A person’s “right to repair” their own equipment may well become a US election issue, with presidential candidate Bernie Sanders making it a main talking point during his tour of Iowa.
“Are you ready for something truly insane?” the veteran politician’s account tweeted on Sunday, “Farmers aren’t allowed to repair their own tractors without paying an authorized John Deere repair agent.”
The tweet links to a clip of a recent Sanders rally during which he told the crowd to cheers: “Unbelievably, farmers are unable to even repair their own tractors, and tractors cost what – at least $150,000 – people are spending $150,000 for a piece of machinery. You know what I think? The person who buys that machinery has a right to fix the damn piece of machinery.”
The right-to-repair was also highlighted as one of Sanders’ key policies issues in his plan to “revitalize rural America,” and he promised: “When we are in the White House, we will pass a national right-to-repair law that gives every farmer in America full rights over the machinery they buy.”
There is hope yet…
Robin Edgar
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