Building the New American Economy, by Jeffrey D. Sachs (foreword by Bernie Sanders)

JEFFREY D. SACHS

BUILDING THE NEW AMERICAN ECONOMY SMART, FAIR, & SUSTAINABLE

FOREWORD BY BERNIE SANDERS

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FOREWORD BERNIE SANDERS United States Senator from Vermont

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y campaign for President of the United States was never just about electing a president. It was about transforming America. As I traveled all across this great country of ours, I had the honor of meeting countless Americans who desperately want an economy that works for the middle class and working families, not just the billionaire class. They are sick and tired of working longer hours for lower wages, while multinational corporations ship millions of jobs overseas. They are fed up with an economy in which CEOs make 300 times more than they do, while 52 percent of all new income goes to the top one percent. They are tired of not being able to afford decent, quality childcare or a college education for their kids. They want policies that create jobs, raise wages, and protect the most vulnerable people in this country. And they want us to aggressively combat climate change to make our planet healthy and habitable for future generations.

What I heard and what I continue to hear is that Americans have had enough of establishment politicians and establishment economists who have claimed for far too long that

FOREWORD

we must choose between economic growth, economic fairness, and environmental sustainability. They have sold us a bill of goods that says we can’t have all three. Well, they are wrong.

To my mind, widely shared prosperity, economic fairness, and environmental sustainability must go hand in hand. An economy in which almost all of the wealth and income flows to the very top is simply not sustainable. Likewise, an economy based on destructive environmental policies will inevitably lead to catastrophe for rich and poor alike.

In this book, Columbia University Professor Jeffrey Sachs presents a clear explanation of how America can achieve all three critically important goals and create an economy that works for all of us. Jeffrey Sachs is one of the world’s leaders in the field of sustainable development, which takes a serious look at the economic, social, and environmental impacts of development policies. I am proud to say that he was also a strong supporter and close advisor to me during the presidential campaign and a key ally of our progressive revolution to transform America.

This book is particularly timely given the election of Donald Trump. The president-elect tapped into the anger of the declining middle class, but he left unchallenged much of the economic orthodoxy that led to the hemorrhaging of middleclass jobs in the first place. He promised economic prosperity, in large part, by providing trillions of dollars in tax breaks to the wealthy and large corporations, and by turning back efforts to curb the carbon emissions from fossil fuel that contribute to climate change. And instead of offering a plan to insure the 28 million Americans who still don’t have healthcare coverage, he pledged to repeal President Obama’s Affordable Care Act. That would throw 20 million Americans off of health insurance.

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Professor Sachs offers a very different vision for America on a wide range of issues, including the federal budget, infrastructure, jobs, health care, climate change, and foreign policy.

He explains where America can and should be by 2030, in terms of reducing poverty, addressing the scourge of suffocating student debt, expanding health care and lowering costs, protecting the environment, and many other issues. Now, more than ever, this is a message that needs to be heard.

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