giving voice to working people ’ s hopes , dreams , and frustrations.
” Biden needs the support of Sanders ’ s loyal supporters , particularly the multiracial following he inspired among the young .
He has @ @ @ @ @ @ @ him almost as if he were the leader of an independent party entering into an electoral alliance .
Biden called for Sanders to help not only in the campaign but also in governing , pledging to create , “ with your help , Bernie , ” “ one of the most progressive administrations since Roosevelt.
” He embraced parts of the Sanders agenda—tuition-free public college , student debt forgiveness ( for those earning less than $ 125,000 ) , extending Medicare coverage to those 60 and over , and the $ 15 minimum @ @ @ @ @ @ @ formation of six joint task forces on major domestic issues—the economy , education , immigration , climate change , and criminal justice—that would seek , in Sanders ’ s words , “ to work out real solutions to these very , very important problems.
” Biden ’ s foreign policy advisers reached out to Sanders ’ s advisers .
Negotiations are beginning about the convention , the party platform , party rules , and staffing .
And progressives began lobbying for Biden to pick a progressive vice president .
Given the threat posed @ @ @ @ @ @ @ personal friendship with Biden , Democratic operatives express confidence that unification may go smoothly .
Sanders will give a major address endorsing Biden at the convention , such as it will be , and will stump for him as a loyal surrogate in the general election .
There ’ s just one problem : This isn ’ t likely to work—if “ work ” is defined as inspiring Sanders supporters to mobilize in large numbers for Biden in November .
The Sanders movement has been built around his ideas .
These bold reforms @ @ @ @ @ @ @ even more compelling in the current crisis , with 22 million and counting losing their jobs—and their health insurance , if they had any .
Sanders and progressives will push hard to get Biden to adopt a far bolder platform .
But Biden ’ s basic electoral strategy—to run as an experienced centrist who can bring a steady hand to the White House—will limit how far he ’ s prepared to go .
It ’ s not an accident that his grandest gesture to date—lowering Medicare eligibility to age 60—was seen , as @ @ @ @ @ @ @ “ something of an insult , ” given that Hillary was considering lowering it to 50 four years ago .
What Progressives Could Teach Joe Biden About Foreign Policy An Open Letter to the New New Left From the Old New Left Former leaders of the Students for a Democratic Society More in this series At age 77 , after decades in politics , Biden isn ’ t going to change his spots .
A mainstream Democratic pol who made the wrong call on major issues—from mass incarceration to deregulating Wall Street to @ @ @ @ @ @ @ Iraq—Biden was unimpressive on the stump and in debates .
Cobbling together an anemic campaign short on money and top-heavy with aging Democratic operatives—and with little presence on the ground—Biden had the poorest outreach to progressives of any candidate .
Name recognition and his association with Obama gave him an early lead in polls , and he eventually came back from the dead not on the basis of his agenda but because of perceived electability and the loyalty of older African American voters .
He now seems intent on running on competence , @ @ @ @ @ @ @ attack on Trump ’ s personal duplicity , corruption , and incompetence , like Hillary Clinton .
Like Clinton in 2016 , he seeks to make the election more a referendum on Trump , rather than a debate about fundamental change , yet somehow he expects a different result .
There ’ s little that Sanders can say and do to alter that reality .
Younger voters aren ’ t likely to vote for Trump .
The bigger worry is that many will simply be turned off by electoral politics and not vote @ @ @ @ @ @ @ easily into the role of surrogate .
As The New Yorker put it in a headline , Sanders may have lost the nomination , but “ reality endorsed Sanders.
” While Biden chose to be virtually invisible during the first weeks of the pandemic lockdown , Sanders rolled out the “ boldest piece of legislation ever written in modern history ” and unleashed a flood of policy proposals , virtual roundtables , and livestreamed events with leaders like Pramila Jayapal , Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez , and other members of the “ Squad.
