As the COVID-19 relief bill hit the Senate floor, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) took the opportunity to speak to the benefits of a $15 minimum wage. He also pumped up the significance of finally defeating COVID-19, citing its impact on the youth, their dating lives, and mental health.
Yes, Sanders is trying to get you laid, and sooner than later, for America's sake.
The senator made it a point to direct the floor's attention to the future of America: "You got young people, who want to go to school, who want to socialize, want to date, want to do things that young people do. And they've been unable to do that for the last year, and that has resulted in a very sharp increase in mental illness in this country."
Many on Twitter spoke to Sanders' point, citing their personal experience as young people or parents of young folks.
"It's true tho.. my son is missing his first year of HS, didn't have a real 8th-grade graduation," tweeted @WiseOwlSoaper. "I have a 7th grader who is missing all that jr. high drama. It's so sad."
@justforyelling tweeted: "As a "young person" who already had mental health issues bEFORE the pandemic, I will say that my mental health has been going [up and down] also I've completely forgotten how to socialize bc I only ever see my family and my dogs and i never thought I'd say "I miss school "..., but I do."
What Sanders is pointing toward, in his COVID-19 relief speech, is the fact that the ongoing pandemic has exposed many people to enduring conditions associated with poor mental health outcomes, including isolation, job loss, and physical ailments.
The Kaiser Family Foundation reports that "during the pandemic, about 4 in 10 adults in the U.S. have reported symptoms of anxiety or depressive disorder, a share that has been largely consistent, up from one in ten adults who reported these symptoms from January to June 2019."
Additionally, a poll from last July "also found that many adults are reporting specific negative impacts on their mental health and well-being, such as difficulty sleeping (36%) or eating (32%), increases in alcohol consumption or substance use (12%), and worsening chronic conditions (12%) due to worry and stress over the coronavirus."
Of course, Twitter mostly took it to mean Bernie wanted the kids to fuck.
This is probably why Sanders is still so popular among the youth.
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