Colin's Last Stand, Episode 46: Is Bernie Sanders Good For America?

Well, I'll agree with you in one particular sense: There's nothing wrong with putting ideas out into the wild and seeing what floats and what sinks. My argument against Sanders is that he's a top-level idea kind of guy with no real notion of how to get anything done.

Colin Moriarty

Pretty much, yeah.

Colin Moriarty

I think the idea of bernie sanders is good for America. We know none of his stuff is necessarily fundable, but the fact that it sounded like there was a politician who actually gave a shit about people during the last election I think was something we needed. He wasn't just spitting the same old nonsense about why democrats are better than republicans or something like that, he was actually just saying - This is the state of the country... does this seem right? - I think we need more people like him in government.

Owen

Bernie Sanders is a crazy old man that gives young people a crazy dream.

Joey Finelli

He's the epitome of having his cake and eating it too. Not a Democrat, but allowed to run on the Democratic ticket. Doesn't support many Democratic causes, but is allowed to reshape the entire platform. He's done a lot of harm to the party, and I don't know if people will realize it until we gain some distance from him and his movement.

Colin Moriarty

Sanders-turned-Trump supporters are large in number, and, as I said in the video, tipped the election in his favor. In Bernie's world, it's all about him.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you! I've always been mystified as to why he gets a free pass.

Colin Moriarty

I agree with you. Thing is, the Democratic base doesn't seem to realize that it's more fractured and broken than the GOP is. And that doesn't bode well for a 2020 race in which they will be going against an incumbent, no matter how unpopular.

Colin Moriarty

Well, the thing about the Democratic Socialist message is that it could use a far more effective and savvy messenger than Sanders. And I think you'll get that messenger in 2020 or 2024. For Sanders to get what he wants, he needs to compromise and understand he won't get everything. Or even most of his platform. The "Democratic Socialist" who realizes that first will make hay in a primary.

Colin Moriarty

Well, I read every post, should you change your mind.

Colin Moriarty

I'm gonna do a video on universal health care before the end of the year, but I need to get some research-related ducks in a row first.

Colin Moriarty

They really are two sides of the same populist coin. People forget that Trump's original tax plan had a 0% effective tax rate for people making less than $50,000 a year. Not exactly conservative. Very liberal... even progressive, if I do say so. There are plenty of good Bernie supporters, but to deny that many of them want free things on the backs of the wealthy is absurd. Of course that's what they want, because that's all Sanders ever talks about.

Colin Moriarty

Thank you! I'm glad my videos give you something to think about. That's what counts.

Colin Moriarty

Your dad is a smart man.

Colin Moriarty

To be clear, the wealthy don't pay most of the tax bill. They pay the whole thing. That was the point of what I was saying, and why I linked to the particular CNBC story I did. That number bleeds into the upper middle class: The top 40% of tax payers pay 106% of taxes. That's not a typo. The extra 6% is siphoned off the top by the bottom 60%, which pay less than zero in taxes. So it's not a matter of "paying your fair share." They pay the whole bill, and 6 out of 10 taxpayers actually make a profit. I'm not saying that's right or wrong: I'm merely pointing out that the rich (and well-off/well-to-do) already have the entire taxation burden. Free college isn't a money issue for me, although I think it will be for a lot of people when they realize that every financial transaction made with their 401(k) and other retirement plans will be taxed to pay for it. It's a matter of I don't think everyone should go to college, and I sure don't think the taxpayer should be on the hook for it. If someone wants to go to college, get a scholarship, or do what I did, and take out loans. How come I have to pay back my loans to the tune of $500/month -- something I've been doing religiously, monthly, since 2007 -- and then someone else gets to go for free using my money? Yeah, I don't think so. If the government wants college costs to go down, they should stop guaranteeing loans and flooding the market with easy credit, which is the singular reason college is so expensive to begin with. Per your last point, the 2016 election showed how little money in politics can (or could) matter. Clinton outspent Trump by more than 2:1 (and if you factor in PAC money, that number goes far higher). Trump won, Clinton lost. I appreciate your thoughtful feedback!

