Bernie Sanders on Budget & Economy Democratic primary challenger; Independent VT Senator; previously Representative (VT-At-Large)

Sub-sections under Budget & Economy:
• Voting Record
• Other issues under Budget & Economy

FactCheck, yes, 3 top people wealthier than half of America

Yup, there's a summary on CommonDreams.org entitled "Three Richest Americans Now Own More Wealth Than Bottom Half of US Combined."

The summary comes from an Institute for Policy analysis, "Billionaire Bonanza 2017," based on data recently made public by the Forbes 400 list and the Federal Reserve's annual "Survey of Consumer Finances."

The analysis asserts: "The three wealthiest people in the United States--Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos, and Warren Buffett--now own more wealth than the entire bottom half of the American population combined, a total of 160 million people or 63 million households." So Senator Sanders is correct that the three wealthiest individual people are wealthier than the sum of half of all of America.

$21T increase in wealth to top 1%

US "hottest economy" only applies to the wealthy

Well, that may be true for the members of his Mar-a-Lago country club where the price of admission has doubled to $200,000. For those folks and for the wealthiest people in our nation, Trump is right. The economy is really booming. In fact, for many of Mr. Trump's billionaire friends, they have never, ever had it so good.

But for the middle class and working families of this country, the truth is that the economy is not so great.

Despite what President Trump says, it is not "a hot economy" when 43 percent of households can't afford to pay for housing, food, child care, health care, transportation and a cell phone without going into debt. That is not a hot economy.

Restructure debt so Puerto Rico can rebuild

When people are suffering and hurting [in the aftermath of 2017's Hurricane Maria], you don't continue to squeeze them. We cannot allow Puerto Rico's budget to be balanced on the backs of the most vulnerable people--working families, veterans, the elderly, children and the poor. It is not only morally wrong, it is also economically unsustainable."

People are sick and tired of growth of wealth inequality

SANDERS: What you are seeing all over America--in my state and all over this country--is people trying to survive for 9 or 10 dollars an hour. They can't afford housing, they can't afford prescription drugs. They have no health care or they can't afford health care. They can't afford to send their kids to college. They're sick and tired of seeing the growth in income and wealth inequality. You must talk about those issues as well.

Undermining unions led to 40-year decline in middle class

Today, just 11 percent of all public-sector workers belong to unions, and in the private sector it is now less than 7 percent. Historically, unions have enabled workers to earn good wages and work in decent conditions because of .collective bargaining. Today, millions of workers are in a "take it or leave it" situation, with no power to influence their wages or benefits.

There is no question that one of the most significant reasons for the forty-year decline of the size of the middle class is that the rights of workers to join together and bargain for better wages, benefits, and working conditions have been severely undermined.

2008 Crash's foreclosures brought about by deregulation

The American dream of homeownership turned into a nightmare of foreclosure for millions of households, as more and more people could not afford to pay their mortgages. This was bound to happen. For years, financial predators received fat commissions form lenders for steering Americans into the riskiest subprime mortgages imaginable--no documentation, no job, no income... no problem. And then, the banks bundled those mortgages, over and over again, into almost worthless and unregulated derivatives, until the house of cards collapsed.

Income inequality is not moral and is not acceptable

2016 election is about ending decline of the middle class

This election is about ending the grotesque level of income and wealth inequality that we currently experience, the worst it has been since 1928. It is not moral, not acceptable, and not sustainable that the top one-tenth of one percent now own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent, or that the top 1 percent in recent years has earned 85 percent of all new income. That is unacceptable. That must change.

Should top 1/10 of 1% owns as much wealth as the bottom 90%?

Yes, limit size of government, but address inequality

SANDERS: Well, to put that in a context, in the last 30 years in this country there has been a massive transfer of wealth going from the hands of working families into the top 1/10 of 1% whose percentage of wealth has doubled.

Q: But, my question is how big would government be? Would there be any limit on the size of the role of government?

SANDERS: Of course there will be a limit, but when today you have massive levels of income and wealth inequality, when the middle class is disappearing, yes, in my view, the government of a democratic society has a moral responsibility to play a vital role in making sure all of our people have a decent standard of living.

