Martin Bashir and Bernie Sanders Agree: Hike Taxes on Wealthy and Oil Companies
MSNBC's Martin Bashir has only been on the job for a few days, but the newly-minted anchor is already letting his liberal flag fly.
On his eponymous program today, Bashir was dumbfounded as to why Congress is reluctant to hike taxes on the rich and end tax deductions for oil companies.
"Why won't Congress simply do what the people want?" lamented Bashir, interviewing Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.), the independent socialist lawmaker who caucuses with Democrats.
Bashir cherry-picked the findings of one poll to imply that Sanders's left-wing economic views – which include a single-payer health care system – enjoy national support, yet the former ABC anchor failed to identify the self-described socialist senator's political leanings.
While it is true the NBC-Wall Street Journal poll found that a vast majority of Americans support ending tax deductions for oil companies and still more support a surtax on people earning more than $1 million per year, the poll found popular support for several other issues that Bashir neglected to mention: 56 percent of Americans believe the Social Security retirement age should be raised, 62 percent support means-testing for Medicare, and 51 percent support nixing funding for the Obama health care overhaul, just to name a few.
In case his adulation for Sanders was in doubt, a bubbly Bashir concluded the interview on a sycophantic note: "Senator Bernie Sanders, as ever provocative and insightful, thank you very much for joining us."
Given that the majority of Americans don't even support the Obama health care overhaul, let alone a national single-payer system, Bashir's choice of Sanders as the bellwether of popular sentiment is bizarre at best and irresponsible at worst.
For an archive of Bashir's bias – including his smears of Sheriff Joe Arpaio and biased treatment of a small Catholic town in Florida – click here.
A transcript of the relevant portions of the segment can be found below:
MSNBC
Martin Bashir
March 3, 2011
3:32 p.m. EST
MARTIN BASHIR: What you just said almost mirrors our new NBC-Wall Street Journal poll. When asked about the best way to reduce the deficit, a full 80 percent of Americans favor a surtax on those earning more than $1 million. 78 percent said eliminate earmarks. 76 percent want to eliminate defense projects the Pentagon says it doesn't need, sorry the Pentagon says it doesn't need. And 74 percent said it's time to end subsidies for oil and gas companies. Why won't Congress simply do what the people want?
Sen. BERNIE SANDERS (I-Vt.) : Well what can I tell you? This senator believes absolutely – and I saw that poll – the most significant point you made, the highest percentage is people saying "look, the rich are getting richer." Why are you going to cut programs that the middle class and working families need. Ask these families to start paying their fair share. The effective tax rate today of the wealthiest people in this country is lower than it's ever been in recorded history in our country. So that's the obvious solution. So you ask me why? Well you know the answer to that. Who do you think controls the Republican Party? Big money controls the Republican Party. This is where their campaign contributions come from. So if I have anything to say about it, I'm going to do everything I can to see the Democratic caucus come forward and say "yeah, we do need to make some cuts." I think there are programs that could be cut, but bottom line is not to ask the wealthiest people in the country to pay their fair share after they received huge amounts of tax breaks is insane. What the Republicans are saying is way outside of what the average American believes.
--Alex Fitzsimmons is a News Analysis intern at the Media Research Center. Click here to follow him on Twitter.
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Comments
This socialist love-fest is
Submitted by rbosque on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:32pm.
This socialist love-fest is too much to watch.
These two fools
Submitted by RefudiateObama2012 on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:35pm.
These two fools lack a basic economic understanding. Raise the taxes on employers and producers and you achieve one of two results:
1. If the market will absorb it, prices to the consumer will be increased, resulting in a hidden tax to the "little guys".
2. If a business cannot compete due to increased costs due to tax increases, they will relocate to a more tax-friendly location, resulting in higher unemployment.
Either way, the middle class pays the piper.
Why won't Congress simply do what the people want?
Submitted by Radical1979 on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:37pm.
I don't why Congress won't repeal Obamacare and cut spending. That is what the people asked for in the last election.
Don't know better
Submitted by jon_torlin on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:45pm.
The House tried repealing it, but it's the Dems in the Senate that think they know better than what the people want. Those Dems are no better than the ones in the Wisconsin Senate.
-Jon
Why is it that I, a simple
Submitted by gopsteve on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:51pm.
Why is it that I, a simple man with no economic experience, can see that raising taxes on the oil companies will mean that they will pass the expense to customers...and some of our reps can't?
That will hurt the poor most, who will be forced to spend more "disposable" income (which they have the least of) on gas.
SHEEESH!!!
Be ye a bootmaker or a tailor?
Submitted by SickofLibs on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:53pm.
Myself, I am a simple blacksmith, and yes, even I FREAKIN' GET IT, TOO!
;)
How else...
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 7:21pm.
..will we conservatives destroy the middle class unless we follow the socialist mantra - TAX THOSE WITH MONEY!
gopsteve,
Submitted by Ashrak on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 8:57pm.
They see it, they know, they just don't care. That is how they get monies from the poor while telling them they are playing robin hood.
Kinda like how Obama and the rest of the Democrats railed against insurance companies and then forced every American to buy their product from them.
In a nutshell, Democrats have lied for so long and had media cover for them for so long, that what they don't see is that We The People do see.
(No subject)
Submitted by gopsteve on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 6:51pm.
Will they also end the tax
Submitted by WarEagle66 on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 7:00pm.
Will they also end the tax breaks for the Ethanol Cabal?
You know, the ones that are causing food prices to rise through the roof...and in effect starving children?
I didn't think so.....Typical Leftist pigs.
One of Bernie's constituents
Submitted by jdhawk on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 7:18pm.
