Ben & Jerry on Bernie Sanders and the Origins of Their Progressive Politics

http://inthesetimes.com/article/19031/ben-jerry-serve-up-progressive-politics-along-with-ice-cream

Do you see any connections between your support for Bernie Sanders and your ice cream company?

BEN: During the time when Jerry and I were running the ice cream company, we recognized the very powerful role that business has in our society, and in our political system, and we were trying to use that power as a force for progressive social change. All the stuff we were trying to do at Ben & Jerry’s as a business are the very same things that Bernie is trying to do: to help those that are oppressed economically and socially.

JERRY: Ben & Jerry’s as a company doesn’t support any candidate. But Ben and I are thrilled to personally support Bernie. We are supporting him as loudly and as enthusiastically as you possibly can.

Ben, you founded the organization The Stampede to help get money out of politics. You guys have a unique approach to this issue, stamping currency with slogans like “Not to be used for buying elections”—can you speak about that?

BEN: I got very involved in this issue of getting money out of politics because it is the root cause of most of the problems with our country. It’s the reason why we have an energy policy that doesn’t make any sense. It’s the reason why we can’t pass decent environmental regulation. It’s the reason why we can’t pass universal healthcare. It’s the reason why we’re still buying Cold War-era weapons for the Pentagon. It’s the reason why student debt is so ridiculously high and students can’t get decent interest rates. It’s the reason why big pharma is screwing us all.

I got involved in this campaign to get money out of politics because it’s kind of job one. Until we get money out of politics, we’re really not going to be able to solve the other problems. A recognition of that is the reason why some of the major environmental organizations like Greenpeace and Sierra Club recently called the Democracy Initiative to focus on getting money out of politics. I’ve realized that we’re not going to be able to get money out of politics until there’s a huge movement supporting that, kind of like the movement that Bernie is catalyzing.