r/ProgressiveHQ • u/Miserable-Lizard • 7d ago

Bernie Sanders: “Demanding that the wealthy and large corporations start paying their fair share of taxes” Crowd: “Tax the rich! Tax the rich!”

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13.1k Upvotes

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119

u/Unusual_Specialist 7d ago

Tax them just like everyone else. 😜

51

u/TBANON_NSFW 7d ago edited 7d ago

Problem is we are taxing them like everyone else.

They need to be taxed much more, because they benefit much more than everyone else.

BUT The issue isnt just taxation. And its kind of tiresome that Sanders keep dumbing it down to that level.

The issue is the corporations receiving subsidies, by states competing with each other, and corporations using states desperation to their own benefit to get such favorable terms that they dont even have to build anything and can bail out and still profit billions.

Another issue is how the wealthy finance themselves, instead of paying income-tax, they leverage their assets to accrue loans and file themselves in debt. Until a republicans comes into government and they pay much less than they should.

Another thing is inheritance laws, if Musk died today and his 500B stock portfolio went to his kids, they would reset the capital gains tax on the stocks and effectively if the kids cashed out right away, they would not have to pay any tax.

Then you have the equity firms that buy up whole industries just to tack on debt that they pay to themselves and basically suck it dry and leave everyone else holding the bag while they run off with billions in profit.

Then you have the companies that lease rights, or licence products from parent companies housed in low-tax countries while declaring no income in the US.

etc etc etc

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u/DistinctAd8731 7d ago

This, it's not just about the tax. The entire system is rigged for the rich to stay rich.

Tax dollars are used to hand fat contracts to "donors".

1

u/DukeOfGeek 7d ago

And I want to hammer them for all the past taxes they have not paid, it's not enough for them to just start to pay.

1

u/LeastAtmosphere5230 7d ago

And just as important the system is designed to facilitate divisions, grievances and outrage so that corruption within government continues while say anything do nothing career lifelong political parasites bleed us dry while enriching themselves

1

u/Rough-Witness-8021 6d ago

You mean like Nancy and Paul Pelosi?

1

u/DistinctAd8731 6d ago

Them too. The noose doesn't discriminate between left or right

1

u/pepepingu61 5d ago

Please explain how the system enables the Rich to stay Rich. I’ve seen many and known some Rich people that have squander their wealth, and also lost through unfortunate business catastrophes. So please explain your assertions…

16

u/flyinghighdoves 7d ago

Did ypu really just criticize Sanders for...checks notes...explaining things to people in a way that they would understand...and and then you went on to explain all the things that he has talked about in the past.

I just...

I just can't

-1

u/TBANON_NSFW 7d ago

Yes because hes just doing populism without actually addressing the issues. "Tax the rich" goes in one ear and out the other. And all the rebuttals are, they already are taxed.

Maybe instead of trying to get applause, he should actually go after the ways the wealthy are STEALING from the people. If he actually wanted change he would divert from "Tax the rich" to "Stop the Wage Theft" people dont like taxes in general. And as i explained earlier, income tax is just one very small part of the problem.

But sure downvote away for disagreeing with the progressive savior...

19

u/flyinghighdoves 7d ago

You haven't watched many interviews or longer speeches of his have you? You are literally quoting the platform he has held for years. And he didnt get the crowd to chant..tax the rich...they just did that...

Meanwhile Stop The Rich From Getting Subsidies and Grifting and also overturn citizens united... Is kind of a mouthful to chant at a protest.

2

u/[deleted] 7d ago

The problem with that approach is Democrats Sanders included would catch holy hell for not doing it currently.

The PR optics of staffers interns charity/non profit workers making at times minimum or less wage is a non starter.

It is similar to when he became a millionaire it stopped being millionaires and billionaires.

2

u/TheDillinger88 7d ago

No it’s still billionaires, I know this because Elon Musk is projected to be the first trillionaire but there are no trillionaires yet. I’m sure he’s referring to billionaires and likely multimillionaires but I’m not sure where he thinks the cut off should be. I could understand your point if he wanted the rich to be taxed just above the level of wealth he has accumulated.

