Sen. Bernie Sanders released a presidential campaign ad this week attacking Wall Street and vowing to break up the big banks if elected. Instead of targeting Hillary Clinton directly, Sanders pointed out that his democratic colleagues continue to blindly accept money from the massive financial institutions.
“There are two democratic visions for regulating Wall Street,” Sanders declared in his campaign ad. “One says it’s okay to take millions from big banks and then tell them what to do. My plan – break up the big banks, close the tax loopholes, and make them pay their fair share.”
Titled “Two Visions,” the presidential campaign ad targets the large banks responsible for causing the 2008 financial crisis. Deemed too big to fail, the banks accepted bailout money paid by taxpayers and ended up giving themselves multimillion-dollar bonuses instead of pouring that money back into the economy. In October, Fortune 500 companies were caught holding over $2.1 trillion in accumulated profits offshore to evade paying U.S. taxes.
Instead of allowing massive financial institutions to recklessly operate with impunity while funding pliable political candidates, Sanders promises to make the big banks pay their fair share in order to fund universal healthcare and college education. During the 1950s, incomes in the top bracket faced a marginal tax rate of 91 percent, while taxes on corporate profits were twice as large. The most affluent Americans ended up paying for Social Security and Medicare in order to prevent civil unrest following the Great Depression.
“Will they like me?” Sanders asked. “No. Will they begin to play by the rules of our president? You better believe it.”
On Friday, Sanders wrote on Twitter, “Under my administration, Goldman Sachs execs and other Wall Street CEOs won’t go through the revolving door from Wall Street to government.”
Sanders also wrote, “During the first 100 days of my administration, the Treasury Department will create a too-big-to fail list of banks and insurance companies.”
He went on, “And within one year, my administration will break these institutions up so that they no longer pose a grave threat to the economy.”
While continuing to accept political donations from Wall Street, Hillary Clinton and the remaining GOP candidates have not made any similar promises.
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