Two weeks ago, a fellow Odyssey writer published an article, Why I'm Not Feeling That Bern[ie Sanders].

In her article, she attempts to criticize the policies of 2016 presidential candidate, Bernie Sanders. Though I understand that Bernie's plans for implementing "socialist" policies if elected could sound frightening to Americans raised on staunch capitalism, but the author's conservative conscience clouds her ability to identify correct information about Bernie's policies and the ideologies themselves.

On a universal healthcare system.

Common sense would dictate that these extremely liberal policies like single-payer healthcare have been tried before and have not worked.

As Sanders often points out when asked about healthcare, the United States is the only major industrialized democracy that doesn't offer healthcare as a basic right to all citizens. Over 30 million Americans do not have health insurance, and those who do spend a whopping $3 trillion on healthcare each year, according to the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services.

Sanders proposes to spend $15 trillion over the next 10 years on a universal healthcare system, which would be halfof what Americans would pay for privatized healthcare over the next 10 years. The notion that American healthcare is so much more expensive than its European counterparts because it is of higher quality could not be more false. In fact, in a 2014 healthcare survey conducted by The Commonwealth Fund, the U.S. ranked dead last out of 11 countries (eight of them being European) on overall healthcare. The U.S. also ranked below every other major European democracy (and 37th overall) in the World Health Organization's ranking of the World's Health Systems with its privatized healthcare system.

On eliminating college tuition.

Free college is probably the most attractive of Mr. Sanders' policies to millennials, who know just how outrageous the cost of college is. However, once again, "free" college would cost the taxpayers $2.4 billion by 2018, according to the American Enterprise Institute.

This quote states that "free college" would cost taxpayers $2.4 billion by 2018, but Bernie's plan actually wouldn't cost taxpayers a dime. Sanders plans to implement a new tax on Wall Street speculation to offset the cost of making a college education tuition-free.

On raising the minimum wage.

Minimum wage is not meant to be a "living wage"- it is meant to be a temporary point for people who are in school or working towards a better job.

When the minimum wage was first introduced by Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, he stated that "no business which depends for existence on paying less than living wages to its workers has any right to continue in this country." So essentially, the minimum wage was introduced to ensure that all working Americans would be able to earn a decent living, but the current minimum wage doesn't satisfy that. The idea that minimum wage jobs are for students or for those seeking temporary employment sounds great in an ideal world, but the reality is that the United States has failed many of its citizens in providing quality jobs, so those Americans must work 40 hours a week only to find themselves and their families in poverty.

Common sense would dictate that a $15 minimum wage such as Mr. Sanders proposes would cost people their jobs and increase costs.

With regard to unemployment as a result of a living wage, this article perfectly explains the current situation of Seattle's living wage. In regards to increased business costs, increasing the minimum wage would also increase consumer spending, which in turn leads to more revenue for manufacturers, curbing the need to raise prices. It is also important to add that executives at many of the top minimum wage employers make hundreds of times the amounts of their employees.

Unlike what the other Odyssey author presents, Bernie's plan for a living wage of $15 an hour over the next several years actually isn't bad at all.

Now that the gaping holes on Sanders policies have been filled, I can get on to why I think Bernie Sanders is the most viable candidate for president, which basically has nothing to do with his policies.

1. He's not a puppet for the one percent.

Since announcing his presidential campaign, Bernie Sanders has raised approximately $15 million for his campaign, with 99 percent of that being donations of $250 or less, with the average donation being $33.51. According to an article in the NY Times ranking all 2016 presidential candidates by the amount of campaign funds raised, Bernie comes in at sixth and is only one of four candidates (along with Kasich, Trump, and Chafee) to not have received donations from Super PACS supported by millionaires and billionaires.

2. He's not attached to a party agenda.

Though Bernie Sanders is running on the Democratic ticket for president, he is the longest serving independent in Congress at the time. Being a independent gives him similar appeal of candidates like Donald Trump, Ben Carson, and Carly Fiorina who are distanced from the political circles of the two majors parties, but unlike those three, Sanders actually has political experience.

3. He has a proven leadership record.

As a senator, Sanders currently sits on five committees -- the Committee on the Budget, the Committee on Environment and Public Works, the Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, the Committee on Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions, and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Within the 113th Congress (January 3, 2013 to January 5, 2015) alone, govtrack.us ranked Bernie within the top 10 for working with the House, bills introduced, laws enacted, bills out of committee, and committee positions as well as the top 20 for cosponsor and overall leadership score.

I could go on and on about how much of deserving candidate Bernie Sanders is for the 2016 presidential bid, but aside from all the technicalities of policies, ideologies, and his credibility I had one point to prove: you should be feeling the Bern.