6 Big Reasons Not to Vote for Hillary Clinton

Mindy Fischer put out a blog post titled, "6 Big Reasons To Vote for Hillary." I have Hillary supporter friends, and one of them posted the article on Facebook. I rolled my eyes and tried to ignore it, but I couldn't. So, here we go. A response to each of Mindy's points.

There's a tight race looming in the distance with a very possible Hillary vs Trump general election. Many fear Trump and gawk at the #BernieOrBust or #NeverHillary movements. Surely Hillary is a far better candidate? Well, not really. 

Obama's Third Term

I like President Obama in general. He pulled us from Iraq and Afghanistan (although not completely), and he passed the Affordable Healthcare Act that was an invaluable boon for me going into college. But we still have people who can't afford healthcare or are underinsured. So, yeah, he's accomplished some great things. But overall I wish he'd done better. Hillary follows many of his short comings.

The Great Recession may be over, but we're still feeling its effects. Jobs are hard to come by and there's a trend toward people saving money rather than spending. Our economy isn't where it should be, and the people have lost faith in it. I have no confidence in Hillary's stance on opposing the TPP, a trade deal Obama sadly supports and one that would only ship more American jobs overseas. This is the last thing our country needs.

On immigration, while Hillary has promised only to deport violent criminals and has specifically state she won't deport children, she stands by her previous decision to send back child refuges from Central America. So which is it, Hillary? You can't have it both ways. Obama deported hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants during his first term alone, reaching a record high. If Hillary really is the next Obama, we can expect much of the same.

Hillary has ties to gas and oil companies. She has promised to install 500 million solar panels across the country along with infrastructure upgrades to improve our transporting systems for coal, oil, and gas. Keep in mind it took her forever to come out against the Keystone pipeline in a decision that should have been a no brainier from the start. Hillary also sold fracking to the world and can't promise to abolish it in the US. Obama's taken some strides in green energy initiatives, but not nearly enough to draw us away from dirty energy. Expect Hillary to follow suit.

Hillary plans on "expanding" Obamacare by making it more affordable. Cheaper care sounds good in theory but it's not a guarantee of ensuring all American citizens have access to affordable quality care. The Affordable Care Act is likely to go in the history books as Obama's shinning moment. I would challenge Hillary to reform it, not simply hold on to it and make it cost less.

Hillary has spoken in support of Dodd-Frank, but if you expect her rail in Wall Street, think again. If her speeches to Goldman Sacs (one of her top campaign donors among other disturbing ties) don't bother you, she also refuses to reinstate Glass Steagall. And she has promised only invoke Dodd-Frank if the banks pose a risk, nevermind the fact that they are now bigger than they were in 2008. Obama's "great" Wall Street reform was to pass Dodd-Frank. Hillary has followed and proposed a weak plan (though she calls it comprehensive) to combat excess spending.

So yeah, if you are happy with all of that and you think it's the direction our country needs to go in for the next 8 years, Hillary's a great candidate.

Experience

Hillary's experience has been touted from day one. Mindy herself says "no one in our history has ever come to this office as ready on day one as Hillary." She's wrong. Even if you include Hillary's time as First Lady, Bernie Sanders has 12 more years of experience than she does directly related to governance and congressional work.

Hillary also calls herself "a progressive who gets things done," and the Washington Times touted her record in the Senate and her ability pass laws. But that article is highly inaccurate. You can fact check Hillary and Bernie on congress.gov yourself and see how the two compare bill for bill. Something less known is Bernie Sanders was called the Amendment King for his ability to pass laws through a Republican held Congress (1995-2007). He's just as capable if not more so than Hillary (he's been in Congress nearly 3x longer than her) to get stuff done.

Along with Clinton's experience, Mindy says, "Hillary has proven herself tough enough to handle anything." Has she? I wouldn't call a woman tough who lets others use sexism as a shield for her and doesn't rebuke it. I wouldn't call a woman tough who can only give her gender as an example to how she's different than Obama or why she's not establishment. I wouldn't a call a woman tough who says one thing and has to use the excuse that she misspoke to cover her tracks. I wouldn't call a woman tough who can't give a position on anything until the political climate is right for it. I wouldn't call a woman tough who has to lie repeatedly about her record and hope no one Google's it. I wouldn't call a woman tough who feels she has to change her accent to match the area she visits visits while campaigning. I wouldn't call a woman tough who tells Bernie Sanders to "tone it down" when she expects to go up against Donald Trump.

