Joe Rogan Experience #2341 - Bernie Sanders

1. 0:00 – 15:00

   (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast,…

   1. NANarrator0:00

      (drumbeats) Joe Rogan podcast, check it out.

   2. JRJoe Rogan0:04

      The Joe Rogan Experience.

   3. NANarrator0:06

      Train by day, Joe Rogan podcast by night, all day. (instrumental music) Mr. Sanders, it's great to see you.

   4. JRJoe Rogan0:13

      Good to be with you, Joe.

   5. NANarrator0:14

      (laughs) Great to be... you've got a bunch of notes.

   6. JRJoe Rogan0:18

      Not all that much. No.

   7. NANarrator0:18

      Have you prepared for this?

   8. JRJoe Rogan0:20

      I am well prepared.

   9. NANarrator0:21

      Well, it's a good time for you to be in here 'cause the, the world's gone haywire.

   10. JRJoe Rogan0:25

       Yes.

   11. NANarrator0:25

       Yeah. What are your thoughts on this?

   12. JRJoe Rogan0:28

       I think, (sighs) I start off with, Joe, trying to take a deep breath and doing what is not often done, where are we as a country today? What's going well? What's not going well? And I don't think... we don't have, we don't have that kind of basic discussion and, and to my mind, I think in America today, we are facing more serious crises than we have in the modern history of our country. This is a pivotal moment in American history and what happens now will depend, determine the lives of our kids and future generations.

   13. NANarrator1:01

       (smacks lips) What specifically concerns you?

   14. JRJoe Rogan1:03

       I'll tell you what concerns me, the issue of wealth and power. All right. I'm kind of old-fashioned and I believe in democracy, and I believe that everybody should have a, a good shot at living a decent life. And what I worry about right now, and this is an issue, Joe, and it's part of the problem, that it just ain't talked about very much. And I, and I applaud, by the way, you and the other podcasters who give people the time to really seriously discuss things rather than seven-second sound bites, you know? But if you take a look at where we are as a nation today, the system is not working. It's broken. It ain't working for ordinary human beings. See, you have an America today where we have more income and wealth inequality than we've ever had in the history of this country. That's just the fact. Uh, you have, um, one man, uh, Mr. Musk, uh, owning more wealth than the bottom 52% of American families. One man, 52% of the American families. You got the top 1% owning more wealth than the bottom 93%. You got CEOs of large corporations making 350 times what their workers make. And meanwhile, in this richest country in the history of the world, working class people are getting decimated. Today... and again, we don't talk about it in Congress for reasons that I'm hope I can get into.

   15. NANarrator2:26

       Yeah.

   16. JRJoe Rogan2:26

       We don't talk about it in the corporate media. 60%, six, zero percent of Americans are living paycheck to paycheck. Now, I grew up in a family... I don't know your background, but I grew up in a family lived paycheck to paycheck. And anyone who lives paycheck to paycheck understands that every single day is a struggle, you know? You gotta figure out how you feed the kids, rents, cost of housing in America off the charts, healthcare off the charts. So right now, as we talk, there are people worrying, "My landlord, you know, is gonna raise my rent by 20%. What the hell do I do? Where do I go? How do I... what, what schools do my kid go to? How do I buy decent food for my kids? My mother is ill. How do I afford prescription drugs for my mother? Uh, my car breaks down." You know? So you, you know, if you have money, no one thinks of it. Your car breaks down, go to the mechanic, get it fixed. You know what? A lot of people don't have a thousand bucks in the bank right now. If you don't have a thousand bucks, your car breaks down, how do you get to work? If you don't get to work, you get fired. If you get fired, your whole life is disrupted. 60% of American-

   17. NANarrator3:29

       How much different is that than past generations?

   18. JRJoe Rogan3:32

       It's the... we've always had rich and poor. No question about it. It's worse now, Joe. Uh, it's-

   19. NANarrator3:38

       What do you attribute that to?

