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Democratic Primaries
Showing Original Post only (View all)Bernie Sanders Is Not That Rich for Someone His Age [View all]
(snip)
There are many things that make this whole pseudo-controversy a bit silly. But one of them is that Sanders really isnt that wealthy for somebody his age. Hes well-off, to be sure. But his level of affluence is pretty normal for a college-educated American in his 70s. The man earned a windfall, but he doesnt suddenly have plutocrat money.
According to Politico, Sanders has a net worth approaching at least $2 million, taking into account his publicly outlined assets and liabilities along with the real estate he owns outright. To find out where that would put him in the U.S. wealth distribution, I asked Peoples Policy Project founder Matt Bruenig to pull data from the Federal Reserves 2016 Survey of Consumer Finances. Assuming, for arguments sake, that Sanders has exactly $2 million to his name, that would place him in the 93.9th percentile for net worth among all American households (a familys net worth equals their assets minus their debts). To even qualify for the top 1 percent, hed need more than $10 million.
(snip)
An important thing to remember about wealth, though, is that older people tend to have more of it. Even if they have high incomes, younger workers are often stuck paying down student loans and mortgages, which lowers their net worth. Many older adults, on the other hand, have spent years piling up retirement assets and building home equity. Among Americans 65 and older, having $2 million would place Sanders in the 89.7th percentile for net worth. Hed need more than $12 million to qualify for the top 1 percent.
(snip)
Of course, the premise of the piece is a ridiculous one. Even if Sanders was suddenly a member of the wealthiest 1 percent, I dont think it would really make him a hypocrite. The man wants to make America look a bit more like a Scandinavian social democracy, and last I checked, Swedes and Norwegians dont have any problem with authors earning a payday. They just tax more of it. But the bottom line is that Sanders rhetoric about millionaires and billionaires has always been a shorthand for the power of extreme wealth, the kind that can buy you political influence. And he doesnt have anywhere close to that kind of money.
https://slate.com/business/2019/05/how-rich-is-bernie-sanders-wealth-comparison-millionaires.html
There are some nice graphs on the link.
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primary today, I would vote for: Undecided
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Only 3% of all Americans are millionaires, probably half that have $2 million.
George II
May 2019
#62
Wrong. It does not necessarily mean that there are a "whole bunch above the million mark".
lapucelle
May 2019
#138
"which means there are a whole bunch above the million mark, right?" NO, not at all.
George II
May 2019
#140
Half are above. Why are you assuming that almost half are "quite a bit above that"?
lapucelle
May 2019
#122
Nope, not at all. Do you factor in that most high priced homes have high level mortgages?
George II
May 2019
#142
Then thruth is that just two years ago Sanders was without any smarts, acted like he
lunamagica
May 2019
#56
"would have reached $2 million net worth long time ago if he was greedy"? He earned....
George II
May 2019
#132
So, does that include everyone you know in their late 70's? If so, then isn't Bernie's message
ehrnst
May 2019
#58
"Truth is if by age 75 one has not reached $2 million networth, one has to be without any smarts,
ehrnst
May 2019
#145
The fact is in all his House and Senate elections he never got more than 208,000 votes.....
George II
May 2019
#176
I thought you said it was because they didn't have "smarts" or "education." (nt)
ehrnst
May 2019
#173
Please read my post again. I never said all people over 70 should be millionaires
at140
May 2019
#84
He said they were stupid. He used and. The person has to be stupid, without an education
FreeBe
May 2019
#97
Not really. Pretty much not getting any traction with the back pedaling. His words are clear.
FreeBe
May 2019
#106
But then when it is pointed out Sanders too was one of us losers until he ran a 2016 campaign
FreeBe
May 2019
#98
Are you serious? Do you realize how few Americans have $2 million net worth regardless of their age?
George II
May 2019
#69
Seriously, you're actually agreeing that college-educated 70-somethings should be multi-millionaires
brush
May 2019
#166
The POINT is ignored, it is he made his 'millions' after writing a successful book,
elleng
May 2019
#7
I realized after that I used a very left leaning author to prove my point
LiberalLovinLug
May 2019
#44
It's a FACT that BS only made millions after he ran for president on a socialist platform.
lapucelle
May 2019
#118
The reason people "quibble" over his $2 million (and probably much more) is that he's been railing..
George II
May 2019
#21
He and Jane have earned more than $6 million since he's been in Washington. In fact....
George II
May 2019
#19
I know, right?! Observations about his WEALTH has really unnerved some folks...
NurseJackie
May 2019
#24
2 million on top of a guaranteed pension is pretty good. If all they had was $2 million, they would
MaryMagdaline
May 2019
#40
Sanders did not get it with a lifetime of living responsibly or frugally. He got it in 2016
FreeBe
May 2019
#46
I looked up the net worth of all the candidates who have been complaining about millionaires....
George II
May 2019
#36
He wasn't until he ran a campaign against the Democratic "establishment" and made a couple million.
FreeBe
May 2019
#33
Many socialist leaders world-wide have been wealthy. That fact need not undermine their argument
emmaverybo
May 2019
#45
Just a couple of years ago Sander's supporters bragged that he was "the poorest member
lunamagica
May 2019
#51
Thank you for this post. Many Democrats see what you post as a truth. Fact. Even, mere fact.
FreeBe
May 2019
#143
That's one way to do it but if you can't in any way, shape or form become a millionaire
Uncle Joe
May 2019
#66
BS has 10 times as much as the average American his age. He's a millionaire who owns three homes.
lapucelle
May 2019
#105
Excuse (noun): a reason or explanation put forward to defend or justify a fault or offense.
brooklynite
May 2019
#129
No doubt, that's the creative way to rationalize wealth as something other than what it is.
LanternWaste
May 2019
#154
So, he's rich enough to be "smart" but not so much that he's "dishonest or 'greedy
ehrnst
May 2019
#174