2016 Postmortem
Related: About this forumBernie Sanders Is a De Facto Millionaire
Democratic presidential hopeful and U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders rails against the billionaire class, has called income inequality the greatest moral issue of our time, and has made a big point of contrasting his earnings against his peers in this election.
(snip)
True, on the financial disclosure forms Sanders released after announcing his entrance into the presidential race, he lists no assets of his own, other than a $5,000 annual pension payment from his stint as mayor of Burlington, Vt. All of the investments itemized on the disclosure form belong to his wife, Jane, who worked as an educator and college administrator.
But that form does not require Sanders to disclose the amount of savings or the kinds of investments he holds in his government retirement savings account, known as the Thrift Savings Plan the well-regarded retirement plan, similar in many ways, to a private-sector 401(k), that GOP hopeful Marco Rubio actually proposes opening up to other Americans. The form also doesnt include the large pension that Sanders will receive when he retires from Congress.
(snip)
Although Sanders and his wifes joint tax return showed income of only a little more than $200,000 for 2014 including his $174,000 salary, his mayoral pension, and their Social Security payments the senators expected retirement benefits make his situation much more comparable to those in the millionaire class he faults. If Sanders, now 74, retires from politics at the end of his current Senate term two years from now, without having won the presidential election, he will be able to collect an annual pension of $71,340, MONEY calculated using the current Congressional pension formula.
(snip)
Indeed, when you factor in his mayoral pension, any Thrift Savings Plan assets, and Jane Sanders retirement funds, the households effective retirement nest egg could be closer to a $2 million valuation. Thats well above the American average, of course. About half of households 55 and older have no retirement savings, according to a GAO report released last summer. And of those who do, households age 65-74 had a median $148,000 saved.
More..
http://time.com/money/4235986/bernie-sanders-millionaire-finances/
Vinca
(50,269 posts)cosmicone
(11,014 posts)Deflection is not good when you cannot justify something.
Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)It's what primary season is for.
Vinca
(50,269 posts)He happens to work at a job that pays $174,000 a year with good benefits. His wife has also had a good job and they have retirement savings. You should know by now poor people can't run for office in this country.
virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)Answer: you don't......you only have to justify taking cash hand over fist from all of the major corporations....like Hillary does.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)And Sanders is pretty poor by senatorial standards, Novak said: Based on his 2013 financial disclosure forms, the independent ranked as the 86th richest member of his chamber.
The Sanders' earnings also dims in comparison to the money raked in by his top rival for the Democratic presidential nomination, Hillary Clinton. The former secretary of state and her husband, former president Bill Clinton, made more than $25 million in speaking fees alone between the start of 2014 and mid-May of this year, according to financial disclosures.
"He's pretty close to the bottom" among presidential candidates, Novak said. "I don't know if there's any major candidate who has a smaller net worth. I mean, you look at [Republican] Jeb Bush, and Jeb Bush last year made about $8 million. So there's a pretty big disparity there."
http://www.npr.org/sections/itsallpolitics/2015/07/08/421151627/sanders-among-the-least-wealthy-presidential-candidates
Oops! That mentioned Hillary too, my bad.
revbones
(3,660 posts)The donations to the Clinton Foundation from Mid East countries curiously timed around arms deals to those same countries?
The donations prior to her flip flop vote for the bankruptcy bill?
Let me know when you guys finish all that and then we can start talking about Bernie.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)No deflection needed.
JonLeibowitz
(6,282 posts)arcane1
(38,613 posts)virtualobserver
(8,760 posts)hobbit709
(41,694 posts)Better oil the bearings.
Viva_La_Revolution
(28,791 posts)Because they spent their whole lives pinching pennies and saving and investing. Bernie wants us all to have the same chances he did.
beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Some Hillary supporters are going to be disappointed that their anti-Semitic conspiracy theory hasn't been validated.
arcane1
(38,613 posts)beam me up scottie
(57,349 posts)Reminds me of the HC supporters who hated Obama so much in 2008.
Such irrational hatred is usually based on bigotry.
ViseGrip
(3,133 posts)Dems really smearing dems, with lies. I don't mind facts. But either your a republican here, or a dem in denial. Besides, Bernie's message is the same as 30 years ago, when he first earned 33,000 as mayor. Can't say the same for our opponent.
We are all aware of the lifetime full pension of congress.
