Conclusion: Sanders is full of talk but no plan

[hill2016]

Great, he can point out lots of things wrong but doesn't have concrete plans.

Taxing the rich? Highest tax rate will rise go 50 - 90% but he can't be bother to work out the numbers.

Single payer? Oh eventually we'll get there...

ISIS? Oh we need to get other "Muslim countries" to do the work.

Free college? The states will help pay for it OR ELSE!!

[Armstead]

1. IT makes me ill to agee with you....but I agree with you.

Having followed Sanders I know he's better than this., But he needs to get off his talking points.

[hill2016]

2. thank you for your honesty

[Joe Turner]

3. In other words Bernie won the debate

What's that saying? When the facts don't back your case, argue the law.

[Hepburn]

4. And when the facts and the law don't support you...

...pound your fist on the table and yell!

[hill2016]

5. sorry

he's been running on "tax the rich" platform for months. You would have thought he had some actual numbers by now. Unfortunately, nope.

[Dying Eagle]

11. Um no

Bernie has the the Real Numbers

People under 35 do not have land lines to answer polls.

26,000 at Bernie Rally in Boston.....Obama's Best Rally in Boston was 10,000.

I sat with 13,000 of the most passionate people I have ever seen in Madison, Wi

Bernie got 20,000 in Phoenix.....a red state.

Don't buy the Corporate Controlled "Polls"

Keep your polls, Bernie has the People!

[JonLeibowitz]

15. I think the numbers being referred to are tax figures for a budget that works with what he plans

[Joe Turner]

13. Taxing the rich sounds just right to me

It's way past time for that given the their near-free ride in the last few decades. It will raise revenue. The higher the tax the more the revenue. Works for me. No details necessary. If they don't like it, they can always move to another country.

[hill2016]

17. the rich

are actually paying most of the federal taxes in this country

[Joe Turner]

23. You sound like a republican

Did you know the the marginal tax rate was near 90% in the 1950s? The very wealthy actually pay very little in taxes give the blizzard of tax shelters they have written into the tax code. That goes for the multi-national corporations that don't pay anywhere near the corporate tax rate.

[hill2016]

24. I was just pointing out

that when you say they have a near-free ride, they are actually paying most of the federal taxes in this country.

[Joe Turner]

33. You do understand that

if someone making say $50,000 a year pays $20,000 in taxes that $20,000 in taxes is a much greater financial burden than someone making $10 million a year that pays $3 million in taxes. Second, when less than 10% of the country owns 90% of the assets that in itself bespeaks of a major problem. This is the profile of a 3rd world nation. The U.S. used to be much better that this.

[lanlady]

41. I totally agree hill2016

He refuses to give specifics even when asked point-blank by friendly interviewers. What is he waiting for?

[hill2016]

42. he saw what happened in Vermont

and realized people actually don't want to pay for all the stuff he promises

[Bread and Circus]

6. Haha. I agree.

[litlbilly]

7. bitter much? wow if this is all you guys have i almost feel sorry for you

[hill2016]

8. where are his specific proposals?

I want hard numbers not some "look at his website" thing.

[Fearless]

16. How about going to his website and reading the "numbers"??

[hill2016]

18. they are not there

Like what's the highest marginal tax rate he wants to raise to?

[Fearless]

20. Do you want him to just pick a number... or maybe draw up the legislation first?

[hill2016]

21. I would have hoped that

months after running on a platform of "tax the rich" he can answer the basic questions of "who" and "how much"?

[Fearless]

22. You do realize that what you're accosting him for is exactly what Hillary said?

That her plans also did not and still do not include numbers?

Because that's not how legislation works.

If you understood that, you'd realize why the "numbers" don't exist for any of the candidates policies.

[hill2016]

25. Hillary did put out a plan

for capital gains a few months ago.

[drray23]

9. well thats the thing with Sanders

He has really good ideas. If you listen to his stump speech you can see why he is drawing crowds. However, I fear that is where it stops. He is totally unable to do anything other than repeat the same talking points at each interview or debate. Every question, he pivots into his usual arguments. Thats great for domestic issues but as a president he better be prepared to deal with everything else. The way he flubbed the opening statement regarding the terrorism attacks in Paris does not make me confident that he would be a good president. He is very good as an opposition figure, leading not so much.

[Fearless]

14. So elect Republican lite because it's easier?

[AgingAmerican]

10. I remember the GOP saying that about Obama

And Bill Clinton. And Carter.

[Fearless]

12. Why don't you go to his website and LEARN SOMETHING ABOUT HIS PLANS?

They're there.

For everyone to read.

He was entirely correct that his policies would be difficult...

But as you well know, that which is easy is rarely best and that which is difficult is often the right thing to do.

[hill2016]

19. not there

what's the highest marginal tax rate he is proposing?

Can you answer this very direct question?

[Recursion]

26. I have. I can't tell for instance what his proposed tax rates are

how much revenue he projects that will raise, and where he intends to spend it (I've heard both single payer and free college, but the vague tax rates I'm seeing only are enough to pay for one of those, if that).

