 Unlike every other 2020 Democratic Party presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders acknowledges a reality that's probably really uncomfortable for other lawmakers to acknowledge. He acknowledges that class warfare is a real thing and it's not being waged by the poor, it's being waged on the poor. Now a reason why other lawmakers and presidential candidates probably don't want to acknowledge that there is a real class warfare going on is because a lot of them are from that ruling class, they are elites themselves, so they don't want to admit that it's the haves versus the have-nots because they're the haves and that makes them look bad and they want to cultivate legitimacy at every point they can, so they can't acknowledge this. But Bernie Sanders does and in a tweet from August, this is what he said about class warfare. If there's going to be class warfare in this country, it's about time the working class won that war. Now that is a very powerful statement and it tells me that Bernie Sanders, unlike every other politician, he knows the reality of the country, of the economy, he knows that we are being exploited for our labor. As we work harder and longer, elites are getting richer and we're getting poorer. So what's happening? What does class warfare actually look like? Well one component of class warfare can be measured by how much CEOs are paid relative to workers and as Daniel Moranz of HuffPost reports, CEO pay has exploded relative to the compensation received by ordinary workers in the past few decades. In 2018, the average CEO to median worker pay of a corporation in the S&P 500 index was 287 to 1 according to an AFL-CIO analysis of data collected by the federal government. Prior to the 1970s, the gap between executive pay and that of ordinary workers at their companies was dramatically narrower. CEO compensation including stock options at the biggest 350 firms grew 940% since 1978 even as typical worker pay climbed just 12% over the same period according to an analysis by the Economic Policy Institute. The EPI analysis, which looks at average rather than median worker compensation, found that the CEO to average worker pay ratio went from 20 to 1 in 1965 to 58 to 1 in 1989 to 278 to 1 in 2018. The Institute for Policy Studies, a left-leaning Washington think tank, released a report documenting high CEO pay on Monday as well. The report found that 50 publicly traded companies with the highest CEO to median worker pay gaps, the median worker would have to work 1,000 years to earn the CEO's pay. So make no mistake about it, this is exploitation. They are getting rich off of your labor and you are not seeing the fruits of your labor. Now if you subscribe to Trickle Down Economics then in theory, as the rich get richer, that wealth should trickle down. You should see, you know, an increase because a rising tide lifts all boats except that's not what's happening in practice. The rich are just getting massively rich and workers aren't doing much better. This is class warfare, it's one component of class warfare anyways and thankfully Bernie Sanders understands that. So a lot of politicians, they don't like to acknowledge the reality of class warfare because this just seems like something that is incredibly divisive. But to me, whenever I see someone say that class warfare is divisive, I just think that's a cop out. Because it's happening, it's real. We're not the ones who chose to wage this war. The poor didn't choose to engage in class warfare, the elites did. So what we have to do, recognizing our class collectively, is respond accordingly. We have to fight back. So what's Bernie Sanders' plan to help the poor have a better shot of winning this class war? Well in addition to his wealth tax that he proposed, it's not Elizabeth Warren's idea, it was initially his idea. Here's what he also wants to do. He wants to cap CEO pay. Senator Bernie Sanders released an income inequality tax plan on Monday that would increase taxes on big companies where CEO pay is more than 50 times higher than that of the median worker. Sanders, a fierce critic of income inequality who is seeking the Democratic presidential nomination, identifies the explosion in compensation for top corporate executives as a key factor depressing ordinary workers wages. At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, the American people are demanding that large profitable corporations pay their fair share of taxes, Sanders said in a statement accompanying the plan. It is time to send a message to corporate America. If you do not end your greed and corruption, we will end it for you. Sanders' proposal, which applies to publicly and privately held companies with annual revenue of 100 million or more, would increase companies corporate tax rate by 0.5 percentage points if their CEO received compensation worth between 50 and 100 times what the company's median employee earned. The higher a company's CEO to median worker pay ratio would go, the higher the surtax it would endure under Sanders' plan. The legislation would levy a one point tax hike on companies with CEO to median worker ratios between 100 to 1 and 200 to 1, a two point tax hike for those with ratios between 200 to 1 and 300 to 1, a three point tax hike for those with ratios between 300 to 1 and 400 to 1, a four point tax hike for those with ratios between 400 to 1 and 500 to 1, and a five point tax hike for those with ratios more than 500 to 1. So I love this proposal because what he's saying is, you know what, if you are going to keep getting more greedy and increasing the pay of your CEOs, it's going to cost you. It will cost you more money. Have fun explaining that to investors because their goal is to increase shareholder value. That's what they're obligated to do. So if this starts cutting into their bottom line, then the CEOs will actually be held accountable more. So this is such a brilliant plan. Bernie Sanders, he really does have a plan for everything and I have a plan for everything tagline that Elizabeth Warren invented, but it really is more apt for Bernie Sanders because he is the one who every week is introducing more and more policy proposals, more bold, more sweeping. And if he were elected, even if he got 10% of his agenda implemented, can you imagine how that would remake the economy? It would be structural reform that would be life changing to so many Americans. So this is what you do if you want to communicate to us that you're with the working class or with the people. You acknowledge the reality of class warfare and you respond accordingly. You take a side because sitting on the fence when people are going bankrupt due to medical debt, when they're losing their homes, that's not bold. That's not courageous. You're showing us that you're too afraid to admit what's happening, how capitalism is crushing normal Americans. But by acknowledging the reality of class warfare and responding with policies, that shows me Bernie is the real deal. That's why I absolutely hope he wins this primary because if he doesn't, then I just can't imagine a scenario where any other politician gets us all the trajectory of true social democracy, maybe until Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is old enough to run for president. But I mean, who knows? Bernie Sanders may be one of a kind. After he gets out of politics, maybe talk of class warfare and single-parent Medicare for all goes away. Movements need a leader to be successful. Look at Occupy. Media bias was part of the reason why Occupy failed, but I mean, leadership, it really matters. It's important. But look, as we see articles about Bernie Sanders' campaign being in trouble, acknowledge something. Don't get demoralized. Get energized. Realize that nobody has even cast a vote yet. It's not like it's over for us. What are we doing? We're going to sit back and let Elizabeth Warren rise and Joe Biden and her just be the top two. Absolutely not. If Bernie Sanders is your candidate, if his vision represents what you want, then fight for it. Don't sit at home. Don't feel demoralized and discouraged. Fight for it. Convince your friends and family. Knock on doors. Phone bake for Bernie. It's not over until it's over, and right now it's not over. We can get Bernie Sanders elected. We just have to fight for it. So take action.