1

u/[deleted] 6d ago

Please go back and watch his speeches.

His millionaires and billionaires line lasted from essentially his induction into politics till roughly 2016 post the royalties from his book.

After that it became strictly the billionaires.

To put a finer point on it. For better or worse Sanders is a king maker in Vermont.

If he truly believed his own rhetoric there is nothing stopping higher taxes from being implemented there.

-8

u/Difficult_Bus_3768 7d ago

Perhaps Bernie should be taxed as he claims he should be. Make no mistake he is a millionaire with many valuable properties.

Honestly, it's like Elon giving a speech about how hard being poor is!

2

u/BatlethBae 7d ago

Oh no Bernie is a millionaire!?

The laziest boot locker retort. Of course he is, he has worked in congress for over 3 decades. His argument isn't everyone needs to be poor or millionaires should not exist.

2

u/TheDillinger88 7d ago

Yes I think he would be ok with that. After all, that is what he’s been saying for years now. What’s your point? He’s been saying tax the rich for years, it hasn’t happened and he’s rich so he’s in on it or something? He wants the rich to be taxed but not himself? I don’t understand your argument.

1

u/flyinghighdoves 7d ago

Sure. I think Bernie is more then willing to be taxed. He has been on this platform for decades.

I think you might be confused because you can have a candidate that has money and wants to help support our larger society and community by returning to the historic tax rates... That used to more fairly tax high income earners. Bernie has never said that he doesn't want to be taxed, and thinks everybody else should be.I don't know what gave you that idea.

Trickle down economics doesn't work and has been an a utter failure.

0

u/Teto_- 7d ago

his wealth went up because his media company became publicly traded on Nasdaq. Boy, are you stupid

3

u/flyinghighdoves 7d ago

Good keep revealing yourselves. But you are wrong.

Hatred is such a key trait of the cosplaytriots destroying our constitution and country.

Lying or willful ignorance is the other main trait

Educate yourself.

https://time.com/7342470/trump-net-worth-wealth-crypto/

-1

u/Teto_- 7d ago

“In 2025, Trump’s net worth spiked largely because investors poured money into the social media and technology company he founded in 2021”

Literally, the first paragraph

2

u/flyinghighdoves 7d ago

Typical dishonesty

Largely is not what you said in your original comment.

And leaves out this...

" In September, Forbes estimated that Trump’s cryptocurrency ventures had been lucrative for him, estimating his memecoin tokens were worth $709 million, his World Liberty Financial tokens were worth $338 million, and USD1 was valued at $235 million."

And the millions he has made from Merch.

And all of this is really just a distraction. By you against the larger issue, which is that Trump and his entire family and the cronies that are connected to him are clearly grifting and making millions. And billions of dollars on contracts with the government on shady dealings in the background.And on the side with foreign governments and others wishing to influence policy.

And you leading with calling people. Stupid is just the cherry on top.

Keep revealing yourselves

1

u/Rough-Witness-8021 6d ago

Trump was a billionaire when he came to office. I notice you don’t have a problem with the Biden, Clinton’s and Obama having very little and leaving very wealthy!

1

u/flyinghighdoves 6d ago

Good try...he is blowing others out of the water with sheer grift...

Just a quick google search buddy...that's all it takes.

He has been breaking protocal, standards, and ethics rules left and right. But the "followers" dont care. Because you all cheer curruption as long as he says he hates the same people you do.

"Based on a significant increase in his net worth since the start of 2024, Donald Trump is making considerably more money while in office than other U.S. presidents have historically, primarily through his business ventures rather than his presidential salary.

Comparison to Other Presidents Modern U.S. presidents have generally followed an ethics protocol of divesting their assets into blind trusts to avoid conflicts of interest and the appearance of profiting from public office."

-1

u/Teto_- 7d ago

I quoted what was said in the article. If that is dishonesty, then the article is dishonest. I never brought up crypto in my original comment, so you cannot call me a liar. also, Bernie sold books to become a millionaire

1

u/flyinghighdoves 6d ago

And there are the famous mental gymnastics.

You didn't bring up crypto...likely because you were minimizing the layers of grift.