Colin Moriarty

Glad you enjoyed it! Something like 12% of Sanders voters from the primary voted for Trump in the general. Numbers speak for themselves!

Colin Moriarty

I must regrettably, as a Liberal, completely agree with your assessment of Sanders. If I'm honest, I came to most of the same conclusions back during the campaign. He had some good and unique ideas...but he never, in my estimation, came across as having a workable plan to turn his ideas into actual policy; actual laws. He would always promise to, if elected, "make the case" to congress. How? How would he develop a strong coalition of Democrats when he spent the *entire* campaign more or less demonizing the entire democratic party while at the same time using the DNC's money and organizational game engine for his own benefit? How would he reach across the isle to Republicans certain to give him at least as much resistance than they gave to Obama, if not more because of the whole "Socialist=Communist" spin they would give to his policies? Nothing short of a Democratic supermajority in both houses...for at LEAST 4 years, would have allowed any possibility for enacting his agenda. Sanders did little if anything to support the down-ticket Democratic candidates that he would need to have any chance of a congress friendly to his agenda and able to implement it. Since the more likely scenario is that he would have come into office facing roughly the congress we have now; obstructionist to the extreme, history also shows that his ardent followers would likely have bailed on him by the mid-terms, just as Liberals shamefully bailed on Obama in 2010, and they'd have done it for the same reason: Sanders would not have accomplished enough change fast enough to satisfy them. The one purpose I thought Sanders was useful for, and that he did accomplish to a moderate extent, is to drag the Democratic party at least a little back to the left. I find a center-right Democratic party almost useless as the only option to the hard right, as I think of that as being "Republican-Lite", and I consider "center-right" to be a country that's mostly a 1950's social order with barely enough Liberalism to prevent only the worst aspects of that era. I have often thought that Sanders is the coin-flip side of Trump; toxic populism that only happens to be nominally on "my side". But I believe we must never become what we behold. If such an approach is wrong when trump does it, it doesn't become right when Liberals do either. A very well thought out piece as usual.

Stephen J Seidler

Great video. I think the comparison to Trump is very interesting, and I've been thinking about it for a while. I personally know a handful of people who were Bernie supporters who ended up voting for Trump. I hope we can all make our way back to progress via compromise instead of stagnation through this nonsense extremism.

John Quinn

Very nice video and I like the fact that you called out how he gets a free pass for vilifying those who are well off.

Brogan Wassell

I think democratic leaders won’t engage Sanders on his issues because he has such a large base. To challenge him would be to possibly anger his base, then losing support of younger voters. Bernie has been challenged directly by Ted Cruz in a debate they had about healthcare. It was great.

Nicholas Swanson

I'm centre left and I view Bernie as similar to Corbyn in the UK. There's way too much telling people we have the cure, its simple, the other lot hate you, all your concerns and hatred's make sense. Real life is not like that. There are crappy people on both sides of the political divide, and more importantly, complicated issues that need to be adjusted as societies change. The narcissist element I think is warranted. Its dangerous as its enabling people with very sketchy ideas to be loud and have a very black and white attitude. Trump isn't helping things either but people like Bernie definately power self-important students and young people without the maturity to know that they don't have the answers, simply a very narrow take on life, and they don't have the experience to act maturely to people with other views. I went to so many people at University like this, just looking for an image to get behind. The right is just as bad in this area.

Peter Campbell

Great video Colin! I'd like to counter argue a few points and explain why I think a lot of what Bernie stands for is indeed attainable (especially the college part). But that would require a post so big that no one would care to read :) but anyway, I love your work and I think you are an amazing person! Keep it up!

