Hot on the Left: Why we need health care for all, the unexplained and growing wage gap between blacks and whites

A roundup of today’s editorials includes an op-ed about universal healthcare from Bernie Sanders, the unexplained and growing wage gap between blacks and whites, and how Steve Bannon’s intellectual reputation is a charade.

1.  Bernie Sanders: Why we need Medicare for all

From The New York Times: “This is a pivotal moment in American history. Do we, as a nation, join the rest of the industrialized world and guarantee comprehensive health care to every person as a human right? Or do we maintain a system that is enormously expensive, wasteful and bureaucratic, and is designed to maximize profits for big insurance companies, the pharmaceutical industry, Wall Street and medical equipment suppliers?”

2. The growing black-white wage gap is unexplained — and scary

From The Washington Post: “There are few economic problems more frustrating than the stubborn gaps in wages and unemployment rates between blacks and whites. Despite decades of trying to reduce or eliminate these gaps, black workers continue to experience higher unemployment rates and lower wages than whites.”

3. Steve Bannon’s intellectual reputation is a charade

From Slate: "It is true that Bannon crafted the attacks that helped sink Hillary Clinton in the 2016 presidential race. But once you step outside the narrow world of election-year messaging (or, alternatively, propaganda), it's not obvious that Bannon deserves his reputation for deep thinking or even tactical brilliance."