The college plan is vaguely compared to Germany, which rather strictly limits how many people can go to college. Meanwhile the single payer "plan" is so vague as to require quotes around the word plan, and the comparisons he's made have been to countries like France and Denmark that are not single payer.

[Fearless]

27. Maybe you need to actually do some research then.

[Recursion]

32. You said "go to his website". Here's what I get

He wants to institute an inheritance tax on estates over $3.5 million. How much of one? How much revenue will it bring in?

He wants to institute a tax on "Wall Street speculators". What is its rate? What defines a "speculator"? Is my 401K's quarterly rebalancing "speculation"? How much revenue would this bring in?

He wants to "reverse" NAFTA, CAFTA, and China's PNTR. What does that mean, "reverse"? Does he want to go back to GATT? Was that actually better? Can he say why? Can GATT even be resurrected at this point? And if not GATT, what?

(This reminds me of my problem with the Keystone XL opposition: I agree the pipeline shortcut has a lot of problems. Can somebody tell me what makes it worse than the existing pipeline? Is the existing pipeline not over farmland aquifers? I'm entirely willing to be sold on that but nobody has bothered to make the argument: it's just "Keystone XL bad" ignoring the fact that there is an existing system it would replace which might be worse.)

He wants to make tuition free at public colleges. OK. Me too. How much does that cost and where does the money come from (since he doesn't say how much the taxes he wants will raise, I have no idea if they're enough to pay for this)? Will we have to limit enrollment like western Europe does? Will public colleges have to cut expenses as part of this? How much? Will this leave private colleges as a playground for the wealthy and well-connected? Is that a good thing?

He wants to require 12 weeks of paid family and medical leave, 2 weeks of paid vacation, and 7 paid sick days for all employers. All employers? Are there exceptions for very small businesses? How much will this cost small businesses? Will there be any government subsidies for it? (France has them, for instance.) If so, how much will they cost? For Christ's sake, we all want that but he needs to actually say what he thinks would get us there.

He wants to "break up big financial institutions". What the hell does that mean? Which ones? What does "breaking them up" entail? It's a completely vacuous phrase that I feel like he says because it polls well despite being basically meaningless.

Compare these broad bumper-sticker-like statements to O'Malley's whitepapers on his positions and you'll see the contrast I'm talking about.

[NuclearDem]

30. I've been to his website.

His entire policy proposal for veterans issues, for example, is shorter than the section of O'Malley's proposal just for military families.

You need more than talking points to govern.

[Eric J in MN]

28. Bernie Sanders' plan for tuition-free public universites

...let's states decide whether to participate. If they do, the federal gov't pays 2/3 the cost.

[Recursion]

35. So, for the 14 states that agree to it, how much will that cost?

Will state colleges have to cut any expenses for this? How much? How much will it cost the states? How much will it cost the Federal government? Will it have a dedicated revenue stream, or will this come out of the general fund? Will this go through the Department of Education? With oversight or will that be left to the states? Will admissions requirements have to go up (a lot of European countries do this but pretty strictly limit who can go to college compared to the US)? What will the impact of this be on A&M schools with cooperative extension programs? Do those count as "going to college" or will it remain separate? Will GI Bill money go to these schools to defray expenses, or will the students be able to use it for fees, books, housing, etc? How much of students' expenses is actually tuition, anyways, compared to fees, books, housing, and food?

[Eric J in MN]

37. Some answers

This would go through the Dept of Education.

Admission criteria wouldn't necessarily change.

If a state was putting in the 1/3 for an extension program, it would get the other 2/3 in federal matching funds.

The bill has a transaction tax on stocks and derivatives to pay the cost; that wouldn't go into a separate account.

The money available from the federal gov't would be:
(1)
$975,000,000 for fiscal year 2016;
(2)
$1,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2017;
(3)
$2,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2018;
(4)
$2,500,000,000 for fiscal year 2019; and
(5)
$3,000,000,000 for fiscal year 2020.


Text of Bernie Sanders' bill
https://www.govtrack.us/congress/bills/114/s1373/text

[Rosa Luxemburg]

29. He has plans

but the greedy corporate hold on congress is the obstacle. As he says people need to rise up.

[PBass]

31. "Rise Up, and I'll Tell You Later"

Possible campaign slogan?

[Rosa Luxemburg]

34. he has the plans

but you obviously don't want to listen

[Jamaal510]

38. I'm still

waiting for him to discuss the legwork that people are going to have to do to help him make his revolution and ideas come into fruition, but I'm not holding my breath.

[pinstikfartherin]

39. Can you answer these questions for me?

After watching the debate, I have questions about Hillarys education plan that I cannot find answers to. If she's going to wind up the nominee like everyone suggests, it'd be helpful if someone who's aware of the details could answer some questions in my OP:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1251810997

Thanks!

[coyote]

40. As opposed to Hillary's "take into consideration", "look into it", or "cut it out" plan

Lol