I don't expect her to be kicking ass and taking names as president.

Foreign Policy

Hillary's friendship with Henry Kissinger is nothing to be praised. And her foreign policy record is a terrifying thing to wade through, showing one reckless war-addicted decision after another that often ends in destabilization of the area. Iraq. Benghazi. Honduras. Afghanistan. Russia. Syria. Lybia, which is actually credited as "Hillary's War." Hillary says the one thing she learned from Lybia was that the US's presence is needed in the middle east. You can bet as president she'll be sending us into another costly war,

I get when people say Trump would be worse, but that's no reason to hold Hillary up as shinning example when she seems to hold such blatant disregard to lives lost and effected by war.

Guns

While Hillary has a plan for gun control here at home, she has no qualms supplying arms deals to her donors as Secretary of State, including Sadia Arabia, Algeria, Kuwait, United Arab Emirates, Oman, and Qtar. I wish I was fucking kidding.

Women's Rights

Those who question Hillary as a feminist, point to her record of silencing women who came out about sexual assault by her husband. Others point to her defense of a child rapist and her decision to paint the victim as "attention seeking and emotionally unstable." I personally have no respect for a women who uses the deaths of children as a political ploy. Though these issues can be pushed aside for situational reasons, they are still unsettling.

Other concerns include Hillary taking donations from countries that oppress women and cutting programs while head of the Children's Defense Fund.

She takes donations from Monsanto, a company that dumps tons of pesticide into the ground and waterways, abuses workers and local farmers, and is pushing against legislation to mandate GMO labeling on foods. Hillary also served as Director of Walmart for 6 years, a company known for its aggressive anti-union practices, unlivable wages it provides its employees, and a tendency to accept goods from near-slavery condition factories. Though she has since left the company, she has yet to speak against it. Those against Hillary argue her ties to such companies bring her convictions into question. If she wants what's best for women, why would she accept or give support to such groups that hurt women, their families, and their children?

Hillary's policies on mass incarceration, big oil, climate change, health care, and unions are also criticized as being too lax for women and children who would benefit from stronger reform.

Trump

Is Hillary better than Trump? I suppose you could say that. Is she a champion of women and children? Hell, no. Should you vote for her anyway? Both of them are horrific candidates, and it's time as US citizens we take the presidency into our own hands and stop voting for the lesser evil because there is another choice.

Write in Bernie Sanders for the general election or vote Green.

You roll your eyes. You laugh. No third party candidate has ever won a single state. Writing in Bernie Sanders is "throwing away your vote." But that's only true because you believe it.

If every single person in the US who looked at Trump and/or Hillary and said "hell no" voted third party we really would have a political revolution on our hands. Stop voting scared, and vote with integrity. We have more choices than just two. It's up to you to decide whether to give in to this sick, destructive cycle of crap-ass candidates the Republicans and Democrats keep throwing at us or to take a chance and vote for the country's future.

If the only benefit of voting for Hillary Clinton is to stop a greater evil, we gain nothing. It's still a vote for evil.

UPDATE 5/17/16: added paragraph on "getting stuff done" under Experience.

Bernie Supporters, Now is Not Time to Jump Ship

Bernie's defeat during last night's Super Tuesday was disheartening to say the least. But just because the majority is paying attention to the sharks and ship captain, doesn't mean you give up on the guy pointing out the disaster we're heading into.

Months ago, before any #StillSanders hashtag appeared, I was asked in an anonymous Tumblr message if I would change my blog name and start following another presidential candidate if Bernie didn't win the nomination.

The question seemed absurd to me then. I didn't start a blog and several social media channels so I could flip flop between lackluster political candidates. I don't spend hours of my day every day reading Bernie, sharing Bernie, discussing Bernie just to give up once he secured the white house. Win or lose, Bernie champions a message I care about, and as long as that message is carried, I will kept fighting for it.

I thought others who proclaimed they "feel the bern" were the same as I, that they too had latched on to the message and were in it for the long haul. Now, with Bernie's chances for the nomination growing slimmer, I was disappointed to see messages of those I once trusted urging others to vote for Hillary to save the country from the impending Trump nomination.

