Bernie Sanders plan for "free stuff" would cost at least $60 trillion

[Gothmog]

Link to tweet

Even former chief White House economic adviser Larry Summers, who served under Obama, said that the plans would significantly increase the size of the government. Summers described the projected spending of Sander’s agenda as “more radical” than that of any previous administration to date.

During the segment on CNN, Summers stated:

“The Sanders spending increase is roughly 2.5 times the size of the New Deal and the estimated fiscal impact of George McGovern’s campaign proposals. This is six times as large of a growth of government than any of the Ronald Reagan dismemberments. We are in a kind of new era of radical proposal.”

Maya MacGuineas, president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, mentioned that Sanders’ agenda could basically double what the government’s spending:

“We are literally talking about increases in government spending that would double the size of government as a share of gross domestic product. It is remarkable how little attention such a huge change has gotten.”

Economists that have peered into some of the possible costs of Sander’s proposed programs have been instrumental in people wanting answers from the candidate. Conservative estimates of the Medicare for All plan cite a $32 trillion cost alone, but other estimates have run as high as $60 trillion just for that solitary program.

Then there’s the “Green New Deal”, which increases the spend on food stamp programs like SNAP, that could potentially cost $16 trillion. Wiping out all that pesky student load debt and handing out free college would also cost about $2.2 trillion as well.

Keep in mind, those are just three of the numerous programs Sanders suggested he’d make come to fruition if elected.

He’s also mentioned that he’d create universal child care, affordable housing solutions, raising the pay of teachers, and a guaranteed federal jobs program.

If Sander’s gets elected and has his way, taxes would effectively have to be doubled on mandatory spending to cover the low-end estimate of $60 trillion over a ten-year period.

[HerbChestnut]

1. It's almost as if "free stuff" is/was/will be a RW smear.

Sad that it's been creeping its way onto DU over the last few months.

[Blues Heron]

4. It's a dog whistle for sure.

No doubt about it.

[Gothmog]

8. Steve Schmidt warns that the sociopath will beat the socialist.

Link to tweet

[George II]

12. Who is proposing all of it though?

[NYMinute]

15. If someone is given stuff for free just for asking

isn't that the definition?

[Gothmog]

18. Does President Obama know that Prof. Summers is a right winger?

[TomCADem]

22. Bernie Sanders Admits That "Nobody Knows" Cost of His Health Care Plan

I think that $60 trillion is on the low side, since Bernie has not denied that his proposed healthcare plan alone may cost $60 trillion alone ands that "nobody knows" how much his health care plan costs. For example, he ADMITS here at 2:45 that "nobody knows" how much his proposal costs:

If "nobody knows" how much his proposal costs, how can it be serious? Elizabeth Warren has been honest and given estimates of how much her proposal would cost, and thus it would seem a lot more credible that it could be implemented.

Warren is far more honest than Bernie when addressing costs and implementation while Bernie just announces a wishlist and some talking points and calls it a platform.

[Gothmog]

28. We now know why sanders is hiding the costs of his programs

there is no way that sanders could get members of the Democratic Party to seriously consider these programs in the real world. There is a reason why sanders has zero significant legislative accomplishments in the real world

[Kurt V.]

2. The free stuff label is given to every democrat by every republican. just sayin

[Gothmog]

17. So LARRY Summers is a right winger?

[Kurt V.]

20. depends. Socially or economically?

[Gothmog]

27. LOL-In the real world Prof. Summers is respected and worked for President Obama

[Blues Heron]

3. We might have to sell some aircraft carriers lol

Good to invest in people not warfare though. After all it's our money. We should spend it on us.

[drray23]

5. The numbers don't add up.

60 trillions over 10 years is 6 trillions per year. The defense spending is about 700 billions per year, that's about 1/10 of what's needed. Even zeroing the defense budget wont help.

[Blues Heron]

7. we'll just have to scrimp and save then

[OneMoreCupOfCoffee]

9. Or cancel the F-35.

[UniteFightBack]

6. It's going to be this times a million if this guy wins. nt

[Gothmog]

29. trump would easily destroy a very weak candidate like sanders

[TheRealNorth]

10. That same site was slamming journalists as leftwing hacks

For not caring enough about suicides from police officers.

