“We can do universal childcare, we can raise the wages of every childcare worker and we don’t build a future exploiting black and brown women any longer,” presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren said at Lansing Community College on June 4, 2019.
DETROIT — Democratic presidential candidate Elizabeth Warren returned to Michigan Tuesday to rally supporters at the Eastern Market in Detroit on Super Tuesday.
On one of the most influential days in the Democratic primary, Warren addressed a crowd of more than 2,200, speaking about education, corruption and hopes to repair the U.S.'s reputation.
Warren was introduced by Michigan Sen. Stephanie Chang, with opening remarks by Danielle Atkinson, founder and director of Mothering Justice.
“Michigan needs a social justice warrior, someone who digs deep on every issue from an equity and justice lens,” Chang said. “To ensure that every policy will positively impact people of color, immigrants, LGBTQ people and people with disabilities.”
Warren spoke about the perception of the U.S. around the world, and said one of the first things she will do as president is bring the state department up to full staff.
“We have the finest military in the world, and they have committed to make any sacrifice for us," Warren said. "Their families sacrifice for us. But that means that we have a sacred obligation to them to not send our military to try and solve problems that can’t be solved militarily.”
Moving forward, Warren said it is important to recognize our allies as a country, and to know the difference between our friends and the people who would do us harm.
The importance in achieving this, she said, is leading by example, beginning with correcting the way the U.S. border is handled.
RELATED: The MSU students campaigning for Elizabeth Warren
RELATED: Political science department hosts 5 things to know about 2020 primaries
RELATED: Elizabeth Warren talks new economic policy in Lansing
“The world looks at what happens at our border and they say the United States has lost moral authority, has lost leadership,” Warren said. “Understand this: I will not take away children from their families. I will not lock up children in cages. I will close for-profit detention centers.”
Warren proposed the implementation of a wealth tax of two cents on the dollar on fortunes above $50 million.
“When you make it big — I mean really big, I mean top one-tenth-of-one-percent big — pitch in two cents so everyone gets a chance to make it,” Warren said.
With those two cents, Warren said, universal child care and early childhood education can be provided, and wages can be raised for all child care workers in the country.
Further, Warren said, this would fully fund the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act, so children with disabilities can have the same access to education.
“It is time in America to say that investing in our children is not just a local obligation, not just a state obligation, it is the obligation of a nation that wants to build a future,” Warren said.
Warren said Americans are at their best when they see big problems, call them out and fight back.
“I am fighting this campaign based on a lifetime of fighting for working families. I am fighting this campaign from the heart because I believe in you and I believe in the America that we can build together,” Warren said. “An America where every single person has value, an America where every single child is worth investing in. An America where in our democracy, it's people — not money — that is the most important part.”
Support student media! Please consider donating to The State News and help fund the future of journalism.