And if you're one of those people who championed Bernie but are now limping away and suggesting we all do the same, then I have to ask you, what were you fighting for in the first place? Because the issues haven't changed, and if you ever really cared about them, Bernie is still the best choice for president. Do you not owe it to yourself and this country to continue fighting for Bernie?

Running scared to vote for the lesser evil is what establishment politics wants you to do. How many presidential elections have you heard the saying "But I can't vote for him because he can't win?" We, a country built by revolutionists, have let ourselves believe we have no power. Many of us are sick and tired of our political system, but we've bought into the fallacy of the throwaway vote. The reality is if we only had the courage to band together, we could truly change something.

There is, even now a path to the white house. Bernie does extremely well with Independents and young people, two groups that have felt excluded by and haven't participated in our political process. Bernie is the only candidate with a net favorability rating among voters and polls better than Hillary against the Republican candidates. While Hillary gains support mostly among democrats, Bernie appeals to a wide group voters, Democrats and Republicans alike. Bernie's support can be expected to grow after the primary as he gains more exposure among the American people. Hillary's support may not as her numbers have stayed around the same since the primary started. 

Bernie plans to fight all the way to the convention where it all comes down to super delegates. If Bernie can pull off an impressive delegate count to rival Clinton, and the delegates recognize Bernie has the support and the momentum to win the general election in a way that surpasses Clinton's chances, they should vote for him.

Of course, there's always the chance Bernie doesn't win. But what really changes then? Do you honestly believe our country is best served by voting for another candidate? We backed Bernie because we believed in what he represented. None of that changes if he doesn't win the nomination.

What about the fossil fuels destroying our planet? What about people who still can't afford life saving healthcare? What about preventing Wall Street from crashing our economy again? Our crumbling education system? The disappearing middle class? Our bought politicians? Our obsession with continuous warfare? Our terrible mass incarceration and criminal justice issues? No one said the political revolution was going to be easy. And I for one fail to see how turning in my values and beliefs for an establishment candidate is going to be helpful.

Our country cannot continue to survive like this, and Hillary is not going to fix it. Yes, Trump is scary, but that's no reason to buy into the establishment ploy and drag our country though 8 more years of income inequality, corrupt politics, and no change. Hillary is just as likely to destroy the country as Trump, she'll just do it quietly and behind closed doors.

Hillary has to earn our vote and has already demonstrated how little she cares about it. So what do we do? We get back to what we've been doing. We phone bank, canvas, and volunteer our heart out. We show up and vote and drag our friends and family out with us. We make Hillary fight for every last delegate until the convention.

And what if Bernie doesn't get the Democratic nomination? Then we see if a third party candidacy is an option, and if it is we fight our heart out for that. And if not, we continue to fight for Bernie and his beliefs and vote berniecrats into office one county, city, state at a time. We change Congress. We get involved in our political process, attend protests, and demand that our representatives work for us. We do not give up! And we do not give in!

Bernie has been fighting for us for over 40 years, even when no one was around to take him seriously. Now is not the time to jump ship, or perhaps the perfect time if you were never serious to be begin with. We are the political revolution, and it can only go as far as you decide to carry it. Sign the Bernie or Bust pledge to write in Bernie's name or vote Green in the general election. Tell the establish we're not playing their game anymore.

Hillary's "I'm a Woman" Card is Ridiculous and Insulting

Hillary plays the "I'm a Woman" card every chance she gets, like somehow the fact she has different genitals than most of her running mates makes her a better candidate. Has she forgotten there's a woman running on the GOP side? I'm not more likely to throw my vote to her than I am any other GOP candidate. Why would someone's gender make any difference on the Democratic side?

When you're asked, Hillary, what makes you different than Obama, the correct answer is not, "I'm a woman." And when you're asked if you can be considered establishment, the correct answer is not, "I can't be because I'm a woman." Why would you ever suggest that voters would support you because of what's between your legs or on your chest vs what positions you actually support?

Does being a woman make you more likely to fight against the Keystone pipeline?

No. Hillary didn't take any stance on the Keystone pipeline until finally coming out against it in September, 2015. Meanwhile, Bernie was against it from the very beginning. 

Does being a woman make you more likely to rail against the greed of Wall Street?

No. Hillary refuses to reinstate Glass Steagall, and during the last debate said she'd only look at breaking up big banks if they posed a risk. Meanwhile, she has several ties to Wall Street she may be reluctant to sever and Bernie has been wanting to break up the banks since the fallout where they already proved their risk to the economy.