[democratisphere]

11. Bankruptcy would be inevitable.

[NYMinute]

13. The last time I added up the freebies they totaled 119 trillion

[billpolonsky]

14. Check the source.

Maya MacGuineas is the president of the Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget, director of the Fiscal Policy Program at the New America Foundation, and head of the Fix the Debt campaign. She is a longtime deficit-cutting “hawk,” and headed the Peterson-Pew Commission on Budget Reform,[1] which economist Dean Baker accused of using jingoism to promote its austerity agenda.[2]

[link:https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Maya_MacGuineas|


Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget

https://www.sourcewatch.org/index.php/Committee_for_a_Responsible_Federal_Budget

[Gothmog]

16. LOL-The article quotes LARRY Summers

Is Summers a right wing source? Does President Obama know that Summers is a right winger

[totodeinhere]

19. Of course we don't want free stuff. Right? No free universal health care.

No free job training. No free child care. Nothing for free right? Let's live in a fascist dictatorship.

[Gothmog]

24. I never took sanders seriously as a candidate

Hillary Clinton was correct in that sanders has few if any friends in Congress and has zero significant legislative accomplishments because his fellow members of congress do not take him seriously. As it is, sanders is selling these programs on the basis of a magic voter revolution where new voters will magically appear to force the GOP to be reasonable and to adopt sanders' unrealistic platform.

If sanders submitted this budget to Congress, it would be laughed at and not get any significant support from his fellow Democratic members of congress. Again, sanders has no meaningful legislative accomplishments in the real world because his fellow members of Congress do not take his proposals seriously due to such minor things like costs and how to pay for these program. Where would sanders get 218 votes in the House or sixty votes in the Senate to consider these programs. I have seen no evidence of a magical voter revolution and so I see no chance that sanders could get any of these programs a floor vote much less adopted.

Unless you can explain to me how sanders' magical voter revolution works, I will continue to not take sanders seriously as a candidate. I like living in the real world.

[pansypoo53219]

21. how much do tax cuts cost? free stuff for the rich.

[Gothmog]

23. CNN-The cost of Sanders' agenda -- possibly $60 trillion -- would set a peacetime US record

Here is the CNN article on which the OP was based

Link to tweet

Sanders' plan, though all of its costs cannot be precisely quantified, would increase government spending as a share of the economy far more than the New Deal under President Franklin Roosevelt, the Great Society under Lyndon Johnson or the agenda proposed by any recent Democratic presidential nominee, including liberal George McGovern in 1972, according to a historical analysis shared with CNN by Larry Summers, the former chief White House economic adviser for Barack Obama and treasury secretary for Bill Clinton.

Sanders' plan would also increase the size of government far more than any modern Republican president, including Ronald Reagan, has sought to cut it, Summers' analysis concluded.

"On the spending side, ... this is far more radical than all previous presidencies, on either the right or the left," Summers said in an interview. "The Sanders spending increase is roughly 2.5 times the size of the New Deal and the estimated fiscal impact of George McGovern's campaign proposals. This is six times as large of a growth of government than any of the Ronald Reagan dismemberments. We are in a kind of new era of radical proposal."

Exact cost projections on all of Sanders' proposals aren't available, in part because he hasn't fully fleshed out some of the ideas he's embraced (such as universal pre-K and child care). But a wide variety of estimates put the likely cost of the single-payer health care plan he has endorsed around $30 trillion or more over the next decade. Depending on the estimates used, including projections from his own campaign, the other elements of the Sanders agenda -- ranging from his "Green New Deal" to the cancellation of all student debt to a guaranteed federal jobs program that has received almost no scrutiny -- could cost about as much, or even more than, the single-payer plan. That would potentially bring his 10-year total for new spending to around $60 trillion, or more.

[milestogo]

25. We have tremendous overspending and waste in the military budget.

[brewens]

26. Good plan if all of us got to divy up $60 trillion in stuff. We'd catch up to the

people that already got that much free stuff.

[Gothmog]

30. Sanders legislative agenda would have no way of being passed even if elected. Here's why:

Link to tweet

[musicman65]

31. Oh yes

[highplainsdem]

32. The media should pay much more attention to this. So should debate moderators.

[Gothmog]

33. sanders will not tell us how he will pay for his programs

Link to tweet

[Gothmog]

34. Statement from Biden campaign on sanders not knowing cost of his programs

Link to tweet