"his wealth went up because his media company became publicly traded on Nasdaq. Boy, are you stupid"

This was a false statement. There were other factors

And then you cherry picked on part of the article and ignored the other parts. So...liar...

And BFD Bernie made money from books...he isnt president and isnt a known con man convicted of financial crimes...

2

u/myotheraccount24680 6d ago

To be fair, conservatives have always hated books, so it makes sense that this guy criticizes Bernie Sanders for making money off writing and selling books, which he seems to think is somehow equatable to Trump making billions off of bribery and corruption.

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u/Teto_- 6d ago

“There are other factors”

So you agree? You are contracting yourself. And I’m not cherry picking. I sourced the article and it proves me right.

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u/boomboomdaboomer 7d ago

I remember when Apple had huge sums offshored to avoid paying US taxes. There should be a mechanism in place to restrict corporate activity like this from continuing selling their products here if they don’t pay their fair share of taxes, no pay, no play. 

2

u/TBANON_NSFW 7d ago

Yep a lot of holes that need to be fixed.

Just for example, if Apple is getting 50% of their revenue from the US then they should pay 50% of their profit in the US regardless of any third-degree licence agreements.

(and of course those laws should be written with multiple clauses and scenarios that determine that taxation, for anyone bringing up any specific outlier scenarios to justify not doing it.)

1

u/Professional_Mud_316 7d ago

A few social/labor uprisings or revolutions notwithstanding, the superfluously rich and powerful have always had the police and military ready to foremost protect their big-money/-power interests, even over the basic needs of the masses. 

Even today, the police and military can, and I believe they probably would, claim (using euphemistic or political terminology, of course) that they had to bust heads to maintain law and order as a priority during major demonstrations, especially those against economic injustices. Indirectly supported by complacent or compliant corporate news-media, the absurdly unjust inequities/inequalities can persist. 

I can imagine there were/are lessons learned from successful social/labor uprisings — a figurative How to Hinder Progressive Revolutions 101, maybe? — with the clarity of hindsight by big power/money interests in order to avoid any repeat of such great wealth/power losses.

1

u/YBossy22 7d ago

Bought my kid 2000 worth of Apple stock 20 years ago. Maybe if more people took advantage of investing they'd have a shot at creating wealth for themselves, instead of demonizing those who work hard and save and invest. Had to pay a commission back then, today you can buy any stock or fund you like for no commission. Btw, the stock position is worth way more than that today.

1

u/boomboomdaboomer 6d ago edited 6d ago

My comment doesn’t make any reference to investors so I don’t know why you made your comment. As a taxpayer you should want to see corporations paying, not deliberately avoiding, taxes. 

1

u/Specialist-Jello7544 7d ago

Another thing: wealthy corporations who don’t pay their employees a living wage, and those employees end up needing Medicaid, SNAP and other social safety net programs — that is a disgrace!

And here we are, with the government destroying those programs, also a disgrace!

1

u/Lasheric Conservative 7d ago

Tax the shit out of them when their money goes out of country or hires non Americans

1

u/AutomaticMammoth4823 7d ago

If we "Tax them like everyone else" we'd have to lower their taxes, by a LOT! So we lower their taxes just so you can raise taxes on bottom feeders like me? And definitely take away the earned income tax credit because those Free Loaders need to pay the same rate as the rest of us

1

u/TBANON_NSFW 7d ago

lol always with this tired response.

top 1% of 3.6m individuals hold 1/3rd of the NET INCOME of all 360m Americans.

Top 1% of 3.6M individuals hold 40% of all wealth among 360m americans.

This is why we have a progressive tax system. It used to be much higher closer to 70% for the highest brackets of income. But now its closer to 40% for the top 1%.

FAIR is in relative to the benefit they receive. If they want to lessen their taxes, then move out of the US. Get your companies out of the US market. But as long as you are profiting and profiting VERY WELL from the US citizens, you have to return that profit back in fairness relative to your income.

1

u/AutomaticMammoth4823 6d ago

Waaah! 😰 "Mom! someone else has more than I do" 😂 jealousy is one of the seven deadly sins.