Does being a woman make you most qualified to lead us in clean energy?

No. Hillary has yet to name a stance on fracking. Meanwhile, Bernie's climate plan goes further than Hillary's in addressing clean energy on a global scale and on transportation in addition to home energy sources.

Does being a woman make you more likely to fight for better health care?

No. Hillary wants to "build" on the Affordable Care Act and "reduce costs" with no clear end goal other than to make it better. Meanwhile, Bernie has a plan for universal healthcare for all Americans that should have been enacted years ago.

Does being a woman make you more likely to fight for fair trade policies?

No. Hillary only came out against the TPP October, 2015 after hoping it would set a gold standard. Meanwhile, Bernie has been against it at least since December, 2014. And he's always been suspicious of unfettered free trade policies where as Hillary has back-peddled on NAFTA. Only Bernie has actually spoken about the real horrors of the bill - being negotiated behind closed doors and giving corporations the power to challenge environmental laws, to name a few- while Hillary only said it would hurt American workers.

Does being a woman make you more likely to stand up for LGBT issues?

No. Hillary was against same-sex marriage until 2013 and up to that point only supported civil unions. Meanwhile, Bernie approved Burlington's first gay pride parade in 1983.

Does being a woman make you more likely to fight against mass incarceration?

No. While Hillary and Bernie fair equality in supporting reductions in jail sentences for non-violent drug offenders and deprivatizing our criminal system, Hillary refuses to decriminalize marijuana, making it legal only for medical purposes. Meanwhile, Bernie wants it off the list of outlawed drugs altogether.

Does being a woman make you more likely to keep us from another complicated and costly war?

No. Hillary is supportive of having the US lead the charge against ISIS, bringing up questions of how well she's really learned from her mistake in voting for the Iraq war. Meanwhile, Bernie has said that regional nations should lead the charge with US assistance. He has also questioned the US's role as "world police" and the amount of instability that is brought to a region when a regime is toppled.

Does being a woman make you more likely to fight for a living wage?

No. Hillary wants to raise the minimum wage to $12 and hour. Meanwhile, Bernie wants to raise it to $15, which is calculated to get working families out of poverty and off welfare.

Does being a woman make you more likely to fight for affordable education?

No. Hillary wants to implement debt-free college, meaning students and their families will still have to play. Meanwhile, Bernie wants to remove any barriers to achieve a college education by making it tuition-free.

Does being a woman make you more likely to fight to take big money out of politics?

No. While Hillary has said she wants to overturn Citizens United, she has taken large corporation donations throughout her political career and during her current campaign. Meanwhile, Bernie has sworn off such donations. During his political career where he's been offered corporate money, he's either refused it or donated it.

I'm asking, Hillary, because these are the issues I care about. And when placed side by side, you are weaker on these issues than Bernie Sanders. The two of you fair equally in your stances on Social Security, police reform, and women's issues. But why stop there? When it comes down to it, there is another candidate who will fight more for the positions I care about and who has a consistent record to back it up (you don't). Yes, he happens to wear pants. So do you, by the way. Why would you insult the intelligence of your voters, especially women voters, by suggesting your vagina makes any kind of a difference?

NBC Fourth Democratic Debate Recap - The Bernie Debate

Remember when I said I didn't understand why we like to decide who won debates? Well, I have to take it back because I really felt like Bernie killed this debate. For once, I wasn't staring at the screen listening to candidates talk about their different perspectives or yell at one another. This time, something more came through, and I really felt like Bernie came out on top. Here's a break down:

Before the Debate

Lots of things happened before the debate, and I think they added to the momentum.

First there was the MLK roundtable with Cornel West, Killer Mike, and Nina Turner. The link before is the full discussion, but there's another shorter version with clearer audio that the campaign also released.

Before the debate, Bernie also found time to join a march in Charleston for living wages.

Also, Bernie released some details on his health care plan.

And before all of that happened Bernie issued a statement for the resignation of Michigan governor Rick Snyder as a result of the Flint water crisis. If you'd like to help the city of Flint, you can check out this article.

The Debate Itself

If you missed the debate, you can watch it here.

If you're just looking for the highlights, the debate got pretty firey with punches coming left and right from Clinton while Bernie dodged them all with grace.

One moment that went viral during the debate was Bernie's "side eye" that he gave Hillary after she accused him of calling Obama "weak." I actually missed this moment because I was giving Hillary a similar look from my couch.

