Bernie Economy

[LoveOurNeighbor]

Nation’s top 1 percent now have greater wealth than the bottom 90 percent

Far righties like to label Bernie as a socialist and frame it as if it is Armegadon.

But let's think about this a bit. If the top 1% is hoarding the majority of the nations resources just what might happen to the economy if those resources would be flowing freely?

1. The people who spend would have more to spend
2. There would be more and better housing
3. There would be more and better things to put in those houses.
4. People would be healthier because they could afford to go to the doctor when needed
5. The sick and old would not have their houses taken from them
6. The rich would make even more money due to all the extra purchases made.
7. The rich would actually gain respect as job creators rather than hoarders and gougers

I see it as a win win for all and an economy designed more closely as God intended.

 

[Albion]

Nation’s top 1 percent now have greater wealth than the bottom 90 percent

Far righties like to label Bernie as a socialist and frame it as if it is Armegadon.

I get the idea that some people think that the mention of Bernie being a socialist is just something said in order to insult him--like the left extremists do when they throw the word "racist" around indiscriminately.

Bernie has run for public office as a member of a socialist party. Does that tell us anything about him. He is not a Democrat even now. He has defended communist nations, not just the 'democratic socialist' ones, around the globe and travelled to the USSR to openly praise the Stalinist regime. And none of that even gets us into a discussion of the clearly socialist political platform he is running on right now (with the formal endorsement of the avowed socialists in Congress such as Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez).

 

[LoveOurNeighbor]

Pure capitalism is a failure as is pure socialism.

I think a socialist/capitalist hybrid is called for. Take what works and throw out the rest on both counts

 

[Albion]

Pure capitalism is a failure as is pure socialism.

I think a socialist/capitalist hybrid is called for. Take what works and throw out the rest on both counts

That's essentially what we have now.

 

[LoveOurNeighbor]

That's essentially what we have now.

NOT..when the top 1% is hoarding the majority of resources we have a shrinking middle class and ever growing disparity.

 

[Albion]

NOT..when the top 1% is hoarding the majority of resources we have a shrinking middle class and ever growing disparity.

I didn't say the country is a genuine Socialist state, just that it has elements of both free enterprise Capitalism and Socialism.

 

[Silverback]

Nation’s top 1 percent now have greater wealth than the bottom 90 percent

Far righties like to label Bernie as a socialist and frame it as if it is Armegadon.

But let's think about this a bit. If the top 1% is hoarding the majority of the nations resources just what might happen to the economy if those resources would be flowing freely?

1. The people who spend would have more to spend
2. There would be more and better housing
3. There would be more and better things to put in those houses.
4. People would be healthier because they could afford to go to the doctor when needed
5. The sick and old would not have their houses taken from them
6. The rich would make even more money due to all the extra purchases made.
7. The rich would actually gain respect as job creators rather than hoarders and gougers

I see it as a win win for all and an economy designed more closely as God intended.

I'm not sure if you realize that only half the country pays any income tax at the Federal level. To enact his spending plans, you will essentially be paying your own income tax, plus the the tax burden of someone else.

Sanders and Warren, so far want to do the following:

-Universal healthcare
-Free university education
-Total student loan forgiveness
-Free Childcare for all
-Slave reparations

With only half the country paying tax where do you think the government will get the money?

If you say the wealthy, don't get on it, the Government has tried to punish the wealthy for being successful before, with dismal results.

So, what happens, is the middle class gets stuck with the bill.

Trying to do what they want will easily raise middle class tax rates by 30-50% and it's not fair with half the country paying no tax.

Higher tax rates, and increased regulation depress the economy, and everyone feels it.

Low tax rates, letting people keep more of their money, is how you grow the economy.

The safety net in the new testament is the family, and the church, and we should help people who are down on their luck, who are disabled, and those with many barriers to employment. However, not forever, just a reasonable timeframe until they can return to the work force. Providing they are able to work (no longer disabled) God never intended a free ride, "we are to work with our own hands so as not to be a burden", that is what Paul did.

And don't forget " if they will not work, not shall they eat.

Christ was a capitalist, a benevolent capitalist, but a capitalist none the less

We can, as a society, be compassionate to the poor, widow, and orphan, and not oppress the immigrant without giving them a free ride.