” It @ @ @ @ @ @ @ his call for change to adhere to Biden ’ s strategy .
“ In any other country , Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party , but in America , we are , ” AOC said in a January article in New York magazine .
Now , she argues , we have to unite to defeat Trump , but we can ’ t ignore our differences .
The sensible alternative is for Sanders and his allies to organize and act as if they really were a party , building @ @ @ @ @ @ @ progressive agenda and engaging young people to join an ever-stronger movement for fundamental change .
In the short term , Sanders could help enlist his supporters into the vital debate to meet the pandemic crisis at scale .
They could be far more aggressive than Biden is likely to be , for example , supporting the worker strikes and protests that are spreading across the country as workers demand workplace safety , sick leave , and decent wages in the midst of the crisis .
In the general election , progressive leaders and @ @ @ @ @ @ @ campaign can continue to press his bold reform agenda and support insurgents up and down the ballot , while making the sensible case that beating Trump is a necessary first step toward those ends .
Certainly , that ’ s what his core supporters want .
When Our Revolution , the outside group created out of the Sanders 2016 campaign , polled its members , 25,000 answered within 24 hours that they wanted the campaign to continue to contest primaries and gather delegates to get over the 15 percent threshold to guarantee representation @ @ @ @ @ @ @ percent reaffirmed the commitment to continue to reform the Democratic Party .
After the convention , Sanders could restructure a pared-down campaign into an independent political operation .
He could continue to stump for his full reform agenda , while arguing , credibly , that the first step must be to defeat Donald Trump .
“ This is not an either-or proposition , ” Nina Turner , leading Sanders ally , noted .
“ We need to beat Trump , and we need to build power .
We can do both at once.
@ @ @ @ @ @ @ of the Sanders campaign , is a likely bridge between the Sanders movement and the Biden campaign .
He ’ s more optimistic about the commitments that can be won from Biden ; yet he too embraces the need for an independent movement that carries a far broader agenda through the campaign , uniting around the need to defeat Trump .
Sanders hasn ’ t been clear about his plans , but he may well be headed in this direction .
Asked about his base of 2 million small donors , he reported @ @ @ @ @ @ @ fundraising for Biden and that he planned to seek donations to “ elect progressive members of the Congress…and lower-ballot candidates…who are running progressive campaigns.
” He ’ s already committed to using his unparalleled social media presence to press for major reforms in response to the pandemic and the economic collapse : “ We ’ re going to use our livestreaming capabilities to bring people together , to organize , to educate.
” He will not muffle that voice to fit the demands of the Biden campaign .
The form such an independent @ @ @ @ @ @ @ .
Sanders ’ s presidential campaign will be effectively dismantled by May 1 .
The volunteer networks that engaged over half a million people are already drifting away .
Major social movement groups who supported Sanders and Warren could fill the vacuum .
Already core groups—Our Revolution , People ’ s Action , Center for Public Democracy , Working Families Party , and United We Dream—are discussing coordinating their electoral efforts in the coming months .
With the Sanders fundraising capacity , an independent PAC might be created that could raise significant funds @ @ @ @ @ @ @ the core groups to help coordinate and target volunteer efforts in critical battleground states .
If the pandemic subsides , they could help Sanders structure massive rallies , particularly aimed at young people , that highlight the new generation of leaders—like AOC and the Squad , Pramila Jayapal , Ro Khanna , and others .
Although independent expenditure campaigns are now routine , such an effort is likely to draw flak from the Biden campaign for allegedly distracting from Biden ’ s message , adding fuel to Trump ’ s jibes about “ @ @ @ @ @ @ @ and interfering with Biden ’ s efforts to win the suburbs and disaffected independents and Republicans .
The criticism , however , would only add to the credibility of the movement as an independent force .
And that very credibility would make it a far more potent ally in the effort to defeat Trump than would reducing Sanders to a surrogate for a candidate whose agenda and instincts are too timid for the time .