Hillary CLINTON: The best analysis that I've seen based on Senator Sanders plans is that it would probably increase the size of the federal government by about 40%.

2012: Supported fiscal cliff compromise package on taxes

Nonetheless, two years later, he voted for a major tax and budget bill known as the fiscal cliff package, which made 98% of the Bush tax cuts permanent--a package that only eight senators opposed. It was a major compromise for Democrats, especially for Sanders, who now wants to hike tax rates to levels not seen in the last 30 years. One Democratic colleague said, "It was it a lousy deal but the only deal available."

Sanders' record of compromising doesn't make him a flip-flopper. It shows him as a pragmatist who, like most of his colleagues, compromises to pass legislation even when it may not achieve all the things he would have liked.

I led the effort against deregulation, but we lost

CLINTON: You're the one who voted to deregulate swaps and derivatives in 2000, which contributed to the over-leveraging of Lehman Brothers, which was one of the culprits that brought down the economy. I'm not saying you did it for any kind of financial advantage. What we've got to do as Democrats is to be united to solve these problems.

SANDERS: I was on the House Financial Committee at that time. I heard the arguments coming from Democrats and Republicans -- Robert Rubin, Alan Greenspan -- about how great an idea it would be if we did away with Glass-Steagall and if we allowed investor banks and commercial banks and big insurance companies to merge. Go to YouTube today -- look up Greenspan -- it was the worst financial disaster since the Great Depression.

We need a 21st-century Glass-Steagall legislation

SANDERS: I would say that we do need a 21st century Glass-Steagall legislation. I would tell you also that when you have three out of the four largest banks in America today, significantly bigger than when we bailed them out because they were too big to fail, I think if Teddy Roosevelt were alive today, a good Republican by the way, what he would say is: Break them up; they are too powerful economically; they are too powerful politically. And that is what I believe and many economists believe. Time to break them up.

The greed of the billionaire class is destroying our economy

I don't have a super PAC. I don't want campaign contributions from corporate America.

And let me be clear: While there are some great corporations creating jobs and trying to do the right thing, in my view--and I say this very seriously--the greed of the billionaire class, the greed of Wall Street is destroying this economy and is destroying the lives of millions of Americans. We need an economy that works for the middle class, not just a handful of billionaires, and I will fight and lead to make that happen.

Almost all new wealth goes to the top 1%

Millionaires and billionaires are pouring unbelievable sums of money into the political process in order to fund super PACs and to elect candidates who represent their interests, not the interests of working people. What this campaign is about is whether we can mobilize our people to take back our government from a handful of billionaires and create the vibrant democracy we know we can and should have.

It is immoral and wrong that the top 1/10 of 1% in this country own almost 90 percent--almost--own almost as much wealth as the bottom 90 percent. That it is wrong, today, in a rigged economy, that 57% of all new income is going to the top 1%.

Economic justice: Address root causes of economic inequality

• Acknowledging Disparity of Wealth & Opportunity in America: The rich get richer and the poor get poorer because of government policies that benefit the very few at the expense of the vast majority of Americans.
• Fixing the Tax Code: Currently the super-rich don't pay their fair share of taxes, which means there's not enough funding for programs that will alleviate systemic inequalities.
• Expanding the Social Safety Net & Increasing Access to Opportunity.
• Creating & Keeping Better Jobs: Increase the minimum wage so every working American can live rather than fight to survive, and put people to work on our country's crumbling infrastructure.

Economic issues take a larger toll on minority groups

But to be honest with you, given the disparity that we're seeing in income and wealth in this country, it applies even more to the African-American community and to the Hispanic community. And what we are going to do is make a major outreach effort to those communities.

Break up large banks; add fees for high-risk investments

We've transferred trillions from middle class to the top 1%

SANDERS: Well, she's absolutely right. What we're seeing, is that for 40 years, the American middle class has been disappearing. Millions of people are working longer hours for lower wages despite a huge increase in technology and productivity. And what we have seen during that period is a massive transfer of trillions of dollars from the middle class to the top 1/10 of 1% of America--massive wealth and income inequality, where you have 99% of all new income today going to the top 1%.

Q: You said you had serious doubts about whether she was willing to take on the billionaire class?