Another moment that got shared a lot was Bernie's answer to how he would make sure that cases of police violence were reviewed and prosecuted fairly.

The debate on Wall Street and campaign funds is also worth watching.

Check out Bernie and Hillary's disagreement on how to handle Iran.

And Bernie and Hillary's disagreement on health care.

After the Debate

Even if while watching the debate you weren't sure who came out on top, the after effects of the debate were clear.

If the first time since the Democratic debates started, Bernie ended up with more speaking time than Hillary.

NBC Today called the debate "clearly the Bernie debate."

During the debate, Bernie was the most searched candidate in every state across the country.

Bernie did so well, that the campaign released this moving video.

During the debate, Bernie raked in $1 million in campaign donations.

CNN First Democratic Debate Breakdown

Who Won?

I really don't get this whole "Who won the debate?" thing. It's all opinion anyway. People who like Hillary are going to feel Hillary won, and people who like Bernie are going to think Bernie won. What is the point of this argument? No one is going to agree. And I'm really not into arguing for the sake of arguing.

And, yes, there are polls out there, and yes Bernie did really well and then some. And then the media went out and ignored their own polls. But still, who exactly are participating in these polls? And how exactly does that reflect the rest of the United States who maybe didn't care enough to participate but still watched the debate? Or people who didn't care enough to watch the debate at all? Are we just assuming these people aren't going to be bothered to vote or that they don't care that much about social media?

I just don't take much store in these things. They're cool and all. I'm just not convinced of their accuracy. And I find the debate over who won the debate completely pointless until someone is actually elected President. Then, and only then, can we actually point to who the people support (unless you're George Bush, but we don't talk about that).

Joe Biden

[RANT WARNING!]

Before the debate started, the announcers spent a good amount of time speculating about Joe Biden, which drove me nuts. Dear media, please shut up about Joe Biden. No one freaking cares. Like at all. I am so sick and tired over speculation about Joe Biden. Will he run? Won't he run? Would he hurt Hillary or help Hillary? Would he hurt Bernie or help Bernie? Hey, Bernie, let's take up some of your valuable time and ask you what you think of about Biden!

No. One. Cares. Please, for the love of God, just stop it already. The man is not running. And if he does decide to run (unlikely at this point, don't you think?), you can talk about him then. Not before. Please stop wasting valuable air time talking about such a pointless, unproductive, unimportant issue.

[RANT OVER]

Okay, I'm done. I digress.

....

So, Bernie debate parties. I didn't go, and I didn't throw one. I wanted to, but I decided the time of the debate was a little too late for me to hang out with strangers when I'm going to immediately want to go to bed afterwards. Still, there were a lot of cool pictures, and I did participate in #DebateWithBernie on Tumblr. So there. I was a good grassroots participant.

There's a lot of snark in this post. I don't know if you're picking up on it. But if you are, I apologize. Pointless things get me riled up.

Best Bernie Moments

Speaking of pointless things, one of the best moments of the debate was when Bernie said Americans were sick and tired of hearing about Hillary's "damn emails" (and here's the part of that speech that CNN cut out from their regular broadcast).

Other good moments of the debate:

When Bernie said, "Black lives matter."

When Bernie said, "Wall Street regulates congress" (and here's the whole big banks debate).

When Bernie said, "You have not been in the US congress. And if you think we can simply go forward and pass something tomorrow without bringing people together, you are sorely mistaken" (gun debate). Here's Bernie's initial statement.

When Bernie said, "I suspect I would vote yes" (marijuana debate). Here's Hillary's response.

When Bernie said, "What we said 50 years ago is every kid in this country should be able to get a high school education regardless of income. I think we have to say that is true for everybody going to college."

When Bernie answered how a Democratic Socialist could win the white house. (Seriously, there's so many good lines in here, I couldn't pick one)

When Bernie said climate change was the biggest threat to national security.

When Bernie said he'd shut down the NSA.

When Bernie explained his vote on Immigration reform.

When Bernie explained when he'd use force to defend the US.

Other good discussions were the ones on Social Security and Healthcare.

Bernie's closing statement.

Additionally, if you missed the debate, the full debate is currently on youtube in various formats. Just search "CNN full debate 2015" and it will come up.

What is Bernie Sanders' Plan for the Deficit / Budget / Debt?

