Why Wall Street isn't freaking out about Bernie Sanders

Not only does Sanders need to pull off a stunning victory, but he probably needs Democrats controlling both houses of Congress. And even that wouldn’t be enough for Sanders’ most radical ideas to become law. As JPMorgan adds, “For Medicare-for-all or a wealth tax to become reality, it would require Democrats to sweep the presidency and both houses of Congress, and it would require them to assemble either a large-enough majority to avoid the Senate filibuster or a committed-enough majority to triumph in a bare-knuckled procedural fight.” All that heavy lifting, then, to pass a health-care proposal that’s become more unpopular the more people hear about it. Good luck. In the end, people might like Bernie more than they like Bernie-nomics.

Or imagine if President Sanders were able to persuade congressional Democrats to go through with his $5 trillion in tax increases, including those on wealth and Wall Street. That would still leave Wall Street to cast its own de facto vote, just it did back in 2008 when Congress failed to approve the Bush administration’s bank bailout plan. After the stock market tanked in response, Congress reversed course and passed the plan. A plummeting Dow might give Congress second thoughts about Bernie’s war on wealth. In the end, Wall Street doubts the real-world application of Bernie’s democratic socialism would look much different than the more pragmatic policies of Joe Biden or Amy Klobuchar.