Last week, I noted that Bernie Sanders was reluctant to reveal how he intends to pay for everything for everyone; this week, the Washington Examiner has some answers.
The Washington Examiner estimates that the bill for Bernie’s “free stuff for everyone!” promises will be approximately $19.6 trillion. Our national debt, which has nearly doubled under Obama, is under that at just over $18 trillion.
Where’s the money going to come from? Taxes. Of course.
The Washington Examiner writes:
Sen. Bernie Sanders’ populist message has put him in the position to potentially win Democratic nomination contests in both Iowa and New Hampshire, shaking the sense of inevitability that has surrounded Hillary Clinton. As the socialist senator from Vermont gains traction in polls, Clinton has more aggressively attacked his policy proposals, forcing Sanders to release details on how he would pay for his ambitious economic and social agenda.Taken together, Sanders is proposing $19.6 trillion in new taxes over a decade, according to an analysis by the Washington Examiner, of which $14 trillion would come from his healthcare plan alone. To put that in perspective, the Congressional Budget Office projects that federal revenues over the next 10 years will be a total of $41.6 trillion, meaning that Sanders would raise taxes by 47 percent over current levels.
Here’s the list:
The Washington Examiner has details on each proposed tax here.
It’s also worth keeping in mind that these estimates are on a static basis. Meaning they don’t take into account any offsetting reduction in revenue that’s likely to occur due to depressed economic activity resulting from such major tax increases. For instance, taxing “speculation” on Wall Street will reduce trading activity, and thus it’s unlikely to raise the $300 billion per year claimed by the Sanders campaign.
Bernie’s “free” stuff will cost tax payers more than our nation’s existing accumulated debt.
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