Bernie Sanders: Cutting Taxes for the Rich While Slashing Social Programs Is Insane

Bernie Sanders: Cutting Taxes for the Rich While Slashing Social Programs Is Insane

Bernie Sanders: Cutting Taxes for the Rich While Slashing Social Programs Is Insane

Senator Bernie Sanders of Vermont addresses the insanity of forcing the middle class to make sacrifices but not asking the country’s wealthiest individuals to make sacrifices as well.

Copy Link
Facebook
X (Twitter)
Bluesky
Pocket
Email

Vermont’s Senator Bernie Sanders, author of the new book, The Speech, appeared on The Daily Show last night to explain why he delivered an eight and a half hour "filibuster" on the Senate floor last year. "We have a middle class, which in many cases is collapsing," says Sanders, and the 400 wealthiest individuals in the country own more wealth than the bottom 150 million. "It’s insane to think the only way to move toward a balanced budget is by slashing college Pell grants" and making devastating cuts to Medicare, Medicaid and other programs. "And at the same time," Sanders concludes, "our Republican friends say, we’re going to do all these terrible things to the most vulnerable Americans, but you know what? We’re not going to ask billionaires to pay a nickel more in taxes."

—Kevin Gosztola

Support independent journalism that does not fall in line

Even before February 28, the reasons for Donald Trump’s imploding approval rating were abundantly clear: untrammeled corruption and personal enrichment to the tune of billions of dollars during an affordability crisis, a foreign policy guided only by his own derelict sense of morality, and the deployment of a murderous campaign of occupation, detention, and deportation on American streets. 

Now an undeclared, unauthorized, unpopular, and unconstitutional war of aggression against Iran has spread like wildfire through the region and into Europe. A new “forever war”—with an ever-increasing likelihood of American troops on the ground—may very well be upon us.  

As we’ve seen over and over, this administration uses lies, misdirection, and attempts to flood the zone to justify its abuses of power at home and abroad. Just as Trump, Marco Rubio, and Pete Hegseth offer erratic and contradictory rationales for the attacks on Iran, the administration is also spreading the lie that the upcoming midterm elections are under threat from noncitizens on voter rolls. When these lies go unchecked, they become the basis for further authoritarian encroachment and war. 

In these dark times, independent journalism is uniquely able to uncover the falsehoods that threaten our republic—and civilians around the world—and shine a bright light on the truth. 

The Nation’s experienced team of writers, editors, and fact-checkers understands the scale of what we’re up against and the urgency with which we have to act. That’s why we’re publishing critical reporting and analysis of the war on Iran, ICE violence at home, new forms of voter suppression emerging in the courts, and much more. 

But this journalism is possible only with your support.

This March, The Nation needs to raise $50,000 to ensure that we have the resources for reporting and analysis that sets the record straight and empowers people of conscience to organize. Will you donate today?

Ad Policy
x