SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
"What this is about," said Sen. Bernie Sanders on CNN's State of the Union Sunday morning, "is fulfilling Republican promises made to wealthy campaign contributors. There is a reason why the billionaire class provides hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republicans. And now is payback time." (Image: Screenshot/CNN)
Sanders: Trump Spewing 'Total Nonsense' Over GOP Tax Giveaway for Billionaires
"There is a reason why the billionaire class provides hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republicans. And now is payback time."
Nov 19, 2017
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) described President Donald Trump's claim that Democrats are obstructing progress on tax overhaul efforts in Congress as "total nonsense" on Sunday.
"This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated." --Sen. Bernie Sanders"Democrats," Sanders told Jake Tapper on CNN's Face The Nation, "have been shut out of this process just as they were shut out of the healthcare legislation process."
Going further, Sanders said that Trump "should understand" exactly what's going on and why Democrats, as well as a large majority of the U.S. public, do not like or trust what the Republicans in Congress are attempting to do with what they call "tax reform" but which progressive critics have identified--and numerous analyses have shown--as nothing more than a "tax scam" that gives to the rich at the expense of the lower- and middle-classes.
Watch:
"What this is about," said Sanders, "is fulfilling Republican promises made to wealthy campaign contributors. There is a reason why the billionaire class provides hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republicans. And now is payback time. What this legislation is about, Jake, is giving 50% of the tax benefits to the top 1% -- and at the end of ten years in the House bill, forcing almost 50% of the middle class to actually pay more in taxes."
"What this tax reform bill is about--absolutly and insanely," he continued, "is repealing the estate tax; a $265 billion tax break, not for the top 1% but for the top 0.2%--a handful of the wealthiest families in this country, like the Walton family and the Koch brothers." All of this, Sanders concluded, as the Republicans willingly explode the annual deficit by $1.5 trillion in order to later argue that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid must be cut. "This is what [Speaker of the House] Paul Ryan is saying. They're gonna come back with massive cuts [to those programs], because they say, 'Oh my goodness, the deficit and the national debt are too high.' This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated."
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) described President Donald Trump's claim that Democrats are obstructing progress on tax overhaul efforts in Congress as "total nonsense" on Sunday.
"This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated." --Sen. Bernie Sanders"Democrats," Sanders told Jake Tapper on CNN's Face The Nation, "have been shut out of this process just as they were shut out of the healthcare legislation process."
Going further, Sanders said that Trump "should understand" exactly what's going on and why Democrats, as well as a large majority of the U.S. public, do not like or trust what the Republicans in Congress are attempting to do with what they call "tax reform" but which progressive critics have identified--and numerous analyses have shown--as nothing more than a "tax scam" that gives to the rich at the expense of the lower- and middle-classes.
Watch:
"What this is about," said Sanders, "is fulfilling Republican promises made to wealthy campaign contributors. There is a reason why the billionaire class provides hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republicans. And now is payback time. What this legislation is about, Jake, is giving 50% of the tax benefits to the top 1% -- and at the end of ten years in the House bill, forcing almost 50% of the middle class to actually pay more in taxes."
"What this tax reform bill is about--absolutly and insanely," he continued, "is repealing the estate tax; a $265 billion tax break, not for the top 1% but for the top 0.2%--a handful of the wealthiest families in this country, like the Walton family and the Koch brothers." All of this, Sanders concluded, as the Republicans willingly explode the annual deficit by $1.5 trillion in order to later argue that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid must be cut. "This is what [Speaker of the House] Paul Ryan is saying. They're gonna come back with massive cuts [to those programs], because they say, 'Oh my goodness, the deficit and the national debt are too high.' This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated."
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) described President Donald Trump's claim that Democrats are obstructing progress on tax overhaul efforts in Congress as "total nonsense" on Sunday.
"This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated." --Sen. Bernie Sanders"Democrats," Sanders told Jake Tapper on CNN's Face The Nation, "have been shut out of this process just as they were shut out of the healthcare legislation process."
Going further, Sanders said that Trump "should understand" exactly what's going on and why Democrats, as well as a large majority of the U.S. public, do not like or trust what the Republicans in Congress are attempting to do with what they call "tax reform" but which progressive critics have identified--and numerous analyses have shown--as nothing more than a "tax scam" that gives to the rich at the expense of the lower- and middle-classes.
Watch:
"What this is about," said Sanders, "is fulfilling Republican promises made to wealthy campaign contributors. There is a reason why the billionaire class provides hundreds of millions of dollars in campaign contributions to Republicans. And now is payback time. What this legislation is about, Jake, is giving 50% of the tax benefits to the top 1% -- and at the end of ten years in the House bill, forcing almost 50% of the middle class to actually pay more in taxes."
"What this tax reform bill is about--absolutly and insanely," he continued, "is repealing the estate tax; a $265 billion tax break, not for the top 1% but for the top 0.2%--a handful of the wealthiest families in this country, like the Walton family and the Koch brothers." All of this, Sanders concluded, as the Republicans willingly explode the annual deficit by $1.5 trillion in order to later argue that Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid must be cut. "This is what [Speaker of the House] Paul Ryan is saying. They're gonna come back with massive cuts [to those programs], because they say, 'Oh my goodness, the deficit and the national debt are too high.' This is a terrible, terrible piece of legislation and it must be defeated."
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.