Everytime I hear someone call Bernie Sanders "Crazy Bernie" I remember those '70s and '80s appliance commercials where the owner or local manager is admitting to being certifiable because of the sales he's offering. "Everyone says to me 'That's CRAZY!' But that's what I am, so that's what I'm doing!"
I guess it fits pretty well. Picture a warehouse with boxes labelled, "Tuition", "Health Care", "Humongous unemployment benefits", "Vacations", "Big Paychecks for Inexperienced Workers", etc. There's Bernie standing in front! "They say I'm CRAZY to do this! Well, I AM! That's why I'm giving this all up for FREE! Be sure to vote for Crazy Bernie to get free tuition!"
Of course, in the case of Crazy Joe's or Crazy George's appliances, the producers of the commercial (and most people who watched it) knew that nothing George or Joe was giving up was going to get into the hands of consumers free or even "at wholesale", or without someone either making a profit or eating the cost and passing on to consumers later. Bernie's followers seem to really believe that their free stuff will really be free. They won't see--at least until tax time; and maybe not even then if they're not paying attention, that somehow or another, they will pay. If not with income taxes, with increased taxes elsewhere. The idea that Bill Gates and Billary (who love to remind us that taxes should be for THEM, the ROYALTY, and not for the LITTLE PEOPLE) are going to pay for it all is nonsense. (And why should they anyway? And if they want to why don't they just send you a check for your tuition so they don't take my money?)
In Bernie's case the only promise he will be able to keep if he gets his way is illustrated in a popular twitter meme these days: You'll get 52 weeks of free vacation, when your employer is bankrupted after paying for all your other "free stuff".
I guess it fits pretty well. Picture a warehouse with boxes labelled, "Tuition", "Health Care", "Humongous unemployment benefits", "Vacations", "Big Paychecks for Inexperienced Workers", etc. There's Bernie standing in front! "They say I'm CRAZY to do this! Well, I AM! That's why I'm giving this all up for FREE! Be sure to vote for Crazy Bernie to get free tuition!"
Of course, in the case of Crazy Joe's or Crazy George's appliances, the producers of the commercial (and most people who watched it) knew that nothing George or Joe was giving up was going to get into the hands of consumers free or even "at wholesale", or without someone either making a profit or eating the cost and passing on to consumers later. Bernie's followers seem to really believe that their free stuff will really be free. They won't see--at least until tax time; and maybe not even then if they're not paying attention, that somehow or another, they will pay. If not with income taxes, with increased taxes elsewhere. The idea that Bill Gates and Billary (who love to remind us that taxes should be for THEM, the ROYALTY, and not for the LITTLE PEOPLE) are going to pay for it all is nonsense. (And why should they anyway? And if they want to why don't they just send you a check for your tuition so they don't take my money?)
In Bernie's case the only promise he will be able to keep if he gets his way is illustrated in a popular twitter meme these days: You'll get 52 weeks of free vacation, when your employer is bankrupted after paying for all your other "free stuff".
