Bernie Sanders Advocates for a $17 Federal Minimum Wage and Paid Leave

Call for a Living Minimum Wage

• 💰 Bernie Sanders argues for raising the federal minimum wage to at least $17 an hour, citing the struggles of families making as little as $11 an hour.
• 📌 He contrasts this with massive military spending, suggesting funds could be redirected to build 5 million units of low-income housing.
• ⚠️ The current minimum wage is described as "starvation wages," contributing to the rich getting richer while the middle class sees stagnant wages.

Need for Paid Family and Medical Leave

• 👨‍👩‍👧 Sanders highlights that the U.S. is one of the few industrialized nations without guaranteed paid family and medical leave.
• ⚖️ This forces parents to make impossible choices between caring for a sick child and risking their job.
• 🌍 He states the U.S. should not be the "last bloody country on earth" to implement this essential benefit.

Addressing Senior Poverty

• 👴 Millions of seniors are struggling with poverty, despite having built the economy and fought in wars.
• 🎖️ Sanders emphasizes that these individuals, our heroes, deserve to live their retirement years with dignity and respect.
• ❤️ A humane society, he asserts, does not turn its back on those who raised us and built the country.