One of Bernie's constituents writes in . . .
You people WILL pay for me to sit home. You owe it to me and many like me for many reasons, to mention just a few of those reasons:
- I have no marketable job skills. I majored in the social sciences and that ought to entitle me to a good living, but no one is willing to pay me a good enough living to do what I want to do. NOT FAIR!
- There are now more of us who do not pay income taxes and are net users of government services, then there are of you working people who pay taxes. You have no right to keep anything beyond what we, the voters, tell you you can keep.
- There is NO CONSTITUTIONAL LIMIT to how much wealth or income can be taken from you, so long as we can get the votes to take your money peacefully through the tax code. NONE.
So deal with it, people. If you have the job skills to earn a good living, get up off your lazy butts and start earning, or else we the non-working voters will tax EVERYTHING away from you. All we need is one or two more Supreme Court nominees from Obama and they will re-write the Constitution to our liking, making this task even easier.
Signed
a Sander's Democratic voter (and fan of Michael Moore)
jdhawk,
Submitted by Agnostic on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 7:33pm.
I think you would like this article titled Entirely Adolescent (second on page):
Unfortunately, we are not dealing with innocent adolescents (although they are behaving as badly and irresponsibly); we are dealing with adolescent--or rather, INFANTILE--psychological defense mechanisms (e.g., denial) that are being used by individual ADULTS and and enabling political parties.
The adolescent-adults of our political class have little incentive to grow up, since they believe that "the rich" will always be there to rescue them from their own poor judgement and self-destructive behavior. All they have to do is tax those "rich" people more and more and more; and then they can overspend, overindulge, and party like there's no tomorrow.
2 out of 2.....
Submitted by almostacowboy on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 7:19pm.
2 out of 2 socialists agree.
"Why don't we tax the
Submitted by VBaxter on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 7:30pm.
"Why don't we tax the American oil companies that provide every one of us with gas to fill up our tank to go to work, and instead we can just rely more on more foreign oil? We do 3 things with this: 1) we raise prices on everyone so they are forced to buy the Chevy Volt, 2) we can spend more of our taxpayers' money on failed programs, and 3) we will relocate the companies to another country so now we get even less money since there is no one to tax anymore. Yippee!"
Idiots.
Ron Paul 2012
everyone so they are forced to buy the Chevy Volt
Submitted by Boudin on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 8:36pm.
No worries VB, they have that covered as well. After they get you to overpay for a Gov subsidized Volt, the War on Coal will be in high gear, driving up you electric bill. You know to compensate for your revenue lost because you dont buy gas anymore.
Libtards are devious like that!
Everyone will be forced to
Submitted by dscott on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 10:23pm.
Everyone will be forced to buy a Chevy Volt IF the SCOTUS says the government can force you to buy health insurance. The logic for the Volt mandate is virtually the same as ObamaCare.
BTW- don't think for one minute that the State and Local governments won't be requiring you to have a submeter on that charger at home, they are going to get their energy (gas) tax revenue one way or another. And all the rubes thought they were getting something for nothing...Bahaha, what a bunch of morons.
I am dumbfounded as to why
Submitted by dscott on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 8:04pm.
I am dumbfounded as to why the Democrats have refused to collect over $1 trillion in taxes and royalties from the oil companies over the past 10 years due to liberals incompetent insistence on outsourcing our oil and natural gas needs using the drilling ban. But then Mr. Bashir incompetence does tend to leave one dumbfounded as to what these morons were thinking. Did they save any oil? NOT ONE DROP.
Worse, instead of having it extracted here under strict environmental supervision, they decided it would be better for the environment if the oil and gas were extracted with minimal environmental regulations and the excess natural gas FLARED OFF in a foreign country. Incompetence Mr, Bashir outright INCOMPETENCE! DUMBFOUNDED INDEED! It boggles the mind.
Questions-
Submitted by Ashrak on Thu, 03/03/2011 - 8:52pm.
Has anyone ever entertained what people, nonpolitical junkie people, understand "single payer" to be?
Could it be that they a good many think that "single payer" means each pay their own?
Has anyone done a poll asking what single payer actually means?
Like this;
What does "Single Payer" healthcare mean?
A. Each person pays for their own care
B. There can be only one Insurance Company
C. Taxpayers pay for all healthcare
I would also like to see ths poll question asked.
Who should pay for your individual health care?
A. Your Insurance company.
B. You
C. Taxpayers
As for MSNBC, it is getting to the point that I find it quite difficult to stomach watching it. Cenk's personal attack on Rush's hearing, and talking about oxy causing it was really a ways beyond the pale. Seems he took offense to how Rush said his name. To MSNBC I ask, medical conditions are fair game from your anchors - who say Fox isn't news? Really?
Bashir & Sanders Have A Great Idea!
Submitted by Boil It Down on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 2:44am.
Let's just tax the hell out of the rich and industrious and make it as impossible for them as we can and maybe those lousy greedy bastards will leave the country entirely. Then, everybody could starve equally with no upper or middle class oppressing us.
How did these two get that far in government and the media with no common sense?
I think if anybody should pay
Submitted by mostlymoderate on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 3:19am.
I think if anybody should pay higher taxes it is Hollywood. After that, maybe a "texting" tax for all those annoying people that sit around and text all day.
Oh, but it's MUCH COOLER to tax those evil "big oil" companies, isn't it!?! Even though they produce what every human being needs the most: energy. Not to mention all the people they employ.
Punish success and
Submitted by Cowboy on Fri, 03/04/2011 - 3:10pm.
Punish success and responsibility; Reward failure and irresponsibility...
From the same MSNBC mold