95 Bernie Sanders Quotes (About Healthcare, Wages, Inequality…)

Bernard Sanders is a notable American politician. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1990 and is the longest-serving Independent in congressional history.

Sanders has always been expressive and vocal about issues that are close to his heart including racism, racial equality, and healthcare among many others. Even when he was still a student, Sanders was already an active protest organizer for the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee and the Congress of Racial Equality during the civil rights movement.

His campaign was regarded for its supporters’ enthusiasm, as well as for his rejecting large donations from financial industries or any corporations. Sanders also emphasizes reversing economic inequality and supports labor rights. Aside from that, Sanders is also an advocate for paid parental leave, single-payer, and universal healthcare, as well as tuition-free tertiary education.

His book “Our Revolution: A Future To Believe In” was published in 2016 and made its way to the New York Times Bestseller List and have received tremendous feedback from readers.

Here are the top 95 Bernard Sanders quotes and sayings which have been amassed from his books, speeches, interviews, and various writings.

Bernie Sanders Quotes About Healthcare

1. “It has become clear that the function of private health insurance is to make as much money as possible. Every dollar not paid out in claims is another dollar made in profits for the company.”

2. “The goal of real healthcare reform must be high-quality, universal coverage in a cost-effective way.” 

The goal of real healthcare reform must be high-quality, universal coverage in a cost-effective way - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #health #care #universal #coverage #cost #effective

3. “Look, if you have somebody who doesn’t have health insurance, who doesn’t have a doctor or dentist, and in order to deal with their cold or flu or dental problem, they go to an emergency room – in general, that visit will cost ten times more than walking into a community health center.”

4. “People don’t trust private health insurance companies for all the right reasons.”

5. “A president and a party that can provide insurance for 31 million more Americans are far preferable to most voters than a party that only says, No.”

6. “Progressive activists are angry that a Medicare-for-all single-payer approach was totally ignored during the health care debate.”

7. “Low-income people, racial or ethnic minorities, pregnant women, seniors, people with special needs, people in rural areas – they all have a much harder time accessing a dentist than other groups of Americans.”

8. “If the goal of health-care reform is to provide comprehensive, universal health care in a cost-effective way, the only honest approach is a single-payer approach.”

9. “When we talk about the healthcare crisis in America we’ve got to also be talking about the dental crisis and how to address it.”

10. “These are the same people who believe, in some cases, the federal government should not play any role in providing health care to our people or protecting the environment.”

11. “As a single-payer advocate, I believe that at the end of the day, if a state goes forward and passed an effective single-payer program, it will demonstrate that you can provide quality health care to every man, woman, and child in a more cost-effective way.”

Bernie Sanders Quotes About Wages

1. “The minimum wage in Denmark is about twice that of the United States, and people who are totally out of the labor market or unable to care for themselves have a basic income guarantee of about $100 per day.”

2. “Every working family in America knows how hard it is today to find affordable childcare or early childhood education.”

3. “While Donald Trump believes in huge tax breaks for billionaires, he believes that states should actually have the right to lower the minimum wage below $7.25. What an outrage!”

4. “Hillary Clinton understands that if someone in America this country works 40 hours a week, that person should not be living in poverty. She understands that we must raise the minimum wage to a living wage.”

5. “There must be a major economic recovery package which puts Americans to work at decent wages.”

6. “The deficit crisis is real and must be addressed. But it cannot be solved on the backs of the weak and vulnerable.”

7. “At the current $5.15 an hour, the federal minimum wage has become a poverty wage. A full-time worker with one child lives below the official poverty line.”

8. “Let us wage a moral and political war against war itself so that we can cut military spending and use that money for human needs.” 

Let us wage a moral and political war against war itself so that we can cut military spending and use that money for human needs - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #wages #human #needs

Bernie Sanders Quotes About Inequality

1. “You’ve got the top 400 Americans owning more wealth than the bottom 150 million Americans. Most folks do not think that is right.”

2. “Let us wage a moral and political war against the billionaires and corporate leaders, on Wall Street and elsewhere, whose policies and greed are destroying the middle class of America.”

3. “Do the elected officials in Washington stand with ordinary Americans – working families, children, the elderly, the poor – or will the extraordinary power of billionaire campaign contributors and Big Money prevail? The American people, by the millions, must send Congress the answer to that question.”

4. “If you ask me about my views on the environment, on women’s rights, on gay rights, I am liberal. I don’t have a problem with that at all. Some of my best friends are liberal.”

5. “The Federal Reserve has the responsibility to protect the credit rights of consumers.” 

The Federal Reserve has the responsibility to protect the credit rights of consumers - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #inequality #federal #reserve #credit #rights #consumers

6. “There are very powerful and wealthy special interests who want to privatize or dismember virtually every function that government now performs, whether it is Social Security, Medicare, public education or the Postal Service.”

7. “The Fed has got to become a more democratic institution that is responsive to the needs of the middle class, not just Wall Street CEOs.”