God told Moses, not to pass twice over you fields, not to pick-up what has fallen on the ground, and not to harvest the corners of the field, so that would be reserved for the poor, widdow, and orphan. The requirement on them though was they had to get up, go there, and eat it threre, not allowing any to be taken back, so to ensure no one hordes any, but they had to get up, and "work for it" if you will. Same with the manna.

The biblical norm is hard work, sacrifice, self reliance, and making good decisions, so you don't become dependent on others.

 

[joshua 1 9]

If the top 1% is hoarding the majority of the nations resources

They are not hoarding anything. They are always looking for people to invest in their business so they can continue to grow. Some of the auto companies the court system ended up giving whatever was left of the company to the employees to try and cover some of what they were promised for their retirement. For the most part they ended up bankrupt because of the amount of money they were paying for wages. More and more they are investing in robotics because the workers are not happy with their wages. It amazes me that people believe that all that investment money is going into someones pocket and not to actually produce products. It just shows how little people understand how our economy works in this county. People need to get out and work and quit expecting free handouts. Bernie keeps promising to give money away but he can not tell us where he plans to get the money to give it away. It is just a lot of empty promises. Trump is putting people to work. Giving them a chance to get out and produce and earn money. Should we vote for jobs and putting people to work or for so called free government handouts when we are already 20 trillion dollars in debt and we can not seem to pay off the debts we already have.

 

[joshua 1 9]

With only half the country paying tax where do you think the government will get the money?

That is the problem. They can not tell us where they plan to get the money to give away to people. We already have a 20 trillion dollar debt. If we had not elected Trump we would have gone into bankruptcy and had a really big crash. Trump has been able to get people out and working again. Money comes from people getting out and working and being productive. Why should we take money from someone that works and give it to someone that is not working? If people want or need money they need to get an education and get out and go to work.

 

[Speedwell]

They are not hoarding anything. They are always looking for people to invest in their business so they can continue to grow. Some of the auto companies the court system ended up giving whatever was left of the company to the employees to try and cover some of what they were promised for their retirement. For the most part they ended up bankrupt because of the amount of money they were paying for wages. More and more they are investing in robotics because the workers are not happy with their wages. It amazes me that people believe that all that investment money is going into someones pocket and not to actually produce products. It just shows how little people understand how our economy works in this county. People need to get out and work and quit expecting free handouts. Bernie keeps promising to give money away but he can not tell us where he plans to get the money to give it away. It is just a lot of empty promises. Trump is putting people to work. Giving them a chance to get out and produce and earn money. Should we vote for jobs and putting people to work or for so called free government handouts when we are already 20 trillion dollars in debt and we can not seem to pay off the debts we already have.

In fact, Bernie is the only Dem candidate who has been honest about how single-payer medical will be payed for, even though all the other candidates support it too.

 

[sdowney717]

In fact, Bernie is the only Dem candidate who has been honest about how single-payer medical will be payed for, even though all the other candidates support it too.

Sanders says billionaires should not be allowed to continue to exist, and after they are done with them, it will be millionaires. Since you cant make everyone rich, make everyone poor.

 

[hislegacy]

Who exactly is in the top 1%?

The top one percent of household net worth starts at $10,374,030.10.

Who Are the Top One Percent by Income or Net Worth in 2019? - DQYDJ




Let’s look shall we?

List of current members of the United States Congress by wealth - Wikipedia

Looks like 46 members of Congress are part of the top 1%

Nancy Pelosi’s net worth is an estimated $125 million.

Elizabeth Warren’s net worth is somewhere around $18 million.


How Bill And Hillary Clinton Made $240 Million In The Last 15 Years

 

[joshua 1 9]

In fact, Bernie is the only Dem candidate who has been honest about how single-payer medical will be payed for, even though all the other candidates support it too.

He has a big following. With his health care issues he does not present much of a problem for Trump. Biden does not seem to be much of an obstacle for Trump either. I do not know how people can get their hopes up because it looks like Trump is going to have an easy run at this.

 

[Speedwell]

He has a big following. With his health care issues he does not present much of a problem for Trump. Biden does not seem to be much of an obstacle for Trump either. I do not know how people can get their hopes up because it looks like Trump is going to have an easy run at this.

You'd better hope so because it's the last chance you are going to get.

 

[Ken-1122]

Nation’s top 1 percent now have greater wealth than the bottom 90 percent

Far righties like to label Bernie as a socialist and frame it as if it is Armegadon.

