Neoliberal Economists: Against Bernie Sanders and Common Sense

[marmar]

Neoliberal Economists: Against Bernie Sanders and Common Sense

Saturday, 09 April 2016 00:00
By Jack Rasmus, teleSUR | Op-Ed


As U.S. presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has gained momentum in the presidential primaries, the attacks on his proposed economic programs have grown proportionally.

Leading the assault have been supporters of Hillary Clinton, especially Paul Krugman, and other "stars" of the economics profession like Christine Romer, Laura Tyson, Alan Kreuger, and Austan Goolsbe -- all of whom have served in past Democratic administrations and are no doubt looking to return again in some capacity in another Clinton administration. Sometimes referred to as the "gang of four," in recent weeks all have been aggressively attacking Sanders' economic programs and reforms. However, the target of their attacks, which began in February and continue today, is Sanders' proposals for financing a single-payer universal health care program by means of a financial transactions tax.

The irony of the Krugman/Gang of Four attack is that Sanders' proposals represent what were once Democratic party positions and programs -- positions that have been abandoned by the party and its mouthpiece economists since the 1980s as it morphed into a wing of the neoliberal agenda.

Sanders' critics have been especially agitated that their own economic models are being used to show that Sanders' proposals would greatly benefit the vast majority in the U.S. But debating Krugman and his neoliberal colleagues on the grounds of their faulty economic model -- a model that failed miserably under Obama to produce a sustained, real economic recovery in the U.S. -- is not necessary. Their model has been broken for some time. Some straightforward historical facts and recent comparative studies are all that's needed to show that a real financial transaction tax can generate more revenue than is needed to fund a single-payer type program. Here's how.

A Real Financial Transaction Tax

Let's take four major financial securities: stocks, bonds, derivatives, and foreign currency purchases (forex). ...............(more)

http://www.truth-out.org/opinion/item/35529-neoliberal-economists-against-bernie-sanders-and-common-sense