Bernie Sanders Quotes About Leadership

1. “Finally, let us understand that when we stand together, we will always win. When men and women stand together for justice, we win. When black, white and Hispanic people stand together for justice, we win.”

2. “We should make a major financial commitment to improving our roads and bridges.”

3. “Difficult times often bring out the best in people.” 

Difficult times often bring out the best in people - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #leadership #difficult #times

4. “There are a lot of smart honest, progressive people who I think can be good presidents.”

5. “Yes, we become stronger when men and women, young and old, gay and straight, native-born and immigrant fight together to create the kind of country we all know we can become.”

Bernie Sanders Quotes About Wall Street

1. “After all, Wall Street is clearly the most powerful lobbying force on Capitol Hill. From 1998 through 2008, the financial sector spent over $5 billion in lobbying and campaign contributions to deregulate Wall Street.”

2. “Establishing a 0.03 percent Wall Street speculation fee, similar to what we had from 1914-1966, would dampen the dangerous level of speculation and gambling on Wall Street, encourage the financial sector to invest in the productive economy and reduce the deficit by more than $350 billion over 10 years.”

3. “The Occupy Wall Street protests are shining a national spotlight on the most powerful, dangerous and secretive economic and political force in America.”

4. “Wall Street is greedy, reckless and they operate illegally. That’s fine. But what do you do?”

5. “Why, over her political career has Wall Street been a major – the major campaign contributor to Hillary Clinton? You know, maybe they’re dumb and they don’t know what they’re going to get, but I don’t think so.”

6. “You want to know the way to raise money? Put a transaction fee on Wall Street, so maybe we can curb some of the speculations and raise some money.” 

You want to know the way to raise money? Put a transaction fee on Wall Street, so maybe we can curb some of the speculations and raise some money - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #wall #street #transaction #fee

7. “What Wall Street and credit card companies are doing is really not much different from what gangsters and loan sharks do who make predatory loans. While the bankers wear three-piece suits and don’t break the knee caps of those who can’t pay back, they still are destroying people’s lives.”

Bernie Sanders Quotes About Politics

1. “You know, I think many people have the mistaken impression that Congress regulates Wall Street. In truth that’s not the case. The real truth is that Wall Street regulates Congress.”

2. “I’m not a Democrat, I’m an Independent, but I caucus with the Democrats.”

3. “The U.S. Constitution is an extraordinary document. In my view, it should not be amended often.”

4. “Washington is dominated by big money.”

5. “At its worst, Washington is a place where name-calling partisan politics too often trumps policy.”

6. “Citizens in a democracy need diverse sources of news and information.” 

Citizens in a democracy need diverse sources of news and information - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #politics #diverse #sources #news #information

7. “Election days come and go. But the struggle of the people to create a government which represents all of us and not just the one percent – a government based on the principles of economic, social, racial and environmental justice – that struggle continues.”

Bernie Sanders, More Quotes & Sayings

1. “We need an energy revolution by breaking our dependence on fossil fuels, polluting fuels… I am very, very confident our small state will lead this. We will be noticed by the country and the world.”

2. “For every $1 billion we invest in public transportation, we create 30,000 jobs, save thousands of dollars a year for each commuter, and dramatically cut greenhouse gas emissions.”

3. “In my view, a corporation is not a person. A corporation does not have First Amendment rights to spend as much money as it wants, without disclosure, on a political campaign.”

4. “Hillary Clinton is listening to the scientists who tell us that – unless we act boldly and transform our energy system in the very near future – there will be more drought, more floods, more acidification of the oceans, more rising sea levels.”

5. “We all remember the BP oil disaster in the Gulf of Mexico, the worst oil spill in U.S. history. What is less well known is that BP is claiming a 9.9 billion tax deduction on the money they had to spend cleaning up their own mess and paying for damages they caused. That is absurd.”

6. “I see a future where getting to work or to school or to the store does not have to cause pollution.”

7. “Yes, we become stronger when black and whites, Latino, Asian American, Native American, when all of us stand together.”

8. “As a member of both the energy and environment committees, I am constantly astounded by how many of my colleagues prefer to focus on what the government can do for the nuclear or coal industries rather than why the government should support clean and sustainable energy.”

9. “It is time for Congress to save the Postal Service, not dismantle it.”

10. “I’m not always a smiley kind of guy.” 

I'm not always a smiley kind of guy - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #smiley

11. “I don’t consider myself a pariah.”

12. “The bottom line is that when Senator Inhofe says, ‘Global warming is a hoax,’ he is just dead wrong, according to the vast majority of climate scientists.”

13. “If we are serious about moving toward energy independence in a cost-effective way, we should invest in solar energy. If we are serious about cutting air and water pollution and reducing greenhouse gas emissions, we should invest in solar energy.”

