Most of us are probably familiar with Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Your Money) by now. He's a popular figure with some on the left and has been a powerful fund-raising force since he lost to Hillary Clinton in 2016. But as he makes another run for the presidency, it's important to note how he's changed since the last time he ran. Obviously, he's older. But he's also joined a club he used to rail against.
You may recall, Gentle Reader, that Uncle Bernie used to go on about wealthy folk. You can probably remember him saying, "The millionaires and billionaires . . ." fill in the blank. But this year, Mr. Sanders is one of them.
Recent estimates say the senator is worth around $2 million. This is certainly far more than the average person making minimum wage. When he was asked to account for his new-found wealth he told The New York Times: "I wrote a best-selling book. If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too."
That's some powerful truth. He wrote a best-selling book, and anyone can be a millionaire if they write one. It'd help to get a big advance. As presidential candidates tend to do.
But this seems kind of a flippant answer for somebody who built an entire campaign on income inequality. He may be a step ahead of our president on releasing tax returns (if he follows through and does it), but to speak so passionately about the evils of rampant capitalism without honestly acknowledging how that same environment helped him become a millionaire seems disingenuous.
It's also worth pointing out this supposed everyman owns three homes--three more than the 100 million Americans who rent their living space.
So next time the senator talks about Jeff Bezos, hopefully he'll remember he's a little closer to Mr. Bezos now thanks to that sweet free market that allowed him to profit from his book. That and the thousands of suckers who bought it.
Editorial on 04/13/2019