Sanders has played a historic role in ushering a young generation into electoral politics .
If the historic @ @ @ @ @ @ @ validated by reality—is to be achieved , that independent movement must continue to grow .
Trump must be defeated , but it would be truly “ irresponsible ” to abandon the historic project of building a majority for fundamental change in this country .

Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Get The Nation’s Weekly Newsletter Fridays. The best of the week. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here. Fridays. The best of the week.
Thank you for signing up for The Nation’s weekly newsletter.
Repro Nation A monthly newsletter on the global fight for reproductive freedom. Email By signing up, you confirm that you are over the age of 16 and agree to receive occasional promotional offers for programs that support The Nation’s journalism. You can read our Privacy Policy here.
Thank you for signing up. For more from The Nation, check out our latest issue
Subscribe to The Nation Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month! Subscribe now for as little as $2 a month!
Support Progressive Journalism The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter. The Nation is reader supported: Chip in $10 or more to help us continue to write about the issues that matter.
Sign up for our Wine Club today. Did you know you can support The Nation by drinking wine?
Bernie Sanders’s abrupt suspension of his presidential campaign and rapid endorsement of Joe Biden stunned his most ardent supporters. The Twitterverse teemed with expressions of grief and anger. Some, like his campaign press secretary, Briahna Joy Gray, angrily tweeted that they don’t endorse Biden; others that they would just not be involved. Sanders reacted harshly, denouncing as “irresponsible” those who say they would “choose to sit it out and allow the most dangerous president in modern American history to get reelected.”
The unfortunate exchange implies that activists have to choose between embracing Biden and dropping out. But that ignores the opportunity that derives from what Sanders’s campaign has built—and the imperatives of the mission that Sanders himself laid out.
In announcing its suspension, Bernie Sanders proudly recounted his campaign’s major accomplishments. It won the debate on ideas, broke the monopoly of big money on our politics, and mobilized an unprecedented network of volunteers. It captured the future, winning the vast majority of votes from those 30 and under and the plurality of those under 45 while drawing enormous support among Latinx voters, America’s largest minority.
“We have never been just a campaign,’’ Sanders concluded, “We are a grass-roots, multiracial multigenerational movement.… While this campaign is coming to an end, our movement is not.” More From Robert L. Borosage Jesse Jackson Is Keeping Hope Alive July 13, 2023 The Left Should Support Ending Violence in Ukraine April 27, 2023 Biden, Go Bold in the State of the Union February 6, 2023
How should that movement continue to build in the face of a savage pandemic, a deepening economic depression, and the threat posed by Trump and his race-based right-wing populism, with Joe Biden the Democratic torchbearer in the presidential race?
Trump must be defeated for any progress to be made, but folding Sanders into the Biden campaign as a surrogate isn’t likely to be credible. What’s needed now is to sustain an independent campaign, making the case for bold reform, running not only through the Democratic convention, if there is one, but through the election and beyond. Sanders would be wise not simply to serve as a figurehead for the effort but to use it to help elevate the next generation of leaders to carry on the struggle.
The Unity Shuffle
The Biden campaign and the Democratic establishment understandably seek a unified party against Trump. Sanders’s early suspension and endorsement have transformed him from “selfish” villain to “selfless” hero. “An American original,” former president Obama intoned, “who has devoted his life to giving voice to working people’s hopes, dreams, and frustrations.”
Biden needs the support of Sanders’s loyal supporters, particularly the multiracial following he inspired among the young. He has paid Sanders the respect of dealing with him almost as if he were the leader of an independent party entering into an electoral alliance. Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann Popular "swipe left below to view more authors"Swipe → The Evisceration of a Public University The Evisceration of a Public University Lisa M. Corrigan The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks The Patronizing Moralism of David Brooks Chris Lehmann “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash “The Blind Side” Was Always Trash Dave Zirin How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection How the “Brooks Brothers Riot” Set the Stage for Insurrection Chris Lehmann
Biden called for Sanders to help not only in the campaign but also in governing, pledging to create, “with your help, Bernie,” “one of the most progressive administrations since Roosevelt.”