   20. JRJoe Rogan3:42

       I attribute it to decades old attacks on the working class of this country. I attribute it to horrific trade agreements which have allowed corporate America to throw millions of workers out on the street and move to China, Mexico, and other low wage countries. I attribute it to a corrupt political system in which billionaires have significant control over both political parties. So that, for example, right now in Washington, the national minimum wage is $7.25 an hour. So you got millions of workers today, you know, making 10, 12, 13 bucks an hour. You tell me, how do people survive on 13 bucks an hour? When we were kids, or at least when I was a kid, you worked for a large company that had something called a defined benefit pension plan. You know what that means? That means you work for me for 30 years, when you retire, you're gonna get X hundreds of dollars a week. That's long gone. Corporations have gotten rid of that. So you got something like half of all the workers in America have nothing in the bank when they face retirement. So I think, to answer your question, I think you got a rigged system controlled economically and politically by very, very wealthy and powerful people who could care less for working families. Now, I don't want to romanticize the old days, 'cause that would not be true, but there used to be a kind of a culture of, "I was a boss and I ran a factory." Had a little bit of concern for you. Right?

   21. NANarrator5:07

       Right.

   22. JRJoe Rogan5:08

       You know, in general, I would say, "I know your wife. How's the how's your mom doing?" And all that stuff. That's gone. You got these companies that are owned by other companies that are owned by super national... you know, we got involved in my office, I used to be the chairman of the labor committee, health, education, labor. So I got involved in a lot of stuff. And when workers went on strike, we would call up and see what was going on, see how we can help. So we'd call up to the company and we'd say, you know, "Why are you cutting back on healthcare for your workers?" "Well, we don't make that decision. It's owned by somebody else." Call up somebody else. "Well, we're owned by somebody..." You know how it is. It's just huge-

   23. NANarrator5:39

       Uh-huh.

   24. JRJoe Rogan5:39

       ... these huge conglomerates own the bloody world. And these guys don't give a damn about the needs of working people. So I would say that the economy becomes less and less personal. "I have no res- you're my worker. I have no care about you 'cause right now I'm owned by an international who doesn't know that you exist." And there's-

   25. NANarrator5:56

       And there's also a diffusion of responsibility.

   26. JRJoe Rogan5:58

       Absolutely.

   27. NANarrator5:58

       Just it's not even in your hands.

   28. JRJoe Rogan5:59

       Exactly. So the b- local boss might say, "Hey, listen, I'm really sorry, but I didn't have any decision in here."

   29. NANarrator6:04

       Right. Right, right. "There's nothing I can do."

   30. JRJoe Rogan6:06

       "Nothing I can do."Um, so I add all of that up and you have a ... And then just look at other things. I mean, you tell me, tell me about the healthcare system. Does anybody in America think this healthcare system is working?
2. 15:00 – 30:00

   Well, you can stop…

   1. BSBernie Sanders15:00

      laws have been established. The power has been given to these people. The money has started flowing, and it's been flowing for a long time now. And this is the, the issue with starting something that you can't stop.

   2. JRJoe Rogan15:12

      Well, you can stop it.

   3. BSBernie Sanders15:12

      You can stop it.

   4. JRJoe Rogan15:13

      And you've gotta stop it.

   5. BSBernie Sanders15:14

      Okay. But if you do stop it, all these people are gonna throw all their money at stopping you from stopping it, correct?

   6. JRJoe Rogan15:20

      (laughs)

   7. BSBernie Sanders15:21

      Right?

   8. JRJoe Rogan15:22

      Exactly.

   9. BSBernie Sanders15:23

      They're gonna come up with-

   10. JRJoe Rogan15:24

       (coughs)

   11. BSBernie Sanders15:24

       ... the best commercials with American flags. "This country's all about competition."

   12. JRJoe Rogan15:29

       You got it.

   13. BSBernie Sanders15:29

       "And freedom."

   14. JRJoe Rogan15:30

       You got it.

   15. BSBernie Sanders15:30

       "The freedom to donate to the party of your choice."

