I will vote for Bernie Sanders on Feb. 11 because he is the strongest candidate on the climate crisis, health care and the military.
The climate crisis demands bold vision like Bernie’s Green New Deal. Bernie broke with the other leading candidates and opposed the latest trade deal (NAFTA 2.0) because, as almost every environmental group agrees, it will do nothing to stop the fossil fuel industry from continuing to hasten the destruction of our planet.
The leading cause of bankruptcy in the United States is medical debt. Bernie unequivocally supports a single-payer health care system because going to the doctor is a human right and our current system is costly, inefficient and immoral. As a member of the Hopkinton Budget Committee (my opinion in no way reflects that of the committee) I see my town struggle to support the increasing costs of our school and town budgets. The biggest drivers are wages and benefits, and if we got rid of this for-profit health care system the savings in premiums, deductibles and co-pays would be significant for all taxpayers.
Bernie was one of the leading voices opposing the invasion of Iraq and has always argued for diplomacy over costly military action. We have been at war for two decades, and while we always talk about the cost of programs that benefit the needy we ignore spending trillions of dollars to fight wars that have no defined path to victory and thus no end.
Please consider voting for Bernie.
JONATHAN COHEN
Contoocook