Why Sanders is Doing so Well

Many wonder how a 74-year-old socialist candidate can be doing so well in our capitalist society.  The answer is simple.  Socialism rises out of discontent regarding the economy and jobs.  When people think that they are not getting a fair shake and the rich are getting richer while they keep getting poorer, socialism seems an attractive solution.  Even as flawed as that assumption is, after 7+ years of Obama, those aren't just perceptions...they're realities.

Currently, we have a record 47 million Americans in poverty; and that number rose again in the latest reporting.  Pre-recession the number was 10 million less, at about $37 million.

Then, there is this chart:

As this shows, the bottom 99% saw their incomes rise by less than 1% per year over the first five years of the Obama Administration. To put this into perspective, in 2006 and 2007, wages grew at an average of 4% per year. In the 1970's and 1980's, it was not uncommon for salaries to grow by 8% or 9% or more.

In addition to all of that, the middle class keeps shrinking.  Today, only 45.8% of Americans find themselves in that segment of the population.  Well below the normal target of 50% or more, and certainly below the 53% that were in the middle class in the 1960's.   In fact, the median household's income and buying power is where it was in 1996.  This is also why the greatest contributors to Sanders' campaign are the unemployed.  Nearly 29% of donations are coming from this class of worker.

Simply, the conditions are ripe for the false promises of socialism to take hold and Bernie is the beneficiary.  The American dream is dissolving before our eyes.  What worries me is that, if Hillary Clinton becomes President, we will have another 4 years of Obama's policies and a further decline in wages and the middle class.  Poverty and income inequality will likely continue to rise. If so, America is sure to become a socialist nation in the future.  Mark my words.

References:

Source of Chart: Obama's Economy in 7 Charts: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly: http://fortune.com/2016/01/12/obama-economy-charts/

Poverty in the United States, 2007: http://www.infoplease.com/ipa/A0104520.html

Record 46.7 Million Americans Live In Poverty: http://www.zerohedge.com/news/2015-09-16/record-467-million-americans-live-poverty-median-houshold-income-back-1989-levels

5 Charts That Show How the Middle Class Is Disappearing: http://billmoyers.com/2015/01/26/middle-class/

The Shrinking American Middle Class: http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2015/01/25/upshot/shrinking-middle-class.html?version=meter+at+1&module=meter-Links&pgtype=article&contentId=&mediaId=&referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&priority=true&action=click&contentCollection=meter-links-click

Our analysis of nearly 7 million donations offers unprecedented detail about the army that's funded his insurgent campaign: http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-na-pol-sanders-donors/