Independent socialist U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders of my native Vermont weighs in on the upcoming 'fiscal cliff' issue and on how the president SHOULD handle the matter. I agree fully with his (Sanders') solidly anti-austerity position, incidentally. I fear the president will seriously consider cuts to the main three entitlement programs (Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid). He should be aware that the last fiscal compact he reached last year was in no small part responsible for alienating his base and touching off the Occupy movement.