I've seen this question pop up a lot in one form or another. So, first let's have a little vocabulary lesson.

The budget is when the government plans where to spend money and how much to spend for the fiscal year. This isn't concrete. The government can over or under spend in areas just like you or I.

The deficit is when the government spends more money than it takes in.

And the debt is when the government borrows money to account for the money it overspent.

When a country doesn't have a deficit, this does not mean that leftover money automatically goes toward the debt. The government has to decide to what to do with that extra money, and it could just as easily (and probably more likely) be spent on something else than go toward the debt.

For 2015, the US is estimated to have a deficit of $583 billion and a debt of $18.6 trillion.

General Provisions

I don't know what Bernie Sanders plans to do about this in the way of specifically setting aside money to pay back the debt or putting in careful calculations to make sure we don't have a deficit. But I do know he's looking for specific ways to cut spending.

Military Spending

We currently spend more money in military spending than the next 9 countries combined. The Military budget for 2015 was $598.5 billion. Bernie Sanders wants to cut that. He hasn't said how much, but we could cut the budget by 60% and still lead the world in defense spending. If we did that, we'd have $359.1 billion in savings.

https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/us-military-spending-vs-world/

Mass Incarceration

The 2.4 million people we imprison in this country, costs us $80 billion a year. If we ended the War on Drugs and gave people medical treatment instead of putting them behind bars (as Bernie Sanders wants to do), this would cut our prison costs by over half, saving $41.3 billion a year. (Ah! You say. But what about health care costs? We'll get there.) This would also save money in welfare costs as about half of US states provide welfare for convicted felons who struggle to find jobs once released.

Ending Off Shore Tax Havens

Bernie Sanders wants to put an end to offshore tax havens, which allow corporations and rich Americans to store money overseas. They then pay less taxes to other countries, which costs the federal US government $150 billion year and state governments a total of $39.8 billion a year (source).

Ending Corporate Welfare

No one knows for certain how much money is paid to corporations each year in subsidies, but it's estimated to cost $110 billion a year. The top 8 paid corporations (such as Boeing, Nike, Shell, and Intel) made up $22 billion of that cost last year. (And while you're at it, here's a Top 30 list.) A number of these companies are Fortune 500 companies that don't need government handouts, and some of them aren't even US companies (source). Bernie Sanders isn't against business, but he is against giving tax payer dollars to corporations that already making millions or billions of dollars in profit.

Raising the Minimum Wage

It's estimated that $152.8 billion a year is spent in taxes on welfare programs for minimum wage employees who don't make enough to support themselves or their families. Raising the minimum wage to $15 an hour would eliminate that cost.

Tax Reform for the Rich

No one knows the exact numbers, but it's estimated that 25% of millionaires and at least the top 400 billionaires pay less in taxes than the average middle class American. Bernie Sanders wants to fix this by raising income taxes on the richest Americans, abolishing tax cuts for millionaires and billionaires, and changing the cap on and raising the estate tax. It's estimated reform on the estate tax alone would bring in $31.9 billion a year. We don't currently have numbers for the other areas.

Tax Wall Street

Bernie Sanders wants to implement a Financial Transaction Tax (a.k.a Robin Hood Tax), which is a small tax (.003%) on each transaction of a stock or bond. This would bring in $35.2 billion a year.

Specific Programs

The following includes a number of programs that Bernie Sanders wants to implement a discussion on how they may or may not contribute to deficit. You can read more specifics about these bills in a previous post.

Green Energy Initiatives

The Climate Protection Act and Sustainable Energy Act implements a number of green energy initiatives. This would be paid for by implementing a $20 carbon tax per ton of carbon emissions, rising by 5.6% per year over 10 years. The bill would also end fossil fuel subsidies. The revenue from these bills would generate approximately $300 billion to go specifically toward debt reduction.

Tuition Free College

Bernie's College for All Act would be paid for by taxes on Wall Street. While the bill costs $47 billion, the taxes on Wall Street is projected to bring in hundreds of billions of dollars a year. And extra revenue could be used elsewhere.

Create Jobs Rebuilding America's Infrastructure

Bernie Sanders' Rebuild America Act would cost $1.6 Trillion (paid for by the development of a National Infrastructure Development Bank that would then give out loans). However, this bill would presumably provide jobs for those who are unemployed, saving in welfare costs. This bill would also build up our infrastructure to allow it to compete with the rest of world. A study by Duke University estimates that every dollar spent into transportation infrastructure pays back $3.54 in economic impact. It's not clear how exactly this would impact the deficit, but it's information worth having.

