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Inequality and Climate Change Top Bernie Sanders' Agenda

  • At Vermont's Lake Champlain, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders holds his

    At Vermont's Lake Champlain, Democratic presidential candidate Sen. Bernie Sanders holds his "hometown kickoff" campaign event in Burlington, Vermont, May 26, 2015. | Photo: Reuters

Published 26 May 2015
Opinion

Bernie Sanders condemned “grotesque” inequality and called for “political revolution” to address the country's key issues.

Presidential hopeful and Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders formally launched his bid for Democratic nomination in a run against Hillary Clinton in Vermont Tuesday with a speech declaring the beginning of “political revolution” aimed to transform the country.

Sanders highlighted climate change and income inequality as some of the greatest challenges facing the United States, problems he said are more serious than those faced by the country during the Great Depression.

RELATED: US Presidential Candidate Bernie Sanders Speaks: 10 Key Quotes

“There is something profoundly wrong when the top one-tenth of 1 percent owns almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent, and when 99 percent of all new income goes to the top 1 percent,” said Sanders.

“This grotesque level of inequality is immoral. It is bad economics. It is unsustainable,” Sanders continued.

Falling wealth and income inequality the great moral, economic, and political issue of the day, Sanders pledged to fight for working families and to reclaim the country from the super rich for millions of American people.

Sanders also emphasized the need for urgent action on climate change, which he described as the greatest challenge and responsibility facing the planet.

“The scientists are telling us that if we do not boldly transform our energy system away from fossil fuels and into energy efficiency and sustainable energies, this planet could be five to ten degrees Fahrenheit warmer by the end of this century,” said Sanders. “This is catastrophic.”

Sanders also pointed to high unemployment rates, corruption in corporate-backed politics, the federal minimum “starvation wage,” recklessness on Wall Street, health care, education, and U.S. militarism as key issues of his campaign and areas signaling need for reform.

While the primarily election is expected to be a hard battle for Sanders against Democratic Party front-runner Hillary Clinton, the self-described “democratic socialist” called for movement building and invited U.S. citizens to join him in “fighting back” against the political establishment.

“Now is the time for millions of working families to come together,” said Sanders, “to revitalize American democracy.”

RELATED: Hillary Clinton Kicks Off 2016 Presidential Campaign

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