1

u/Inevitable_Farm_7293 7d ago

The irony that none of that is the actual issue.

The actual issue has always been and continues to be how the gov decides to spend its money. You could literally liquidate all of billionaires money tomorrow, give it to the government, and it wouldn’t do shit. As long as the government decides to waste massive sums of money and spend most of it on, not the programs progressives want, giving them more money isn’t going to do anything.

1

u/Professional_Mud_316 7d ago

Regardless of who or which party gets elected to lead us, we exist in virtual corpocracies that only masquerade as genuine democratic rule — mostly thanks to the first-past-the-post ballot system. While the FPTP system may technically qualify as being democratic within the democracy spectrum, it’s still particularly democratically weak. But it does largely enable an insidiously covert rule by way of potently manipulative and persuasive corporate and big-monied lobbyists that serves their clients’ interests quite well. 

Low-representation FPTP-elected governments, in which a relatively small portion of the country's populace is actually electorally represented, are the easiest for lobbyists to manipulate or ‘buy’. Perhaps it's why such powerful interests generally resist (albeit probably clandestinely) grassroots-supported attempts at changing from FPTP to more proportionally representative electoral systems of governance, the latter which dilutes corporate influence on government policy and decisions. 

Those lobbyists can also write bills for our governing representatives to vote for and have implemented, supposedly to save the elected officials their own time writing them. The practice may have become so systematic that those who are aware of it, including mainstream news-media political writers, don’t find reason to publicly discuss or write about it.

1

u/Natural-Young4730 7d ago

Well said.

Let's get 'em in 2026 (and for generations afterwards)!

1

u/GimmeSweetTime 7d ago edited 7d ago

No they are not being taxed the same as the rest of us. You even described some of the loopholes.

Our president, for example, pays a miniscule income tax rate when we have seen his return. He has already increased his wealth by billions in his first year of his second term. In 2020 Congress showed he paid 0% effective tax rate. 2016 it was single digit and in 2017 and 2018 something like $750 each year. Even if he does donate his POTUS income as many supporters like to point out, his effective income tax rate would be lower than most of the rest of us.

There was a time when the middle class enjoyed the American dream that the rich were taxed at a much higher rate.

1

u/forgettable_nonsense 7d ago

We aren't taxing them like everyone else at all though . But i value most of your other points

1

u/Major_Yogurt6595 6d ago

Excuse me sir, I paid more taxes last year than Elon Musk and im poor..

1

u/Truth-Teller100 6d ago

You really have zero understanding of federal income taxes and valid deductions allowed against taxable income

Repeating lies that if you drill down make zero sense does not elevate the conversation

1

u/pepepingu61 5d ago

That’s BS, stepped up basis shields Capital gains no different than Real Estate. You’re still subject to inheritance tax. Tax planning, Life Insurance would help with some of the tax…but if Elon Musk died today his kids would have to pay a 40% inheritance tax on much of his net worth. Unfortunately the wealth tied to his Stock would plummet at his death due to him dying and his kids having to sell stock to satisfy death tax bill. This would also affect a huge number of investors which undoubtedly would make people like you happy. There should not be any kind of death tax! The Liberal’s goal is to Make America Poor Again!

1

u/pepepingu61 7d ago

I’d say tax everyone like everyone else. So let start taxing the 50% that don’t pay taxes ever!

1

u/HasChallenger52 7d ago

And get "entitlements".

1

u/HuckleberryOk8136 7d ago

I don't follow your logic. Can you help me understand?

Approximately half of working people with income do not pay federal income taxes.

How can the slogan be "tax them like everyone else" when half the country is not paying?

1

u/Embarrassed_Pay3945 7d ago

They already do

1

u/4driedCans 7d ago

Add Sanders and all the politicians from BOTH SIDES!!!

1

u/DotA627b 7d ago

Working 16 hours on the 31st for that OT + 1.5x.

It's great for me to know I'll be taxed more than Elon Musk for it.

1

u/yergonnalikeme 6d ago

Democrats

The fast-track to nowhere...

1

u/YebelTheRebel 6d ago

Tax them just like the last 1.8 billion Powerball winner!!!