Health Care

I don't know how much Bernie's American Health Security Act would cost (someone smarter than I will have to look at it). But is it estimated that the US spends $3.1 trillion on health care. That includes $374 billion in prescription costs, which Bernie wants to lower. It also includes $836 billion in Social Security costs for Medicare, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance (CHIP). The American Health Security Act would replace these programs along with Federal Employee Health Benefits (FEHB), TRICARE, and provisions under the Affordable Care Act.

Whatever the cost of Bernie's American Health Security Act, it's important to note that its cost wouldn't go on top of what the US already spends in health care. The American Health Security Act would absorb the programs we already have. In effect, the money the government currently spends in health care programs would simply be transferred to the American Health Security Act, and our previous health care programs would be eliminated. So, one way or another, the cost of this new bill should come out as a general wash.

Conclusion

Bernie Sanders has a lot of changes he wants to make for America. It's easy to take them at face value and miss the cost savings underneath. Pass this article around for those who have questions.

UPDATE 09/19/15: Added more headings and a more of Bernie's programs

How Does Bernie Sanders Plan to Pay for all this "Free" Stuff?

Bernie supporters know that all this "free" stuff isn't really free. Someone has to pay somehow. But is it true that all this "free" stuff means higher taxes? If you came here with questions, here are your answers.

UPDATE 1/13/16: Bernie's Campaign released a handy dandy chart on how his plans will be paid for and the revenue they are expected to bring in. Feel free to use the information there in conjunction of this blog post.

Tuition-Free College

Tuesday, May 19, 2015, Sanders introduced legislation to help make public 4-year colleges and universities tuition free, called the "College for All Act." You can view a newsroom article here, summary of the bill here, and the full bill here.

The bill would provide $47 billion a year to states to reduce college tuition and fees:

"Today, total tuition at public colleges and universities amounts to about $70 billion per year. Under the College for All Act, the federal government would cover 67% of this cost, while the states would be responsible for the remaining 33% of the cost." (bill summary) 

The College for All Act also proposes to cut student loan interest rates in half, expand student work-study programs, and create a pilot program to eliminate a student's need to apply for financial aid every year.

Funding for this legislation would come from a 0.5% tax on stock trades, a 0.1% tax on bonds, and a 0.005% tax on derivatives. "It has been estimated that this provision could raise hundreds of billions a year."

Universal Health care

Monday, December 9, 2013, Sanders introduced legislation to provide health care to every American through a single-payer, Medicare-for-all system, called the "American Health Security Act." You can view a newsroom article here, a summary of the bill here, and the full bill here.

The bill would establish a state-based health security program (and it looks like states can choose to opt out). The bill would also establish various organizations to develop procedures, evaluate quality, and perform research.

The bill would provide comprehensive health benefits (starting on page 17 of the bill) including preventative and long-term care. And as such, would eliminate health benefits under the Social Security Act (Medicare, Medicaid, Children's Health Insurance), the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program, and TRICARE. It would also repeal health insurance coverage and exchange provisions under the Affordable Care Act.

Funding for this bill (starting pg 166) would be paid by a 6.7% payroll tax on employers a, 2.2% - 5.2% income tax on employees (dependent on income bracket from less than $200k a year to over $600k a year), an 5.4% tax on modified adjusted gross income exceeding $1 million, and a .02% tax on securities transactions.

It is also worth noting that with all the programs Bernie bill would eliminate, the costs of those programs would essentially transfer to Bernie's health program, providing additional funding.

UPDATE 1/28/16: Bernie released official details on his health care plan including saving and taxes.

Green Energy Initiatives

From FirstCarbonSolutions.com

Thursday, February 14, 2013, Sanders introduced legislation, along with Barbara Boxer, in a two part proposal on Climate change, called the "Climate Protection Act" and the "Sustainable Energy Act." You can view a press release here and summary of the proposal here. You can view the first bill here and the second here.

The bill proposes weatherizing 1 million homes per year (creating jobs and saving households on energy usage and costs), tripling the budget for ARPA-E, creating a Sustainable Technologies Finance Program to invest in green energy initiatives, investing in domestic manufacturing, funding $1 billion a year in worker training, and creating a family Clean Energy Rebate Program.