   16. JRJoe Rogan15:33

       You got it. Good. I-

   17. BSBernie Sanders15:34

       Yeah. "Stop these communists." (laughs)

   18. JRJoe Rogan15:35

       You can't stop. You're writing their ads for them. They're gonna, they're gonna pick it up. With the American-

   19. BSBernie Sanders15:41

       AI could write them.

   20. JRJoe Rogan15:41

       Yeah.

   21. BSBernie Sanders15:42

       I mean, really.

   22. JRJoe Rogan15:42

       We could all write... But, but then we've got to take a deep breath and, and figure out where do we go from here? Now, now I wanted to, in my par- I, you know, as you know, I am the longest serving independent in American history.

   23. BSBernie Sanders15:52

       Yes.

   24. JRJoe Rogan15:52

       I caucus with the Democrats, always have, but you're not gonna hear me defending the Democratic Party on this issue because you're right. Uh, during the election, it wasn't just Musk and Republicans putting a lot of money into Trump. It was Democratic billionaires putting a lot of money into Kamala and into other candidates, uh, as well. And let me... I mentioned there's a guy named, um, I don't even know his first name. Mr. Massie. Does that name ring a bell?

   25. BSBernie Sanders16:14

       Thomas Massie.

   26. JRJoe Rogan16:15

       Thomas, from Kentucky.

   27. BSBernie Sanders16:16

       Yeah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan16:17

       And this guy, as I am, is opposed to this war in, in, in Iran. Just yesterday, Trump gave a long post about how they're gonna primary this guy. And it, what bothers me is you would hope that there would be respect enough for members of Congress that you can vote your own conscience, you could, you know, represent your constituency. Every district is different in America, but right now, anybody stands up and say, "Well, you know, I disagree with President Trump." Bam! You are finished. We're gonna primary you. We got all kinds of money. You're out of there. That happened to Massie yesterday. But let me go back to the Democrats and tell you where the problem-

   29. BSBernie Sanders16:54

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   30. JRJoe Rogan17:40

       Yeah.
3. 30:00 – 45:00

   Okay. How many hours…

   1. BSBernie Sanders30:00

   2. JRJoe Rogan30:02

      Okay. How many hours do we have? (laughs)

   3. BSBernie Sanders30:04

      We got all the time in the world, Bernie.

   4. JRJoe Rogan30:07

      I know. I know.

   5. BSBernie Sanders30:09

      What would you have done first day in office?

   6. JRJoe Rogan30:11

      Well, it's not just the first day in office. I would have dealt with this campaign finance reform issue.

   7. BSBernie Sanders30:16

      Right.

   8. JRJoe Rogan30:16

      Uh, and there are ways that you can get around that Supreme Court decision.

   9. BSBernie Sanders30:20

      How do you do that?

   10. JRJoe Rogan30:21

       Uh, you move toward public funding of elections, which says...... that, "Joe, you wanna run against me? That's great. Uh, but you're not gonna get Super PAC money. Uh, we're gonna publicly fund you. You know, you, you, uh, get 1,500 signatures that says you're a serious candidate, you'll get a certain amount of money to run for office." So you and I would be on-

   11. BSBernie Sanders30:45

       So funded by the government?

   12. JRJoe Rogan30:46

       Yes, absolutely. Rather than-

   13. BSBernie Sanders30:47

       So someone running for president funded by the current president? (laughs)

   14. JRJoe Rogan30:53

       (laughs) Well, not the current president.

   15. BSBernie Sanders30:54

       No, but the current government.

   16. JRJoe Rogan30:56

       Funded by Congress. And people say-

   17. BSBernie Sanders30:56

       Yeah.

   18. JRJoe Rogan30:57

       ... "Oh, taxpayer dollars are going to..." But that makes a lot more sense than having billionaires fund elections, which is what you got right now. So that's the more you got-

   19. BSBernie Sanders31:03

       So you think there should be one, you get a certain number, you just get a certain allotted amount of money that you could use for your campaign?

   20. JRJoe Rogan31:09

       Right. And-

   21. BSBernie Sanders31:09

       And everybody gets the same amount?

   22. JRJoe Rogan31:10

       That exists in some places right now.

