One thing you learn when you write about Bernie Sanders: He provokes strong feelings, among those who both love him and loathe him.
My recent story on the Democratic presidential candidate’s plan to remake the U.S. economy drew more than 6,000 comments, plus plenty of emails, tweets and Facebook posts. As usual, there were those who took issue with the messenger, rather than the message. “Stop with the fear mongering about Bernie Sanders’ plan,” one person wrote. “Give it a rest already!” urged another. (Click on the video above to see some other colorful feedback we got.)
But it was encouraging to see a lot of thoughtful debate over Sanders’ ideas, which include free college and healthcare for everybody and much higher taxes on the wealthy to pay for it. Many of Sanders’ supporters seem to realize his ideas are impractical, given that they’d likely meet terminal resistance in a Congress hostile to the idea of wealth distribution. But those people don’t necessarily care, since the political system isn’t getting much done, anyway. Better to attempt real reform than fake it, the Sanders sentiment seems to be.
Sanders has staying power in the Democratic primaries, so there will be more to talk about him and his ideas during upcoming months. Feel free to sound off on the Yahoo Finance Facebook page, or find me on Twitter at the handle below.
Rick Newman’s latest book is Liberty for All: A Manifesto for Reclaiming Financial and Political Freedom. Follow him on Twitter: @rickjnewman.