Quote:
Originally Posted by peter12
Which economists? I mean, I think the man is a gentleman, but let's be real here - he is about 90 years out of date on the economics front.
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Gerald Friedman, Prof. of economics at U of Mass-Amherst was the most recent. Mason from the Roosevelt Institute another. Saez (berkley) and Diamond (MIT) have papers suggesting optimal tax revenues at structures similar to what Bernie proposes. People who use other models disagree but that the thing with models and people also have to realize that only one analysis out of hundreds ends up being correct...and it's never the same ones. And above all, including supporting analyses, one must recognize that all models are lousy at predicting long term compared to short term (which they are also lousy at doing). But yes many go after his plans...just as they go after the GOP. At least, at worst, Bernie's are fantastical in the correct societal direction.
All his policies are actually laid out side by side with how they will be paid for which is far more than anyone else has done thus far. They also aren't off the wall policies. A good chunk of the world uses them and does so just fairly successfully.
Now I think he stretches too much (college tuition front for example) but the calls that universal healthcare will cost soooo much more ring hollow given thy already spend more per capita than any other country and single payer system are indeed cheaper in the long run. Predicitions about how much more it cost really just go by what it costs now and extrapolates....clearly the mechanisms also need to be changed.
And on the flip side you have everyone else running on the status quo which also definitely doesn't work. Yay another tax break...that will work this time for sure. In the end it really isn't so much a money issue but an attitude issue...which quite frankly is why he calls it a revolution. It requires a shift in thought from "me first" to understanding that perhaps having a little less personally right now benefits the country as a whole....and no that isn't communism. That's being, well, Canadian.
All that isn't to say there is any way one term even remotely gets this stuff done. Or even two terms. But these are things that need to start happening if the US wants any chance at narrowing wealth gap and actually allowing people to truly be able to go after the American Dream. The country has a lot of fundmental issues and the populace needs a reality check...the GOP will not provide that. Hillary likely won't. Sanders has a chance to start the process...even if he isn't the best suited to do so (Warren would have been much better IMO. If he wins the nomination I hope she's his running mate). His is a vision of trying something different...not a vision of doing the same thing over and over again and hoping for a different result.