Funding for this proposal would be paid on $20 carbon tax per ton of carbon emissions, rising by 5.6% per year over 10 years.

"This fee would apply to only 2,869 of the largest fossil fuel polluters, covering about 85 percent of U.S. greenhouse gas emissions, according to the Congressional Research Service. The Congressional Budget Office estimates this step alone could raise $1.2 trillion in revenue over ten years and reduce greenhouse gas emissions approximately 20 percent from 2005 levels by 2025." (bill summary)

Imported fuels would be charged the same carbon fee, unless the exporting country has a similar climate program and already charges a fee on carbon. The bill would also end fossil fuel subsidies. From this, "approximately $300 billion would go to debt reduction over ten years" (summary).
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Sanders also introduced a bill on Tuesday, July 7, 2015 to make solar energy more accessible to low income families, called the "Low Income Solar Act." This bill would cost $3 billion spanning from 2016 to 2030. You can view a news article here, summary of the bill here, and the full bill here.

Funding: This proposal gives the Secretary of Energy authorization to allocate an amount of funds ($200 million) each year from the Department of Energy for 15 years to provide low-income families with grants or loans (no more than 50% can loans, and they must meet certain eligibility requirements) to install solar panels on their homes.

Job Creation

From ThyBlackMan.com

Tuesday, January 27, 2015, Sanders introduced legislation to create 13 million jobs, called the "Rebuild America Act." You can view a press release here, a summary of the bill here, and the full bill here.

The bill proposes to spend $1.6 trillion on rebuilding America's roads, bridges, railways, airports, waterways, ports, national parks, and electric grids from 2015 to 2022. Funding for this proposal appears to come in the establishment of a National Infrastructure Development Bank to give out loans.
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Thursday, June 4, 2015, Sanders, along with Jon Conyers, introduced legislation to create jobs for youth, called the "Employ Young Americans Now Act." You can view a press release of the bill here, a summary of the bill here, and the full bill here.

The bill proposes $4 billion in grants to state and local government to promote job growth and offer services such as transportation or child care to help eliminate barriers to participating in jobs. An additional $1.5 billion would go to local areas to promote jobs for low-income or disadvantaged youths. Funding for this bill seems to come from an allocation of funds within the U.S. Treasury.

Minimum Wage Increase

From 10news.com

Wednesday, July 22, 2015, Sanders introduced a bill to increase the minimum wage to $15 an hour over a period of five years, called the "Pay Workers a Living Wage Act." You can view the press release here, the summary here, and the full bill here.

This bill proposes the follow wage adjustments:

+ Minimum wage - $9 in 2016, $10.50 in 2017, $12.00 in 2018, $13.50 in 2019, and $15 in 2020.
+ Tipped min wage - $3.15 in 2016, then increased $1.50 each year until matching standard minimum.
+ Youth min wage - can be no less than $3.00 less the standard minimum.

Business are expected to adjust their finances to cover this cost.

Others

Bernie Sanders also has proposals to reduce the deficit. These include:

+ End offshore tax havens
+ Establish .03% tax on Wall Street speculators
+ End tax breaks and subsides for big oil, gas, and coal companies
+ Establish as estate tax on inherited wealth over more than $3.5 million
+ Tax capital gains and dividends the same as work
+ Repeal 2001 and 2003 Bush tax breaks for the top two percent
+ Establish a currency manipulation fee on China and other countries
+ Reduce unnecessary spending at the Pentagon
+ Require Medicare to negotiate for drug prices
+ End mass incarceration (costs billions of dollars a year)

 Conclusion

None of Bernie's proposals will raise taxes for average Americans, except for the health care bill. I don't know many people who make more than $200,000 a year. So consider that 2.2% income tax alongside what comes out of your paycheck for your employer's health insurance and what an average visit to the doctor's office costs (and then imagine what it costs for x-rays and surgery and things of that nature, and heaven forbid you have a medical emergency). Is 2.2% really that high? I've been told Briton pays 10%.

The top 2% of Americans will have some higher taxes. Taxes and fees will go up on large oil, coal, and fossil fuels companies. And Wall Street has a minuscule tax on its transactions.

When someone asks you how Bernie plans for pay for things, give them this article. And when someone tells you electing Bernie Sanders means higher taxes or increasing the deficit, tell them they're wrong.

UPDATE 09/19/15: various updates to funding info