14. “It is incomprehensible that drug companies still get away with charging Americans twice as much, or more, than citizens of Canada or Europe for the exact same drugs manufactured by the exact same companies.”

15. “Former Senator Al D’Amato in 1991 offered an amendment to cap credit card interest rates at 14 percent.”

16. “You know, let me be very clear. I supported Barack Obama originally.”

17. “Every day we are paying more for energy than we should due to poor insulation, inefficient lights, appliances, and heating and cooling equipment – money we could save by investing in energy efficiency.”

18. “Our job is to do two things – to defeat Donald Trump and to elect Hillary Clinton. It is easy to boo, but it is harder to look your kids in the face if we are living under a Trump presidency.”

19. “Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit.” 

Social Security has nothing to do with the deficit - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #social #security #deficit

20. “The Federal Reserve has a responsibility to ensure the safety and soundness of financial institutions and to contain systemic risks in financial markets.”

21. “Ford’s federal income tax rate was just 2.3 percent in 2009 even though it made $3 billion in profits.”

22. “In any democratic, civilized – even non-democratic nations, if you are a nation, it means to say that in our case, if there’s a hurricane in Louisiana, the people of Vermont are there for them. If there’s a tornado in the Midwest, we are there for them. If there’s flooding in the East Coast, the people in California are there for us.”

23. “Today the biggest problem in caring for those with AIDS is no longer mainly a medical or scientific problem. The crisis is access to affordable drugs.”

24. “The details of what the Fed did were kept secret until a provision in the Dodd-Frank Act that I sponsored required the Government Accountability Office to audit the Fed’s lending programs during the financial crisis.”

25. “For much of America, the all-American values depicted in Norman Rockwell’s classic illustrations are idealistic. For those of us from Vermont, they’re realistic. That’s what we do.”

26. “What the American people want to see in their president is somebody who not necessarily can win every fight, but they want to see him stand up and fight for what he believes, take his case to the American people.”

27. “I thought the Bush economic policy was a disaster. We lost 500,000 private sector jobs during his tenure.”

28. “It makes a lot more sense for us to be investing in jobs and education rather than jails and incarceration.” 

It makes a lot more sense for us to be investing in jobs and education rather than jails and incarceration - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #investing #jobs

29. “States used to protect consumers from predatory lenders, but strong state usury laws were obliterated by a 1978 U.S. Supreme Court decision.”

30. “Each and every year, the United States loses an estimated $100 billion a year in tax revenues due to offshore tax abuses by the wealthy and large corporations.”

31. “While commentators on Fox and right-wing radio have the backing of Rupert Murdoch, a major Republican contributor, and other conservative corporations, progressives understand that their position is extremely vulnerable.”

32. “Finland is no utopia.”

33. “In 1999, Hoffmann-LaRoche paid a $500 million criminal fine for leading a worldwide conspiracy to fix prices for certain vitamins.”

34. “The cost of college education today is so high that many young people are giving up their dream of going to college, while many others are graduating deeply in debt.”

35. “In 49 countries around the world, including all of Europe, people have the opportunity of knowing whether or not they are eating food which contains genetically engineered ingredients. In the United States, we don’t.”

36. “I come from a rural state. People drive 50, 100 miles to and from work every single day. That is true all over America.”

37. “Coal and oil lobbyists added fossil fuels to a bill aimed at helping American manufacturers, so they too could claim ‘manufacturing’ tax deductions.”

38. “Social Security is a promise that we cannot and must not break.” 

Social Security is a promise that we cannot and must not break - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #social #security #promise

39. “From the beginning, the HIV/AIDS pandemic has presented very difficult challenges.”

40. “If credit unions can grow and prosper with a 15 percent cap, so can banks.”

41. “One in four corporations doesn’t pay any taxes.”

42. “Before Social Security existed, about half of America’s senior citizens lived in poverty.”

43. “Capitalism does a number of things very well: it helps create an entrepreneurial spirit; it gets people motivated to come up with new ideas, and that’s a good thing.”

44. “For many, the American dream has become a nightmare.”

45. “Two-thirds of the directors at the New York Fed are hand-picked by the same bankers that the Fed is in charge of regulating.”

46. “Together, together, my friends, we have begun a political revolution to transform America, and that revolution, our revolution, continues!”

47. “If a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist.” 

If a financial institution is too big to fail, it is too big to exist - Bernie Sanders. #quotes #financial #institution #too #big #exist

48. “Not only must we fight to end disastrous unfettered free trade agreements with China, Mexico, and other low wage countries, we must fight to fundamentally rewrite our trade agreements so that American products, not jobs, are our number one export.”

49. “I have seven beautiful grandchildren, four of whom are girls.”

50. “For better or worse, when Sen. Inhofe speaks, the Republican Party follows. And when the Republican Party follows, it is impossible to get real work done in the Congress.”

If you’d like to learn more about the life and writings of Bernard Sanders, we would suggest you read his best-selling book, Our Revolution: A Future to Believe In.

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