First of all, one has to realize that Bernie Sanders is a true socialist
and makes no bones about it and he follows the catechism that goes with
it. Government will provide utopia, everything for everyone from cradle
to grave with the very rich paying for it. That philosophy is
destructive of the personal and business freedoms on which this country
was founded and which the Constitution was designed to support.
Socialism destroys the incentive to take monetary risks and prevents
enjoying the fruits of hard (mental and/or physical) labor. One of the
reasons socialism is popular relates to those that like free gifts, but
these are the same people that complain about the taxes that result.
Bernie complains about the country's high debt. Yes, Bush spent more
than was prudent, but look at what a Democratic House and Senate along
with a far left president did. They tripled what Bush did without a
thought about the resulting economic damage. That is, until recently,
when President Obama suddenly was shown the problem and appointed a
commission to study how their profligacy was to be paid for before
bankruptcy set in. Now we're told that everyone must share the burden,
but Bernie Sanders wants only the rich (whoever they are) to bear the
load in increased taxes. Who does he think creates jobs? Certainly not
his poor or the government? What do the rich do with all their
ill-gotten gains? They either spend it or they invest it. In either case
jobs are created.
To site one large expenditure item that caused his quoted $13.7 trillion
national debt, the $787 billion incentive program that was to create
jobs by funding non-existent shovel-ready employment. Incidentally,
along with this huge bill was attached $1.5 billion of earmarks, or
pork. Analysis shows that 5 percent was ready and most of the money is
going to fund social programs that take from those that contribute to
society and give it to those that don't. President Obama has said, and
Bernie Sanders also believes, that income must be leveled by sharing the
wealth with the non-producers. What the non-producers need is better
education, but that is another government project gone wrong.
Based on recent news reports, Bernie Sanders, Senator Patrick Leahy and
Representative Peter Welch all want more pork while the Republicans are
trying to show a little restraint by stopping this political scandal. In
one year, there were over 4,000 earmarks amounting to over $2 billion
worth of scandal.
So Bernie Sanders thinks that Social Security is solvent; well, maybe on
paper, but he is again playing fast and loose with the facts. Ever
since President Johnson, Congress has taken the backlog in this account
and spent it on socially engineered programs that help them get
re-elected. Oh, yes, they left an IOU in its place for the rest of us to
pay somehow later.
He claims that median family income declined by about $2,200. He
overlooks the fact that many in the middle class graduated out of that
sector due to an improved economy created by the Bush tax cuts.
Bernie Sanders has a gripe against Wall Street for being the cause of
the recent recession but omits the damage that his cohorts, Chris Cox
and Barney Frank (watchdogs over Freddie and Fanny), did by pooh-poohing
the complaints by the Bush people that the irregular operations in
these two home loan government supported organizations should be looked
into.
But, no, they were in fine shape, didn't need any checking even though
they hadn't produced a balance sheet in two years. Perhaps this had to
do with the kickback support money they both were getting for their
re-election campaigns. If these watchdogs were watching and checking per
their mandate, the recession might have been nipped in the bud.
Now, Bernie Sanders has finally seen the light and has jumped on the
cut-spending bandwagon, with one of his targets, the military. He should
have been on this case long ago to prevent the ramming through of
expenditures for equipment and services that the military doesn't want
and doesn't need. All this waste, because projects would accrue to the
home state of the sponsor(s). No, it doesn't take much study to find a
few trillion here and there in government operations due only to pure
politics.
This is only a partial summary of the structural misconceptions,
half-truths and distortions so typical of Senator Bernie Sanders, but
time and space have their limits.
Potter lives in Waitsfield.
