Watch: Bernie Says You'll Thank Him for Raising Your Taxes by $7,500
I have to give Sen. Bernie Sanders credit for sticking to his guns.
They may be socialist, big government, take-all-your-money-while-I’m-burning-the-Constitution guns, but he sticks to them.
During Thursday night’s Democratic debate, Sanders admitted his plan for health care would increase taxes on the middle class.
But after the debate, when asked about his response, Sanders didn’t back away from his position. Instead, he doubled down on his promise.
In the middle of a media gaggle, a CNN reporter gave Sanders a chance to explain.
“But you said you would have to raise taxes on the middle class, senator,” the reporter said.
Sanders’ answer should terrify any American who values freedom and limited government.
“Yeah! Raise taxes on the middle class,” Sanders said, clearly irritated that he was having to explain his money-grabbing policy again.
His reason for demanding more money from the middle class is what should scare voters the most.
“At the end of the day, they’ll be paying less for health care than they are right now,” Sander said while putting his hand really, really close to the reporter’s face. (Sanders did that to Biden last night and I laughed a lot.)
.@BernieSanders says Americans will actually thank him for raising taxes by thousands of dollars, then dismisses criticism of tax-raising as “Republican nonsense.”
He’s talking about raising taxes on the middle class.#DemDebate2 pic.twitter.com/bRyssBB2WZ
— Washington Examiner (@dcexaminer) June 28, 2019
Sanders hypothesized that a middle-class family paying $15,000 a year in health insurance premiums, deductibles and other costs, whose taxes go up by $7,500 but their health insurance cost is covered by the government will be grateful for the benevolence of the government.
“You’ll say, ‘Thank you very much, Bernie,’” he said.
Uh. Not exactly, Bernie.
As any Venezuelan or student of history will know, giving the government more money and eliminating market choices from the people is never a good idea.
Name one thing the government has ever done efficiently. Even the things it must do, like national defense, are never done at a low cost to the taxpayer.
It is a fantasy or deception to preach that the government will do a better job than the free market at anything. And I say that as someone who admits the current insurance market is broken. But just because something is broken doesn’t mean I should be forced to give my money to the most inefficient organization in the land.
Even if Sanders could pull off a year or two of health care costs being lower than the proposed tax rate hike, lack of competition would inevitably drive expenses up and quality down.
Then what happens? The taxes go up. And there would still be no competition or incentive for increased quality or innovation.
But once you’ve grabbed the dog by the ears, it’s impossible to let go.
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