Lucas Gremista

Great video Colin! I'd love to see you do another video at some point kind of dismantling some of his pie-in-the-sky claims, especially on things like Universal Healthcare. I absolutely understand that a lot of his ideas sound too good to be true, and I really don't like his attitude him and his followers present towards anyone who disagrees with him. But I won't say that I don't understand the appeal of something like Universal Healthcare. I genuinely believe that the government has the obligation to its people to ensure that their basic healthcare needs are met, but I don't really care what way we get there as long as it doesn't destroy our country in the process (I'm absolutely open to some free market incentives as a possible solution as well as some more socialized solutions). It's such a complicated issue and it's so hard to cut through all the screaming from both sides that it's impossible to get a clear picture on what actually is and isn't a feasible solution.

Nick

I've always told people even during the election; Trump and Bernie are more similar than most are willing to acknowledge. What strikes me between the two is the both form their stances around issues that affect the economy and people's wallets. Bernie has this let's tax more approach while Trump has the tax less approach. It really is the fight of big vs small government. I've always felt Bernies socialist ideals while most wouldn't come to fruition posed an actual danger to the US. I don't feel that way about Trump. Trump undoubtedly siphoned votes from people who wanted immigrants out of the country, yet Bernie attracted people who want free stuff (even if Techincally it wouldn't be free). Being 26 and having many friends who supported Bernie, I used to laugh when they said don't you want free healthcare and free college? Nothing is free in life.

Nicholas Amato

Really liked this episode Colin, the old Bern is definitely an interesting case! I love your videos because they give insight and liberate me from the hard left and hard right perspectives.

My dad and I had a conversation about Sanders before the election. He was the one I heard first coin the Sanders movement as one "free of personal responsibility." I smiled when you said something similar, as that has been my feeling ever since. I also never would have thought about the comparison to Trump i.e. no compromise, but that's a very apt comparison as well. Great video as always. Keep it up!

Adam Niksch

Colin, I wanted to comment after your last video when you were discussing tax reform but I didn’t want to harp on a small part of a broad video like that, but since you go more in detail here, I think you are way off base when you complain about the poor scapegoating the rich. I know this will be unpopular thinking around here, but yeah. Yes, the wealthy pay most of the tax bill of the United States. BECAUSE THEY HAVE MOST OF THE MONEY. The top 1% in the United States owns around 40% of the wealth in the country, while the bottom 80% owns approximately 7% of the wealth. The richest 10% of Americans earned their largest share of income since 1917 and the poorest 20 percent of Americans saw their income fall each year from 2009 to 2011 (More here: <a href="http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/26/obama-to-focus-state-of-the-union-address-on-incom/)." rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">http://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2014/jan/26/obama-to-focus-state-of-the-union-address-on-incom/).</a> Also related is the insane uncoupling of productivity and wages in America. Productivity is skyrocketing and at an all-time high, while wages are stagnating for most Americans. Is that not a problem? Also, since you mentioned free college as another pie in the sky promise Bernie Sanders makes that is unrealistic, the recent military budget increases this month would have been enough to make public college in America free, with billions to spare (<a href="https://theintercept.com/2017/09/18/the-senates-military-spending-increase-alone-is-enough-to-make-public-college-free/)." rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://theintercept.com/2017/09/18/the-senates-military-spending-increase-alone-is-enough-to-make-public-college-free/).</a> And as far as campaign finance reform, I’ll direct you to John Oliver’s video on political fundraising to show just how fucking ridiculous having money in politics is (<a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylomy1Aw9Hk)." rel="nofollow noopener" target="_blank">https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ylomy1Aw9Hk).</a> You’ve spoken about how you don’t know why anyone would be against simplifying the tax code. Well, why would anyone be against freeing up Congressmen from the burden of fundraising to allow them to actually do their jobs?

Claudien

Really enjoyed this one. Totally agree that Sanders supporters and Trump supporters have far more in common than either wants to admit. And Trump largely won the election by siphoning off Sanders voters.

Phil Crone