To the Editor:
I agree with Arvind Veluvali ’20 that if moderate Democrats "are willing to make compromises to the right, they should be willing to do so to the left.” Joe Biden, the presumptive Democratic nominee for president, must make compromises with the progressive wing of the party.
If Biden wanted to unify the party, he would move to the left in a number of ways. He would advocate a Constitutional amendment overturning the Citizens United ruling to eliminate private funding from elections. He would commit to ensuring that the US reaches 100 percent renewable energy by 2050. He would commit at least $1 trillion in funding over 10 years to rebuilding American infrastructure, creating jobs in the process. He would ban federal funding for companies that do not support unions and penalize companies that do not bargain with their workers in good faith. Finally, he would reach out to progressives by adopting, word for word, Bernie Sanders’ plan for free college and Elizabeth Warren’s plan for bankruptcy reform.
It’s a shame Biden is so unwilling to reach out to the left. Surely, if he just took some simple steps like these, the progressive wing of the party would wholeheartedly embrace him. But he’s actually already taken every one of these steps. The left should take his hand — he’s reaching out far enough.
— James Schapiro ’19 is a former Herald sports editor
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