But let's think about this a bit. If the top 1% is hoarding the majority of the nations resources just what might happen to the economy if those resources would be flowing freely?

You seem to have a false idea of how the top 1% got all of that wealth. Hoarding implies there is just a finite amount of wealth, and the rich takes more than their fair share leaving less for everybody else. That would be illegal; it doesn’t work that way. The rich gets that wealth by creating it and they keep a larger percentage of the wealth than everybody else gets. Jeff Bezos for example (the richest man in the world) founded a company that added a trillion dollars to the economy. His incentive for doing so was his ability to keep a larger share of the money he created which he did; he kept 15% of the trillion he created, and the .85 trillion was left for everybody else. Jeff didn’t become the richest by hoarding/taking from everybody else, he got that way by creating wealth. If you took away his ability to keep 15% of the wealth he created, he would not have created the business and everybody else would have .85 trillion less than they have now.

1. The people who spend would have more to spend
2. There would be more and better housing
3. There would be more and better things to put in those houses.
4. People would be healthier because they could afford to go to the doctor when needed
5. The sick and old would not have their houses taken from them
6. The rich would make even more money due to all the extra purchases made.
7. The rich would actually gain respect as job creators rather than hoarders and gougers

I see it as a win win for all and an economy designed more closely as God intended.

All 7 of your points assume the economy will continue to expand even after you take away all incentive for people to expand it. The reality is, this would cause the economy to stall or even crash causing the middle class and the poor to have even less.

 

[Ken-1122]

NOT..when the top 1% is hoarding the majority of resources we have a shrinking middle class and ever growing disparity.

The top 1% does not hoard any resources, they create resources. And the growing disparity between the rich and the poor is fine as long as the poor are getting more than they had before.

 

[wing2000]

A USAFacts analysis of Census Bureau and IRS data estimates wages, salaries and supplemental income for the country’s middle block of earners dropped more than 9% between 2000 and 2017, from an average of nearly $46,000 to just over $41,600.
But total income – which includes government transfer payments in the forms of Social Security, Medicare, Medicaid, unemployment insurance and other social assistance programs – has actually ticked marginally higher for the middle class since the turn of the millennium. Thanks to a nearly 60% increase in government transfer payments, the average middle-class American’s income climbed more than 5% to more than $67,600 between 2000 and 2017.

...so, social programs are helping prop up the middle class - if - you are a recipient of those programs.

Social Security and Medicare alone accounted for 38% of the increase in government transfers to the middle class. More broadly, national health care spending ballooned 160% between 2000 and 2017.

https://www.usnews.com/news/economy...am-inequality-amid-middle-class-income-losses

Why is middle class private sector pay stagnant?

Quite simple: Stock holder profits are valued over workers.

As Tom Steyer noted in the last debate:

"There have been 40 years where corporations have bought this government, and those 40 years have meant a 40-year attack on the rights of working people and specifically on organized labor. And the results are as shameful as Senator Sanders says, both in terms of assets and in terms of income. It's absolutely wrong. It's absolutely undemocratic and unfair.

I was one of the first people on this stage to propose a wealth tax. I would undo every Republican tax cut for rich people and major corporations. But there's something else going on here that is absolutely shameful, and that's the way the money gets split up in terms of earnings.

As a result of taking away the rights of working people and organized labor, people haven't had a raise -- 90 percent of Americans have not had a raise for 40 years. If you took the minimum wage from 1980 and just adjusted it for inflation, you get $11 bucks. It's $7.25. If you included the productivity gains of American workers, it would be over $20 bucks.

 

[Speedwell]

That is the problem. They can not tell us where they plan to get the money to give away to people. We already have a 20 trillion dollar debt. If we had not elected Trump we would have gone into bankruptcy and had a really big crash. Trump has been able to get people out and working again. Money comes from people getting out and working and being productive. Why should we take money from someone that works and give it to someone that is not working? If people want or need money they need to get an education and get out and go to work.

It was 20 trillion when Trump took office. We now have a 22 trillion debt, and still increasing, mostly due to tax breaks Trump has given to the rich.

 

[Speedwell]

The top 1% does not hoard any resources, they create resources. And the growing disparity between the rich and the poor is fine as long as the poor are getting more than they had before.

What makes you think that the top 1% are all entrepreneurs who created their wealth?

 

[rambot]

Someone explain to me how the "actual" data in this video is tenable, just, beneficial for your society?
It's a short video and well done.