He embraced parts of the Sanders agenda—tuition-free public college, student debt forgiveness (for those earning less than $125,000), extending Medicare coverage to those 60 and over, and the $15 minimum wage.
Sanders and Biden announced the formation of six joint task forces on major domestic issues—the economy, education, immigration, climate change, and criminal justice—that would seek, in Sanders’s words, “to work out real solutions to these very, very important problems.” Biden’s foreign policy advisers reached out to Sanders’s advisers. Negotiations are beginning about the convention, the party platform, party rules, and staffing. And progressives began lobbying for Biden to pick a progressive vice president.
Given the threat posed by Trump, and Sanders’s personal friendship with Biden, Democratic operatives express confidence that unification may go smoothly. Sanders will give a major address endorsing Biden at the convention, such as it will be, and will stump for him as a loyal surrogate in the general election.
Not Buying Biden
There’s just one problem: This isn’t likely to work—if “work” is defined as inspiring Sanders supporters to mobilize in large numbers for Biden in November. The Sanders movement has been built around his ideas. These bold reforms, like Medicare for All, are even more compelling in the current crisis, with 22 million and counting losing their jobs—and their health insurance, if they had any.
Sanders and progressives will push hard to get Biden to adopt a far bolder platform. But Biden’s basic electoral strategy—to run as an experienced centrist who can bring a steady hand to the White House—will limit how far he’s prepared to go. It’s not an accident that his grandest gesture to date—lowering Medicare eligibility to age 60—was seen, as Representative Alexandra Ocasio Cortez noted, as “something of an insult,” given that Hillary was considering lowering it to 50 four years ago. Sanders 2020 Cornel West: The Christian Socialist Running for President Wen Stephenson Gus Newport Showed Bernie Sanders How to Be a Socialist Mayor in the Age of Reagan John Nichols What Can Happen When Young Socialist Elected Officials Gather for a Weekend of Lessons and Solidarity? Branko Marcetic
At age 77, after decades in politics, Biden isn’t going to change his spots.
A mainstream Democratic pol who made the wrong call on major issues—from mass incarceration to deregulating Wall Street to corporate trade deals to the war in Iraq—Biden was unimpressive on the stump and in debates. Cobbling together an anemic campaign short on money and top-heavy with aging Democratic operatives—and with little presence on the ground—Biden had the poorest outreach to progressives of any candidate. Name recognition and his association with Obama gave him an early lead in polls, and he eventually came back from the dead not on the basis of his agenda but because of perceived electability and the loyalty of older African American voters.
He now seems intent on running on competence, like Mike Dukakis, while focusing his attack on Trump’s personal duplicity, corruption, and incompetence, like Hillary Clinton. Like Clinton in 2016, he seeks to make the election more a referendum on Trump, rather than a debate about fundamental change, yet somehow he expects a different result.
There’s little that Sanders can say and do to alter that reality. Younger voters aren’t likely to vote for Trump. The bigger worry is that many will simply be turned off by electoral politics and not vote at all.
Nor will Sanders fit easily into the role of surrogate. As The New Yorker put it in a headline, Sanders may have lost the nomination, but “reality endorsed Sanders.” While Biden chose to be virtually invisible during the first weeks of the pandemic lockdown, Sanders rolled out the “boldest piece of legislation ever written in modern history” and unleashed a flood of policy proposals, virtual roundtables, and livestreamed events with leaders like Pramila Jayapal, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, and other members of the “Squad.” It is simply inconceivable that Sanders would mute his call for change to adhere to Biden’s strategy.
The Struggle Continues
“In any other country, Joe Biden and I would not be in the same party, but in America, we are,” AOC said in a January article in New York magazine. Now, she argues, we have to unite to defeat Trump, but we can’t ignore our differences.