SANDERS: That is the fight that we have to wage if we're to save the middle class: take on the big money interests who control so much of our economy and, as a result of Citizens United, our political process as well.

Comprehensive 12-step agenda for moving America forward

1. Rebuilding Our Crumbling Infrastructure
2. Reversing Climate Change
3. Creating Worker Co-ops
4. Growing the Trade Union Movement
5. Raising the Minimum Wage
6. Pay Equity for Women Workers
7. Trade Policies that Benefit American Workers
8. Making College Affordable for All
9. Taking on Wall Street
10. Health Care as a Right for All
11. Protecting the Most Vulnerable Americans
12. Real Tax Reform

Dairy price fluctuations help no one but speculators

Farms, unlike businesses that can slow down or increase production, often face a stark choice: when prices drop, and loans are called in, they all too frequently must be sold. And then, suddenly, there is not enough milk, and the price of cheese and milk to consumers rises rapidly. These huge fluctuations help no one but speculators--not consumers, not dairy-based businesses, not tractor salesmen--and they particularly do not help or sustain farmers.

The best policy is to develop a system of supply management, so that dairy farmers never severely overproduce or underproduce, thereby stabilizing prices and ensuring a sufficient amount of high-quality dairy products for our country.

Why did we bail out South Korea?

Middle class spending $2,200 each to bail out Wall Street

Voted against bailout, because wealthiest didn't pay for it

Sanders: Yes.

Q: Many believe those spending bills were a crucial part of stabilizing the economy back then. Would you support bailouts for industries that are being crushed by the Coronavirus outbreak now?

Sanders: I voted against the bailout because I believed that the illegal behavior being done by the people on Wall Street should not be rewarded by a bailout. And today, by the way, those banks are more prosperous and own more assets, by and large, than they did back then. They're bigger now than they were then. I thought at the time that in the midst of massive income and wealth inequality, the people on top [should pay for the] bail out. Joe [Biden] voted for that. I voted against it. But to answer your question where we are right now, we need to stabilize the economy, but we can't repeat what we did in 2008. Our job right now is to tell every working person in this country, "you are not going to suffer."

CC:No Balanced Budget Constitutional Amendment.

The Christian Coalition Voter Guide inferred whether candidates agree or disagree with the statement, 'Passage of a Balanced Budget Amendment to the U.S. Constitution' Christian Coalition's self-description: "Christian Voter Guide is a clearing-house for traditional, pro-family voter guides. We do not create voter guides, nor do we interview or endorse candidates."

More enforcement of mortgage fraud and TARP fraud.

An Act to improve enforcement of mortgage fraud, securities and commodities fraud, financial institution fraud, and other frauds related to Federal assistance and relief programs, and for the recovery of funds lost to these fraud.
• Amends the federal criminal code to include within the definition of `financial institution` a mortgage lending business or any entity that makes a federally related mortgage loan.
• Extends the prohibition against making false statements in a mortgage application to employees and agents of a mortgage lending business.
• Applies the prohibition against defrauding the federal government to fraudulent activities involving the Troubled Assets Relief Program (TARP) or a federal economic stimulus, recovery, or rescue plan.
• Expands securities fraud provisions to cover fraud involving options and futures in commodities.
• Authorizes appropriations to the Attorney General, the Postal Service, and HUD, for investigations, prosecutions, and civil proceedings involving federal assistance programs and financial institutions.
• Amends the Omnibus Crime Control and Safe Streets Act of 1968 to define `covered criminal activity` as including a criminal conspiracy including economic crime, financial fraud, and mortgage fraud.

Ban abusive credit practices & enhance consumer disclosure.