   23. BSBernie Sanders31:12

       Does it? Where?

   24. JRJoe Rogan31:12

       Yeah. In New York City right now.

   25. BSBernie Sanders31:13

       Oh, in New York City. Yeah.

   26. JRJoe Rogan31:15

       And other places as well.

   27. BSBernie Sanders31:16

       Yeah.

   28. JRJoe Rogan31:16

       So if you agree, you know, you're gonna raise y- y- y- y- y- you're on- you're not gonna raise private money, you go the public route, uh, it exists in a number of communities. And I think that is-

   29. BSBernie Sanders31:26

       Did you watch the New York City, uh, debates? The mayor debates?

   30. JRJoe Rogan31:29

       I heard 'em. I'm in-
4. 45:00 – 1:00:00

   (laughs) …

   1. BSBernie Sanders45:00

      hours-

   2. JRJoe Rogan45:01

      (laughs)

   3. BSBernie Sanders45:02

      ... just to pay for a sandwich.

   4. JRJoe Rogan45:04

      It's insane.

   5. BSBernie Sanders45:04

      Imagine how insane that is.

   6. JRJoe Rogan45:05

      It's insane.

   7. BSBernie Sanders45:05

      That's insane.

   8. JRJoe Rogan45:06

      Yeah.

   9. BSBernie Sanders45:06

      Like, how do you eat?

   10. JRJoe Rogan45:07

       And-

   11. BSBernie Sanders45:08

       How do you, how do you eat dinner? How do you eat lunch?

   12. JRJoe Rogan45:10

       Joe, I have-

   13. BSBernie Sanders45:10

       How do you eat breakfast?

   14. JRJoe Rogan45:11

       I have talked to people who make 10, 12 bucks an hour, trying to raise a kid.

   15. BSBernie Sanders45:16

       Jesus.

   16. JRJoe Rogan45:17

       That's right.

   17. BSBernie Sanders45:18

       Yeah. Well, the, the argument against that is, "Hey, these are entry-level jobs that are supposed to be for kids."

   18. JRJoe Rogan45:23

       No. It's, uh... And that's factually incorrect.

   19. BSBernie Sanders45:24

       But that's-

   20. JRJoe Rogan45:24

       Yeah, of course, it's true to some degree. But you're r-

   21. BSBernie Sanders45:27

       To some degree, but if you have grown adults that are working those jobs, now it becomes disgusting.

   22. JRJoe Rogan45:31

       That's right.

   23. BSBernie Sanders45:32

       Ju-

   24. JRJoe Rogan45:32

       That's exactly right. So all you-

   25. BSBernie Sanders45:33

       Especially when you're dealing with an enormous corporation.

   26. JRJoe Rogan45:35

       You got it.

   27. BSBernie Sanders45:36

       Right.

   28. JRJoe Rogan45:36

       So we put a lot of pressure, you know, we, you know, are trying to raise the minimum wage, federal minimum wage to 17 bucks an hour. That's what I'm saying.

   29. BSBernie Sanders45:42

       That's a reasonable amount of money. You know, I mean, it's still... It's not, it's gonna be real difficult to live off of 17 bucks an hour.

   30. JRJoe Rogan45:50

       But at least... Th- that's right. You can live.
5. 1:00:00 – 1:15:00

   Yes. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:00:00

      40 hours a week, they're working 50, 60 hours a week.

   2. BSBernie Sanders1:00:02

      Yes.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:00:02

      That's insane. So we can say all of this increased worker productivity, guess what? You know, I don't know what the number is. We gotta work under 30, four-hour work, four-day work week with no loss of pay. Uh, I introduced a bill to do that, and I gotta tell you, you know, I go to airports, I go around, people came up to me, people are stressed out by the amount of hours they have to work.

   4. BSBernie Sanders1:00:22

      Absolutely.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:00:23

      All right. So what I'm saying here is let's take a hard look about how we utilize this technology to improve life for all people. Our goal should be, instead of bombing Iran, our goal should be, right now, Joe, uh, our life expectancy in America is lower than it is in other major countries. You know that?

