Senator Bernie Sanders, the independent member from Vermont, looks likely to be the Democratic Party’s nominee to take on Donald Trump in the upcoming 2020 United States (US) presidential election. A self-identified democratic socialist, Sanders has many Democratic operatives and media pundits warning of the allegedly inevitable Trump victory come November 3rd. The same people who reassured us that Trump’s election was impossible now claim Bernie Sanders is unelectable. Forgive me for not being entirely convinced. In truth, the electability case against Sanders is a proxy argument for criticising his economic agenda gladiator88.
Priests of the economic orthodoxy frequently remind CNN and Fox News viewers that higher taxes and greater government intervention will stifle growth, increase inflation, and reduce private sector innovation. Some even try to conflate Sanders’ Scandinavian style democratic socialism with Latin American socialist authoritarianism. Yet, there’s simply no evidence for any of these fear-mongering claims. On the contrary, Sanders’ domestic political agenda would greatly strengthen America’s economy and increase its power and legitimacy on the world stage. Australians should be buoyant about the prospects of a Bernie Sanders administration.
Immigration concerns won Trump the Republican nomination and eventually the presidency. Economic inequality could do the same for Bernie Sanders. At every debate and campaign rally, Sanders reminds viewers that three American families own more wealth than the bottom half of American society. Not only is this immoral, it’s bad economics (and it’s not just democratic socialists who think so). The International Monetary Fund (coin303) believes that income inequality harms economic growth. Research observes an inverse relationship between income accruing to the top 20 percent and economic growth. All of this is contrary to the mainstream claim that lower taxes increase overall prosperity by growing the economy.
