MSNBC "The Ed Show" - Transcript
Interview
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SEN. BERNIE SANDERS (I), VERMONT: Well, of course. I voted against this agreement today. I will continue to vote against it.
I think there is no question that we could have reached a far, far better agreement, one that does not give billions and billions of dollars in tax breaks to people who don"t need it and then force our kids and our grandchildren to pay that off by an increasing national debt. We could have had a much better agreement.
SCHULTZ: The vote is still open, 82 in favor, 12 against. Why did so many Democrats in the Senate go for this?
SANDERS: Well, you have to ask them, Ed. I think what they will probably tell you is they were given a take-it-or-leave-it proposal by the president, something that they had no part in negotiating. And they looked out, and they said, you know what? We"ve got a lot of unemployed people in this country whose unemployment compensation is going to expire. We"ve got to protect them.
Yes, we"ve got to extend tax breaks for the middle class. And, of course, we"ve got to do that.
But I think apropos of what you"ve said a few moments ago, what the president, in my view, what all of us should have done, is gone around the country, rallied the American people, and say, really, do you think we should be lowering the estate tax for the top .3 of one percent? Do you think we should be continuing low rates on dividend and capital gains taxes? Do you really think that billionaires need a tax break?
I think we win that debate, and then we come to the table with the Republicans on the defensive. Not us.
SCHULTZ: Senator, finally tonight, do you really think this might be a bridge too far--I don"t think it is--a bridge too far to say that this is the beginning of the end of Social Security as we know it?
SANDERS: I just spoke this afternoon to one of the leaders of one the largest senior citizen organizations in this country, and she worries very much that when you start diverting $112,000 of payroll taxes away from Social Security, this could be the beginning. Our Republican friends like this idea. And they will extend, I fear, that concept. It is not good for the future of Social Security.
SCHULTZ: Senator, good to have you with us tonight. Thanks for fighting. I appreciate it.
SANDERS: Thank you, Ed.
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