   6. BSBernie Sanders1:00:45

      Yes.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:00:45

      It's four years younger than, four years shorter lifespans than other wealthy countries. If you're working class in America, you live seven years shorter life than the 1%, which is, to me, just outrageous.All right. So here's the, here's the thing. Instead of bombing Iran, how do we increase life expectancy so that we're living the longest lives of many people on Earth? How's that for a goal?

   8. BSBernie Sanders1:01:08

      Well, that's a great goal. And how do you go about achieving that goal?

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:01:11

      Well, healthcare is one. Reducing the work week is another. Education is another. All the things that we've talked about-

   10. BSBernie Sanders1:01:17

       All the things you talked about.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:01:18

       ... right?

   12. BSBernie Sanders1:01:19

       Right.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:01:19

       Will increase life expectancy. But have a goal out there.

   14. BSBernie Sanders1:01:23

       Also, taking toxic food, uh, out-

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:01:24

       Exactly. Exactly.

   16. BSBernie Sanders1:01:26

       Yeah.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:01:26

       You know, I don't, uh, you know, I don't, th- ... You know, I've known, uh, uh, Bobby Kennedy for a long time. And, you know, he and I have (laughs) gone a, a, a in different directions politically. But his ... The point about health, food, food-

   18. BSBernie Sanders1:01:41

       We spend the most, and we're the sickest.

   19. JRJoe Rogan1:01:43

       Absolutely. Absolutely. And food is one of the... Uh, when I was chairman of the committee, we worked very hard to get serious labeling. You know, some kid drinks a ... Mom buys a bottle of Coca-Cola for the kid. There's like, what, 10 teaspoons of sugar in that, that product.

   20. BSBernie Sanders1:01:58

       Yeah.

   21. JRJoe Rogan1:01:58

       You know? I don't think people know that, and we tried to get labeling. Maybe that will happen now. Uh, but-

   22. BSBernie Sanders1:02:03

       People also weren't aware until the, like the last 20 years what the consequences of that sugar is.

   23. JRJoe Rogan1:02:09

       Abso- That's right. Absolutely. I mean-

   24. BSBernie Sanders1:02:10

       And also because of money.

   25. JRJoe Rogan1:02:11

       You got it.

   26. BSBernie Sanders1:02:12

       Yeah.

   27. JRJoe Rogan1:02:12

       I mean, you-

   28. BSBernie Sanders1:02:12

       Yeah.

   29. JRJoe Rogan1:02:13

       Don't get me going on that one. I mean, you know-

   30. BSBernie Sanders1:02:14

       Let's go.
6. 1:15:00 – 1:15:29

   Sure, yeah. …

   1. JRJoe Rogan1:15:00

      all right, so work, love, you know, we, there's a thing called love, right?

   2. BSBernie Sanders1:15:03

      Sure, yeah.

   3. JRJoe Rogan1:15:04

      At the end of the day, we-

   4. BSBernie Sanders1:15:05

      Problem is people are trying to find that on apps too now.

   5. JRJoe Rogan1:15:08

      (laughs) Uh, let's get to that one in a minute.

   6. BSBernie Sanders1:15:09

      Yeah, yeah, yeah.

   7. JRJoe Rogan1:15:10

      But, uh, you know, to be human, nobody wants to be alone, right?

   8. BSBernie Sanders1:15:14

      Right.

   9. JRJoe Rogan1:15:15

      Uh, you want to embrace other people, you know, physically, sexually, emotionally, just humanly, right?

   10. BSBernie Sanders1:15:21

       Have community, yeah.

   11. JRJoe Rogan1:15:22

       That's community.

   12. BSBernie Sanders1:15:23

       Yes.

   13. JRJoe Rogan1:15:23

       That's right.

   14. BSBernie Sanders1:15:23

       Yes.

   15. JRJoe Rogan1:15:23

       That's being human.

   16. BSBernie Sanders1:15:24

       Yes.

   17. JRJoe Rogan1:15:25

       All right. So you want love and knowledge. I think you forgot the knowledge part.

Episode duration: 1:51:58