Bernie Sanders in OnTheIssues Fact Checking

On 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.

On Corporations: Regrets vote to deregulate swaps and derivatives

"Clinton's claim is unavoidably true. In 2000, Sanders voted for the Commodity Futures Modernization Act. The act prevented the government from regulating credit default swaps and the trading of financial derivatives. Swaps like these, which are a type of financial derivative, were largely vilified during the financial meltdown of 2008. Sanders was far from the only Democrat who voted for the bill. It passed the House by a wide margin: Only four representatives did not vote for it. Not to mention, Clinton's husband, then-president Bill Clinton, supported the bill and signed it into law."

Bernie now says he regrets that vote, but Hillary was accurate.

On Gun Control: FactCheck: No, never supported by National Rifle Association

"In 1988, the NRA had supported [my Republican opponent Peter] Smith and had opposed me [partly because] I supported a ban on certain types of assault weapons. A few months after taking office, Smith suddenly announced that he would vote FOR the ban on assault weapons. The NRA was furious at his about-face. While the NRA has never endorsed me or given me a nickel, their efforts against Smith in 1988 clearly helped my candidacy."So Hillary is TECHNICALLY accurate, but Bernie was only "helped" by the NRA campaigning against his opponent, and not for him--because he opposed the NRA's desired stance too! And Bernie was never financially supported by the NRA at all!

On War & Peace: Qatar is wealthy; needs to get skin in game against ISIS

We checked and indeed it's true. Comparing three different rating systems--the International Monetary Fund (IMF), the World Bank, and the CIA--all three agree that Qatar has the highest per capita income in the world. Those three rating agencies don't agree on the exact income levels for other countries, but the United States is rated, respectively, the 9th, 10th, and 12th wealthiest country in the world.

Our rating: Yes, Sanders is correct that the U.S. is funding the defense expenses of a country wealthier than the U.S.