5th Democratic Primary Debate: on Welfare & Poverty

Bernie Sanders: Deal with 500,000 people sleeping on streets, AND Trump

SANDERS: Sadly, we have a president who is not only a pathological liar, he is likely the most corrupt president in the modern history of America. But we cannot simply be consumed by Donald Trump, because if we are, we're going to lose the election. Right now, you've got 87 million people who have no health insurance or are underinsured. You've got 500,000 people sleeping out on the street and you've got 18 million people paying half of their limited incomes for housing. What the American people understand is that the Congress can walk and chew bubblegum at the same time. In other words, we can deal with Trump's corruption, but we also have to stand up for the working families of this country. We also have to stand up to the fact that our political system is corrupt, dominated by a handful of billionaires, and that our economy is rigged.

Cory Booker: Refundable tax credit for difference from average rent

We've got to start empowering people. We use our tax code to move wealth up, the mortgage interest deduction. My plan is very simple. If you're a renter who pays more than 1/3 of your income in rent, then you will get a refundable tax credit between the amount you're paying and the area median rent. That empowers [renters] in the same way we empower homeowners.

And it actually slashes poverty, 10 million people out. And by the way, for those people who are facing eviction, it is about time that the only people when they show up in rentals court that have a lawyer is not the landlord, it is also low-income families struggling to stay in their homes.

Elizabeth Warren: Not enough housing: build 3M units and no discrimination

Tom Steyer: When you look at inequality, you have to start with housing

STEYER: When you look at inequality in the United States, you have to start with housing. Where you put your head at night determines so many things about your life. It determines where your kids go to school, the air you breathe, where you shop. What we've seen in California is, as a result of policy, we have millions too few housing units. And that affects everybody in California. It starts with a homeless crisis, but it also includes skyrocketing rents. We need to apply resources here to make sure that we build literally millions of new units. We are going to change policy and make sure that the localities and municipalities who have worked very hard to make sure that there are no new housing units built in their towns, that they have to change that and we're going to have force it, and then we're going to make sure that those units are affordable.