I am all for a constitutional amendment to remove this provision from every one of them. If this is the worst about Bernie, he won his job fair and square and has these perks, then we are set up well with Bernie in a general election. Hillary, not so much.
basselope
(2,565 posts)So he is advocating against his own self interest and that is supposed to be a bad thing???
Angry Dragon
(36,693 posts)Else You Are Mad
(3,040 posts)... that is nothing. The Clintons are worth over $100 million Take a look at the Clinton's speaking fees via the link below. That isn't some RW smear site, that is CNN:
http://www.cnn.com/2016/02/05/politics/hillary-clinton-bill-clinton-paid-speeches/
But, thanks for trying!
ETA: My dad is a retired electrician and has over a million in retirement savings and property. Two million for 60 years of work isn't really that much.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)Kip Humphrey
(4,753 posts)NWCorona
(8,541 posts)Hell Hath No Fury
(16,327 posts)do that to big vehicles regularly. Beer trucks seem to especially vulnerable for some reason. Note the sign that says "Hill" -- just in case there was any question. :ROFL:
WDIM
(1,662 posts)Its the exploiting, embezzling, fraud, usury, cronyism, special favors and pay to play quid pro quo that we must end!
grntuscarora
(1,249 posts)Good luck with that one.
cyberswede
(26,117 posts)rogerashton
(3,920 posts)For planning purposes. Pretty easy to do, with a spreadsheet discounted present value function.
A bit over 400 K. But that is at a current interest rate of 1.5%, and assuming I live 15 more years.
Odd as it may seem, low interest rates increase the capital value of pension payments.
Armstead
(47,803 posts)pat_k
(9,313 posts)Pretty damn good.
He didn't earn his money from sources that constitute a a conflict of interest (or the appearance of a conflict of interest).
So, the problem is?
All that really matters is that he's advocating policies that will make it possible for more private sector, working class, Americans have the kind of opportunities he's had in the public sector.
elleng
(130,865 posts)like so many of us Federal Government employees.
Read all about it here https://www.tsp.gov/index.html
and if you're lucky, get a job with the Federal government. Good healthcare options too:
https://www.opm.gov/healthcare-insurance/healthcare/
Dem2
(8,168 posts)He's in no way a wealthy man - what a stretch to criticize him for being very low on the wealth scale considering his successful political career.
Eleanors38
(18,318 posts)GreatGazoo
(3,937 posts)Trick #1 -- Define your opponent before they have a chance to define themselves.
Trick #2 -- Use their quotes or votes, out of context if necessary, to charge them as being a phony or hypocrite
Trick #3 -- Separate the other candidate(s) from their natural base
Trick #4 -- Claim that voting for your opponent is in some nefarious way a "wasted vote"
Armstead
(47,803 posts)GreatGazoo
(3,937 posts)It is almost the definition of a bandwagon campaign -- "vote for this person or you're going to a special place in Hell."
gollygee
(22,336 posts)That would not be unexpected or unusual.
wilt the stilt
(4,528 posts)There is nothing wrong here. We are a capitalistic country.
hill2016
(1,772 posts)A million isn't that much these days.
ljm2002
(10,751 posts)...?????
A net worth of about $2M is not much for a US Senator. And one would expect that a Senator would be above average in their household income, retirement $$ set aside, etc.
Should he have given his salary away? Should his wife have stayed home and baked cookies? Please let us know what he should have done differently to maintain his socialist cred.
Or not.
blackspade
(10,056 posts)Ridiculous and pathetic
madinmaryland
(64,931 posts)have had the opportunity to participate in some very good retirement plans, but I would not suggest that he and his wife are wealthy millionaires.
mythology
(9,527 posts)I'm not sure why I'm supposed to care about this. FDR and JFK were both wealthy and were pretty good presidents. Smart people (which Sanders is) can often make money, or at least not spend it willy nilly and so can save. Yes it helps he's been in Congress for 20 plus years and they have a pretty good retirement plan, but I don't see this as making him a hypocrite or whatever you're going for.
Lone_Wolf
(1,603 posts)...which he came by honestly, then you should really be foaming at the mouth at the Clinton's who made a real fortune with their pay-to-play shenanigans.
question everything
(47,472 posts)No, he does not invest in the stock market. But he enjoys the Thrift Saving plan offered to U.S. Civil Service employees. And where are these funds invested? In stocks and bonds, of course.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thrift_Savings_Plan