The sensible alternative is for Sanders and his allies to organize and act as if they really were a party, building a permanent independent campaign around a bold progressive agenda and engaging young people to join an ever-stronger movement for fundamental change. In the short term, Sanders could help enlist his supporters into the vital debate to meet the pandemic crisis at scale. They could be far more aggressive than Biden is likely to be, for example, supporting the worker strikes and protests that are spreading across the country as workers demand workplace safety, sick leave, and decent wages in the midst of the crisis. In the general election, progressive leaders and groups that supported the Sanders’s campaign can continue to press his bold reform agenda and support insurgents up and down the ballot, while making the sensible case that beating Trump is a necessary first step toward those ends.
Certainly, that’s what his core supporters want. When Our Revolution, the outside group created out of the Sanders 2016 campaign, polled its members, 25,000 answered within 24 hours that they wanted the campaign to continue to contest primaries and gather delegates to get over the 15 percent threshold to guarantee representation on platform and rules committees. Ninety-seven percent reaffirmed the commitment to continue to reform the Democratic Party.
After the convention, Sanders could restructure a pared-down campaign into an independent political operation. He could continue to stump for his full reform agenda, while arguing, credibly, that the first step must be to defeat Donald Trump. “This is not an either-or proposition,” Nina Turner, leading Sanders ally, noted. “We need to beat Trump, and we need to build power. We can do both at once.” Representative Ro Khanna, a cochair of the Sanders campaign, is a likely bridge between the Sanders movement and the Biden campaign. He’s more optimistic about the commitments that can be won from Biden; yet he too embraces the need for an independent movement that carries a far broader agenda through the campaign, uniting around the need to defeat Trump.
Sanders hasn’t been clear about his plans, but he may well be headed in this direction. Asked about his base of 2 million small donors, he reported that there have been no discussions about fundraising for Biden and that he planned to seek donations to “elect progressive members of the Congress…and lower-ballot candidates…who are running progressive campaigns.” Current Issue View our current issue
He’s already committed to using his unparalleled social media presence to press for major reforms in response to the pandemic and the economic collapse: “We’re going to use our livestreaming capabilities to bring people together, to organize, to educate.” He will not muffle that voice to fit the demands of the Biden campaign.
The form such an independent campaign could take isn’t clear. Sanders’s presidential campaign will be effectively dismantled by May 1. The volunteer networks that engaged over half a million people are already drifting away.
Major social movement groups who supported Sanders and Warren could fill the vacuum. Already core groups—Our Revolution, People’s Action, Center for Public Democracy, Working Families Party, and United We Dream—are discussing coordinating their electoral efforts in the coming months. With the Sanders fundraising capacity, an independent PAC might be created that could raise significant funds, supporting progressive candidates, and fueling the core groups to help coordinate and target volunteer efforts in critical battleground states. If the pandemic subsides, they could help Sanders structure massive rallies, particularly aimed at young people, that highlight the new generation of leaders—like AOC and the Squad, Pramila Jayapal, Ro Khanna, and others.
Although independent expenditure campaigns are now routine, such an effort is likely to draw flak from the Biden campaign for allegedly distracting from Biden’s message, adding fuel to Trump’s jibes about “socialism” taking over the Democratic Party and interfering with Biden’s efforts to win the suburbs and disaffected independents and Republicans.
The criticism, however, would only add to the credibility of the movement as an independent force. And that very credibility would make it a far more potent ally in the effort to defeat Trump than would reducing Sanders to a surrogate for a candidate whose agenda and instincts are too timid for the time.
Sanders has played a historic role in ushering a young generation into electoral politics. If the historic mission that Sanders set out—now so clearly validated by reality—is to be achieved, that independent movement must continue to grow. Trump must be defeated, but it would be truly “irresponsible” to abandon the historic project of building a majority for fundamental change in this country.