BUSTED: Bernie Sanders' Plan - Why The Math Doesn't Work!

So disregarding the fact that no wealthy people would work for free, the horrible negative economic ramifications of punishing small business owners and that frankly a 100% tax is absurd, you’ve got to find another way to generate revenue. So what do you do? Would probably have to start by widening the swath from the top 1% to increasing taxes on the top 5%. Those bastards can afford it! What defines top 5%? Any households earning $190,000 or more. Damn. I thought they’d have more. Well what if we just take almost everything from the top 10% of earners?

Top 10% in the United States is any household earnings over $150,000. Not exactly the fat cats you thought, huh? Still, for the greater good, they can afford to have more, or all of their stuff taken, right?

• Sanders plan would cost $18 trillion: http://www.wsj.com/articles/price-tag-of-bernie-sanders-proposals-18-trillion-1442271511
• Here's our piece: https://www.louderwithcrowder.com/math-the-exact-price-tag-of-all-bernie-sanders-proposed-free-stuff/
• Sanders plan math problems: http://www.dailykos.com/story/2015/05/29/1388484/-Bernie-Sanders-big-idea-has-a-math-problem
• "even if one accepts that $6.5 trillion in taxes can be realized, that leaves us about $11.5 trillion short" http://hotair.com/archives/2015/09/15/pricing-the-bern-wsj-puts-sanders-proposals-at-18-trillion-over-10-years/
• Examples of gov't programs that cost more than expected:
  • Student loan forgiveness (90% over budget): http://consumerist.com/2015/02/06/federal-student-loan-forgiveness-plans-cost-govt-nearly-22b-more-than-expected/
  • New Medicaid beneficiaries: http://www.modernhealthcare.com/article/20150710/NEWS/150719984
  • Obamacare: http://www.wsj.com/articles/cost-of-covering-new-people-under-aca-significantly-higher-than-expected-1436571837
• Military funding:
  • Makes up 54% of discretionary spending: https://www.nationalpriorities.org/campaigns/military-spending-united-states/
  • However, military spending is only 18% of total budget: http://www.cbpp.org/research/policy-basics-where-do-our-federal-tax-dollars-go
  • Receives roughly same as Social Security, but less than medicare/medicaid: http://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonkblog/wp/2013/01/07/everything-chuck-hagel-needs-to-know-about-the-defense-budget-in-charts/
  • Strictly in terms of Dollars, we spend more on military than next seven countries, combined: http://pgpf.org/Chart-Archive/0053_defense-comparison
  • US ranks 4th worldwide with regard to military spending as a percent of GDP: http://www.forbes.com/sites/niallmccarthy/2015/06/25/the-biggest-military-budgets-as-a-percentage-of-gdp-infographic-2/
  • Military spending has increased more in China, Russia, Saudi Arabia, Turkey, etc. than in US last 7 years: http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/2015/04/14/china-russia-military-spending-surges/25770921/
  • The US is dominant on the world stage for a reason: http://www.businessinsider.com/chart-of-defense-spending-by-country-2014-2
• Historical tax rates/consequences:
  • "High" tax rate myth of 1950's: http://www.manhattan-institute.org/html/ib_19.htm#.VhWLZHpViko
  • Nearly every empirical study of taxes and economic growth published in a peer reviewed academic journal finds that tax increases harm economic growth: http://taxfoundation.org/article/what-evidence-taxes-and-growth
  • Norway not a great example of high tax success: http://www.sovereignman.com/expat/why-norway-is-a-bs-argument-for-higher-taxes-8235/
  • Greece has 46% income tax rate... obvious how that worked out: http://www.tradingeconomics.com/greece/personal-income-tax-rate and government has trouble collecting taxes: http://www.wsj.com/articles/greece-struggles-to-get-citizens-to-pay-their-taxes-1424867495