Bernie Sanders Would Make A Good President

Let us get started. Arguments I will begin by detailing some key facts about Bernie Sanders’ economic plan. By looking at Bernie Sanders’ website, specifically on a page titled “How Bernie pays for his proposals,” it is evident that Bernie will enact policies that, in order to be paid for, will require an increase in payroll taxes and the income taxes of individuals, particularly high-income individuals. After looking at this page, I added up the costs of each of those programs, as well as the amount of added revenue after the tax increases. Under Bernie Sanders’ plan, tax revenue will increase $13.6 trillion over the next decade. This will include revenue from the new 6.2% employer-side payroll tax and the new 2.2% broad-based income tax. Overall, the marginal tax rates would be significantly increased, as well as the cost of capital and the amount of capital needed to start a business. As a result, the GDP would decrease 9.5 percent long term. After that decade is over, the increase in taxes “would lead to a 10.56% lower after-tax income for” the bottom 99% “and 17.91 percent lower after-tax income for the top 1 percent. When accounting for reduced GDP, after-tax incomes of all taxpayers would fall by at least 12.84%. [3] Another source of tax revenue under Sanders’ plan comes from healthcare. Currently, people do not pay taxes on the value of the health insurance provided by their employers. Were people to pay taxes on this today, federal tax revenue would increase by over $300 billion. [4] Under Bernie’s plan, though, privately-provided insurance would go away; instead, employers will have to add the value of the insurance policies they used to provide to their employees’ paychecks. This ends up increasing said employee’s taxable income. Furthermore, employers would be required to pay employer-side payroll taxes on that new income. This adds up to $3.6 trillion in added federal revenue. [2] After taking into account the reduction of the GDP? (36*10^11) - ((36*10^11)*.095) = $3.25 trillion. Presently in 2016, there are currently 7 federal income tax brackets. [5] Under Sanders’ plan, two more brackets are added, and their rates are increased. For example, if you make $10 million or more each year, 52% of your income is taxed. Between $2 and $10 billion a year? 48%. Furthermore, if your wealth exceeds $1 billion, an extra 10% is added to your estate tax. [2](Estate tax increases anywhere from 5% to 25%[3]. ) Now, in addition to ordinary income, there is also taxation on capital gains and dividends. We know that dividends are taxed twice: Once as income and then again a second time. If you make more than $10 million a year, you end up paying at least 104% of what you received in dividends. It does not take an economics major to see that there is a problem with paying more than you received. [3] Under Bernie Sanders’ new tax proposal and spending plan, the GDP would decrease 9.5%. Capital investment would decrease 18.6%. Average wages (after taxes) would go down 4.3%. Approximately 6 million full-time jobs will be lost. This would, to say it softly, crush the economy. Bernie Sanders would also increase the minimum wage from $7.25 an hour to $15.00 an hour. Now, the existence of a minimum wage is an entirely different debate on its own, so I will not go into detail right now, but there are a few key points I need to go over concerning it. A minimum wage decreases the amount of low-skilled jobs. A wage should reflect the amount of work the job demands. Is a door opener at a hotel worth $15 an hour? No. Is it worth $7.25? Probably. Increasing the minimum wage would also increase the cost of running a business and having employees. While this could change in the long run, it will ultimately remove certain jobs from existence and kick out those who are employed in those positions. I will now go on to talk about trade. Bernie Sanders is opposed to free trade. In a page on his site, "On the Issues: Income and Wealth Inequality," it says, "Reversing trade policies like NAFTA, CAFTA, and PNTR with China that have driven down wages and caused the loss of millions of jobs. If corporate America wants us to buy their products they need to manufacture those products in this country, not in China or other low-wage countries. " This shows a lack of knowledge of the issues. If Bernie knew what it was like to run a business, he could see that this is a ridiculous concept. One cannot just dictate business activity so recklessly when it will have unintended consequences, which this would. Also, free trade boosts not only our economy, but the global economy as well. While yes, American companies employ people in other countries, foreign companies also employ Americans. It it not a one-way concept. Toyota, for example, is a Japanese company but employs over 30,000 Americans. [7]Furthermore, the gender wage gap, which Bernie's site calls "an outrage," is a myth. [6] Yes, on average, women get paid less than men, but this is not for the same job. Women tend to have jobs that pay, on average, 78 cents to the average dollar a man makes. It is not for the same job, it is an overall average. ConclusionI believe I have sufficiently given a good amount of facts in opposition to a Bernie Sanders presidency. I look forward to my opponent's arguments in favor of it. Sources [1] . https://berniesanders.com...[2] . https://berniesanders.com...[3] . http://taxfoundation.org...[4] . https://berniesanders.com...[5] . http://www.bankrate.com...;[6] . https://berniesanders.com...;[7] . https://www.cars.com...;