Quotes from speech given by Sen. Bernard Sanders an Independent on
·
...We
have a $16 trillion national debt and we have a $1 trillion deficit. I think
all Americans understand this is a very important issue, and it is something we
as a nation are going to have to grapple with...
...Now, what do my Republican friends and some
Democrats say? Well, they come to the Senate floor and suddenly--after going to war without paying for
it, after giving
huge tax breaks to the rich, after deregulating Wall Street--realize we have a deficit problem, and they
are very concerned about this deficit problem. They come to the Senate floor and
say: The only way we can go forward is to cut Social Security. Social Security is funded
independently. It hasn't added one nickel to the deficit, but we are going to
cut Social Security anyway. We are going to cut Medicare, we are going to cut
Medicaid, we are going to cut Pell grants, we are going to cut education, and
we are going to cut environmental protection. That is deficit reduction.
Are we
going to ask millionaires and billionaires, who are doing phenomenally well, whose effective tax rate is the lowest
in decades, to pay one nickel more in taxes? No, we can't do that, but
we can cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, education, and every program
that the children, seniors, and working families of this country depend upon.
Now, to add insult to injury in terms of this
movement supported by big-money interests that have so much influence over what
goes on here in Congress, it is important to look at the playing field of the
American economy today to understand what is going on. Are the people on top
really hurting and suffering? Are large corporations today really struggling
under onerous corporate taxes? The answer is, obviously not.
We don't talk about it enough, and too few
people even mention it, but I do, and I will continue. It is important today to
understand that the United States
Just last week a member of my staff went to
southwest Virginia, and she spent the day at a program in which thousands of
people in that area were lining up to get dental and health care because they
didn't have any health insurance. There are 45,000 Americans who will die this year because they
don't have health insurance and can't get to a doctor in time. There are
people who say: Let's cut Medicaid. There are people all over this country who
can't find a dentist. There are children who are suffering from dental decay.
Let's cut Medicaid. Well, I don't think so.
If we look at the country, the middle class is
shrinking, people are hurting, but people on top are doing phenomenally well.
Very few people talk about it. I am going to talk about it. In the last study
we have seen in terms of income distribution in this country--and that is what
happened between 2009 between and 2010--93 percent of all new income created
over that year went to the top 1 percent. I will say it again. Ninety-three percent of all
new income in that year went to the top 1 percent. The bottom 99 percent had
the privilege of sharing the remaining 7 percent. Yet, when we ask the
people on top to maybe pay a little bit more in taxes, oh my goodness, there
are lobbyists all over Capitol Hill saying: We can't afford to. We are down to
our last $50 billion. We just can't afford another nickel in taxes. We need
that money now. Thanks to Citizens United, we can pump that money into political campaigns.
One family who is worth $50 billion is going
to put $400 million into
the campaign. Another guy who is worth $20 billion can't pay more in taxes,
but he does have hundreds of millions to pour into political campaigns.
In terms of distribution of wealth, which is a
different category of costs than distribution of income, we have an incredible
situation. I hope people understand what is going on in this country, where one
family--one family, the Walton family, of Wal-Mart--now owns more wealth at $89
billion than the bottom 40 percent of the American people. One family owns more wealth than
the bottom 40 percent. Do we know what some folks want to do here? They
want to repeal the entire estate tax and give that family a very substantial
tax break, because owning
$89 billion is obviously not enough. They are struggling. We have to give them
a tax break while we cut Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid. If
that makes any sense to the American people, I would be very surprised, and it
does not make sense to the American people.
...My guess is if we go to New Hampshire,
Maine, or any other State in America and we say to people, we have a deficit
problem and the choice is between cutting Social Security or asking
millionaires and billionaires to pay more in taxes, there is, in my view, no
State in America--no State in this country, no matter how red it may be--where
people will say: Cut
Social Security and Medicare and Medicaid, but don't raise taxes on
millionaires and billionaires. I don't believe that is true anyplace in America
...There was a study that recently came out
that talks about the ability of billionaires and corporations to use tax
havens. What we know--and I am a member of the Budget Committee--is that
millionaires and billionaires and corporations in this country are avoiding
paying about $100 billion every single year by using tax havens in the Cayman
Islands, in Bermuda, Panama, and other countries. Maybe, just maybe, before we cut Social Security and
Medicare, we might want to pass legislation to make those people start paying
their fair share in taxes and do away with those tax havens...
...I hope the American people pay rapt
attention to this debate, and I hope the American people get involved in this debate, because
if they do not, mark my words, within 4 months, a handful of people, supported by corporate America
and the big money interests, are going to bring down to this floor a deficit
reduction proposal which will cut Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, and give
more tax breaks to the wealthiest people in this country. It will have
virtually all Republican support. It will have some Democratic support. If we
don't aggressively oppose this approach, that is exactly what will happen.
·
No comments:
Post a Comment