I don’t know if Bernie Sanders is seriously considering a third run at the presidency, but he certainly seems to be upping his game in attempting to impress his fellow socialist Democrats. (Actually, he just endorsed Joe Biden and predicted he will win “in a landslide.”) He used to be content with calling for a “wealth tax” on billionaires. But during an interview this week on CNN, he took it to the next level. He essentially told Chris Wallace that he wants to make billionaires in the United States extinct. He didn’t use that specific word, of course, and he didn’t suggest murdering anyone. But he did call for having the government confiscate every dollar someone earns after they reach 999 million dollars in a year. Every last penny of it. So under his plan, nobody would earn a billion dollars ever again. You have to wonder how Elon Musk feels about the idea. (Daily Wire)

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) said in an interview this week that he believes that all money people make over $999 million per year should be confiscated by the government.

The socialist senator made the remarks during an interview with Chris Wallace on CNN’s “Who’s Talking to Chris Wallace.”

“Sir, you’re saying that billionaires should not exist,” Wallace said. “So are you basically saying that once you get to $999 million, that the government should confiscate all the rest?”

RNC Research captured the moment for posterity.

"Are you basically saying that once you get to $999 million, the government should confiscate all the rest?"

BERNIE SANDERS: "I'm saying that we should go back to a very progressive tax policy."

"Over $1 billion basically all goes to the government?"

SANDERS: "Yeah" pic.twitter.com/YmIpTpI1oy

— RNC Research (@RNCResearch) April 29, 2023

You might be tempted to write this off as the ramblings of an old socialist kook, but there are plenty of other people on his side of the aisle who would be on board with this if they weren’t worried about losing cash from some of their biggest donors. And if they think they can get away with it they’ll try.

This is a very dangerous proposition. He’s not talking about a tax here, though he wants that as well. This would be a way to effectively grant the government the power to determine when someone has “too much money.” And once you cross that line in the sand, you don’t need much of a slippery slope to get to a place where the government insists that “everyone needs to have the same amount of money.”

And that, of course, is the end of capitalism, which is precisely what Sanders would like to see. Why would anyone continue working when there is no longer any reward for their efforts?  That would put the country on track to become a nation of people who are entirely dependent on the government and simply accept what they are given.

I find myself wondering how Bernie Sanders feels about Joe Biden’s “outstanding performance” in terms of Ukraine. After all, Biden is still saying we will fund the war “for as long as it takes.” But those with longer memories will recall a speech that Sanders gave on the floor of the Senate last year, shortly before the invasion. (You can read the full text of it here.) To his credit, Sanders accurately predicted almost everything that has happened since the war started, including the civilian casualties and a Ukrainian diaspora. He was calling for a diplomatic resolution that Russia could accept before it was too late. He warned that the international sanctions on Russia that would follow would cripple economies around the world, including ours. And he said that any talk of Ukraine joining NATO would be “the brightest of all redlines for the Russian elite, not just Putin.”

Sanders had the entire situation figured out. What’s happened since then is pretty much the opposite of his goals. So how satisfied is he really? Perhaps someone should ask him.