National parks for all: that's a populist cry we need | Jimmy Tobias

Our pine groves, canyons, parks and peaks are an incredible national asset. Let's fund them properly, and make them truly accessible to everyone

When Bernie Sanders unveiled his "Medicare for All bill" last month, it sent bolts of electric excitement through a rising generation of progressive young people who crave an end to the austerity consensus that has dominated this country for at least a decade. The senator from Vermont offered a bold vision that has the potential to improve the wellbeing of millions and an army of millennials, with our affinity for social democracy and social media, loved him for it.

Healthcare, though, is just one realm of public life that needs an urgent infusion of idealism. From housing policy to public education, from police reform to environmental issues, the youth of the US are desperate for ambitious and populist ideas that can help revitalize this republic we're inheriting. We are bent on upending the status quo, because the status quo, as we know, is all wrong.