Credit Card Accountability Responsibility and Disclosure Act of 2009 or the Credit CARD Act of 2009:
• Tile I: Amends the Truth in Lending Act to require advance notice of any increase in the annual percentage rate of interest (APR) pertaining to a credit card account under an open end consumer credit plan.
• Imposes a freeze on interest rate terms and fees on canceled cards.
• Sets limits on fees and interest charges, including a prohibition against penalties for on-time payments.
• Allows imposition of an over-the-limit fee only once during a billing cycle. Prohibits its imposition in a subsequent billing cycle.
• Requires fees for cardholder agreement violations and currency exchanges to be reasonable.
• Prohibits a creditor from furnishing information to a consumer reporting agency concerning a newly opened credit card account until the credit card has been used or activated by the consumer.
• Title II: Enhanced Consumer Disclosures: Requires the creditor to provide a toll-free telephone number at which the consumer may receive information about accessing credit counseling and debt management services.
• Revises requirements relating to late payment deadlines and penalties.
• Requires a periodic statement of account to disclose: (1) the date by which a payment must be postmarked, if paid by mail, in order to avoid the imposition of a late payment fee; and (2) any possible resulting increase in interest rates for late payments.
• Title III: Protection of Young Consumers: Prohibits issuance of a credit card on behalf of a consumer under age 21, unless the consumer has submitted a written application meeting specified requirements.

Voted YES on $900 billion COVID relief package.

NPR summary of HR133:

• $600 checks for every adult and child earning up to $75,000, and smaller checks if earning up to $99,000.
• Unemployment: extend enhanced benefits for jobless workers, $300 per week through March.
• Rental assistance: $25 billion to help pay rent; extends eviction moratorium until Jan. 31.
• SNAP assistance: $13 billion for the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program.
• PPP loans: $284 billion for Paycheck Protection Program loans, expanding eligibility to include nonprofits, news/TV/radio media, broadband access, and movie theaters & cultural institutions
• Child care centers: $10 billion to help providers safely reopen.
• $68 billion to distribute COVID-19 vaccines and tests at no cost.
• $45 billion in transportation-related assistance, including airlines and Amtrak.
• $82 billion in funding for schools and universities to assist with reopening
• $13 billion for the Coronavirus Food Assistance Program for growers and livestock producers.

Argument in opposition: Rep. Alex Mooney (R-WV-2) said after voting against H.R. 133: `Congress voted to spend another $2.3 trillion [$900 billion for COVID relief], which will grow our national debt to about $29 trillion. The federal government will again have to borrow money from nations like China. This massive debt is being passed on to our children and grandchildren. With multiple vaccines on the way thanks to President Trump and Operation Warp Speed, we do not need to pile on so much additional debt. Now is the time to safely reopen our schools and our economy. HR133 was another 5593-page bill put together behind closed doors and released moments prior to the vote.`

Legislative outcome: Passed House 327-85-18, Roll #250, on Dec. 21. 2020; Passed Senate 92-6-2, Roll #289, on Dec. 21; signed by President Trump on Dec 27 [after asking for an increase from $600 to $2,000 per person, which was introduced as a separate vote].

$1.9 trillion ARPA bill for COVID relief.

This bill provides additional relief to address the continued impact of COVID-19 on the economy, public health, state and local governments, individuals, and businesses:

• Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP, formerly known as the food stamp program);
• schools and institutions of higher education;
• child care and programs for older Americans and their families;
• COVID-19 vaccinations, testing, treatment, and prevention;
• emergency rental assistance, homeowner assistance, and other housing programs;
• payments to state and local governments for economic relief;
• small business assistance, including restaurants;
• and state capital projects that enable work, education, and health monitoring in response to COVID-19

Rep. Kevin McCarthy in OPPOSITION (3/11/21): The so-called American Rescue Plan imposed a $1.9 trillion new burden on American families. Despite being branded as `COVID relief,` only 9% of funds in this bill actually goes to defeating the virus, and almost half of the money, including more than 95% of the education funds, will not be spent until 2022 or later. After a year of struggle and sacrifice, students and parents get no answer to the vital question of when they can expect schools to reopen full time. President Biden wants Americans to believe `help is on the way.` But under this bill, it isn`t; waste is.

Biden Administration in SUPPORT (2/26/21): ARPA provides the tools and support critical to tackle the urgent public health and economic crises the Nation faces as a result of COVID-19. The bill also provides eligible Americans with a $1,400 payment in addition to the $600 payment provided in December of 2020. The bill also extends key emergency unemployment benefits, and raises the minimum wage to $15 per hour.

Legislative Outcome: Passed House 219-212-1 on 2/27/21; passed Senate 50-49-1 on 3/6/21; signed by President on 3/11/21.