There is a myth that the New Deal programs on their own pulled the US out of the Great Depression and created the conditions for the economic boom after World War II. As an economist, I can tell you, that is not true. In reality, it was mainly World War II that launched the boom - the massive war mobilization, the horrifying destruction and death caused by it, and then the reconstruction in its aftermath. he US was the only advanced capitalist country that was not bombed during the war.

Big Oil, Wall Street and big business as a whole - they stand in the way of the kinds of change needed. They are fiercely against the radical reforms Bernie Sanders is popularizing.

Socialism is a society where the resources are used democratically to provide a better life for all, based on ending the dictatorship of big business over the economy and politics.

There are limits to reforming a system that is dominated by these massive and rapacious corporations.

Like the healthcare industry, the banks should be taken out of the hands of the 1% and brought under democratic public ownership.

We need a break from Capitalism.

What Bernie Sanders is calling for is incredibly important. Things like a $15/hour minimum wage, single-payer healthcare, taxing the rich, and free education. The radical reforms he has popularized are a key part of any socialist program today.