Pirate's Cove

Look, we all know that Comrade Bernie is Comrade Bernie, and he’s trying to win the Democrat nomination during the primaries, but, you have to wonder how well this will play with the primary voters who are not unhinged Big Government Dems, as well as during the general election

Bernie Sanders reveals ‘major plans’ to be funded by new taxes, massive lawsuits, military cuts

Bernie Sanders unexpectedly released a fact-sheet Monday night explaining that he’d pay for his sweeping new government programs through new taxes and massive lawsuits against the fossil fuel industry, as well as by slashing spending on the military, among other methods.

The move sought to head off complaints from Republicans and some rival Democrats that his plans were economically unrealistic, especially after a head-turning CBS News interview in which the frustrated Vermont senator said he couldn’t “rattle off to you every nickle and every dime” about his proposed expenditures.

He released his plan on his website just minutes after promising to do so during a CNN town hall.

It’s a doozy

However, the fact-sheet highlighted for the first time that many of Sanders’ expected cost-saving measures relied on conjecture and best-case scenarios. For example, Sanders’ document asserts that a “modest tax on Wall Street speculation … will raise an estimated $2.4 trillion over ten years” and, in one fell swoop, make all “public colleges, universities and trade schools tuition-free … and cancel all student debt over the next decade.”

The proposal specifically would place a “0.5 percent tax on stock trades – 50 cents on every $100 of stock – a 0.1 percent fee on bond trades, and a 0.005 percent fee on derivative trades.”

Meanwhile, housing for everyone would cost $2.5 trillion over ten years, and would be paid entirely by a “wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one percent,” raising a total of $4.35 trillion, according to Sanders’ fact-sheet. Similarly, “universal childcare and pre-school to every family in America” would be provided with a wealth tax on the “top 0.1 percent,” again raising more than $4 trillion.

Class warfare, baby

Sanders’ plan did not discuss the possible stock market ramificiations of a major seizure of some of this wealth, much of which is held in markets and other investments. The plan also did not discuss how the government would be able to reliably obtain the money, given that many investments could simply be liquidated or transferred elsewhere before his administration took office.

What happens when Alphabet (parent of Google), Microsoft, and so many others move their operations out of the U.S. between election day and the passage of any potential legislation. Which, unless Democrats take over the Senate as well as House, the legislation would never be passed, and there are probably enough non-unhinged Dems that it never gets passed.

Instead, Sanders’ proposal said only that it would eventually establish a “national wealth registry and significant additional third party reporting requirements,” buff up IRS funding and, and “include enhancements to the international tax enforcement.” The plan would require the IRS “to perform an audit of 30 percent of wealth tax returns for those in the 1 percent bracket and a 100 percent audit rate for all billionaires,” and would include a “40 percent exit tax on the net value of all assets under $1 billion and 60 percent over $1 billion for all wealthy individual seeking to expatriate to avoid the tax.”

Think this would drive them out of the U.S. and to do all sorts of things that mean their money isn’t being used to make them more money, which provides lots of jobs and seed money for small business? A “wealth registry”? Da, Comrade.

Sanders’ projections also stated without providing details that his Green New Deal plan would create “20 million new jobs,” thus ensuring $2.3 trillion in “new income tax revenue.”

Additionally, Sanders cited “economists” as he promised that by “averting climate catastrophe we will save: $2.9 trillion over 10 years, $21 trillion over 30 years and $70.4 trillion over 80 years.”

Good grief. This guy is nuts. He further wants to fund his everything is free agenda by suing fossil fuels companies. How will that work out when the price of gas and oil spikes (what say to $150 oil changes for your vehicle?)? What happens when the oil companies cut the federal government off and Comrade Bernie can no longer fly on Air Force 1 nor operate his big limo?

He also has more taxes directly on all employees and businesses to pay for his Medicare for All plan, as well as some other taxes and gimmicks and the rich pay, oh, and don’t forget serious reductions to military spend

As the numbers were released, Sanders doubled down on his comments praising Cuban dictator Fidel Castro’s “literacy program,” saying it was a positive outcome from the violent Cuban Revolution that literacy rates quickly rose.

Hey, #NeverTrumpers, this is what you pushed for with your Trump Derangement Syndrome. What will you do now?