Sanders Tweets He Wants to Tax Titans' 'Obscene' Wealth Gains

[left-of-center2012]

U.S. Senator Bernie Sanders said he will introduce legislation to tax what he called the “obscene wealth gains” from billionaires during the coronavirus crisis. Sanders made the announcement in a Twitter post Wednesday evening.

Sanders wrote that a 60% tax on the windfall gains from 467 billionaires between March 18 and Aug. 3 could raise more than $420 billion, which he said would be enough to allow Medicare to pay all out-of-pocket health-care expenses for everyone in the U.S. in the next year.

While the pandemic has left millions of Americans unemployed, the collective fortune of America’s billionaire class has surged since January, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The world’s wealthiest family, the Waltons of Walmart Inc., is richer than ever, and tech companies have become so powerful that some of the industry’s moguls had to defend their businesses to Congress last week. The market value of five of the largest American tech companies now represents almost a third of U.S. gross domestic product.

The world’s richest man, Amazon.com Inc.’s Jeff Bezos, has gained $74.9 billion this year alone, pushing his fortune to $190 billion. Elon Musk of Tesla Inc. has added $42.5 billion, taking his wealth to $70 billion, while Facebook Inc.’s Mark Zuckerberg is $16.2 billion richer, with a $94.5 billion net worth.

https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-08-06/sanders-tweets-he-wants-to-tax-titans-obscene-wealth-gains?srnd=politics-vp

[CrispyQ]

1. TAX THE RICH OR WE'LL EAT THEM.

IT'S TIME FOR WALL STREET TO BAIL OUT MAIN STREET.

WHY AREN'T CORPORATE BAILOUTS CALLED SOCIALISM?


Where is our side's Lincoln Project with ads pointing out the hypocrisy of our economic system?

[MineralMan]

2. Senator Sanders Introduces Many Bills

Few, if any, ever become law. So, please excuse me if I don't start celebrating this new tax on the ultra wealthy quite yet.

[Wounded Bear]

3. Understood, but it is good to get these ideas out there for discussion...

We definitely need to make our tax system more progressive.

[MineralMan]

4. I'd rather discuss ways we can help Biden and new Senate Democrats get elected.

Discussing bills that will never see the light of day in the Senate seems to me to be a monstrous waste of time.

But, that's just me. perhaps.

[left-of-center2012]

5. "a monstrous waste of time"

No need to participate in the discussion and waste your time.

[MineralMan]

6. Thanks for your suggestion, but I think for myself.

If you don't mind, of course.

Senator Sanders routinely introduces bills he knows will never even make it to committee in the Senate. He has been doing that for years. I don't mind if he does that, but I'd be interested to hear about some of the bills he has personally introduced that have actually become laws. Can you list them for me?

[left-of-center2012]

9. It's a waste of time -n/t

[MineralMan]

11. It doesn't waste much time at all.

The number of bills introduced by Senator Sanders that have become law is minimal. In that regard, he is not a very productive Senator, mainly because he is not aligned with any political party in the Senate, by his own choice. The Senate is very party oriented, so he keeps himself from having much status in that House of Congress by being an "independent." His choice.

[left-of-center2012]

13. bye

[empedocles]

8. We may not really need this kind of thing in the run-up to the Election.

[comradebillyboy]

10. I share your sentiment in this regard.

[MineralMan]

12. Many do. Others do not.

[dalton99a]

7. Kick