Jake Dima on June 13, 2019
Democratic presidential hopeful Bernie Sanders acknowledged a tax increase from his policies and said Americans would be “delighted” to pay extra, in a CNN interview with Anderson Cooper Wednesday.
“I suspect that a lot of people in this country would be delighted to pay more in taxes if they had comprehensive health care as a human right,” Sanders said. The Vermont senator also went on to tell Cooper that he bases his principles on his 50-mile proximity to the Canadian border, where universal health care is law.
What Sanders did not include in his statement was the cost of his programs. The Mercatus Center at George Mason University released a study in 2018 saying Americans can estimate to foot a $32.6 trillion bill over a 10-year period for “Medicare for All,” Fox News reported. Sanders has also omitted cost information on his campaign website.
The 10-year cost breaks down to $3.26 trillion per year, according to the report. The current U.S. federal budget stands around $4.7 trillion.
Sanders also told Cooper Wednesday that housing, retirement, education and a clean environment are among his staples of “human rights.” President Donald Trump was a subject of discussion in the interview too.
Sanders called Trump a “corporate socialist” because of his “tax breaks to the wealthy.” He also chastised corporations seeking bailouts because of their “greed” and “illegal activity.”
