By MARSHA MERCER
At the ripe age of 77, Bernie
Sanders finds himself in an enviable predicament.
He lost the Democratic
nomination for president in 2016 but became a bestselling author.
His book, “Our
Revolution,” was published just after the 2016 election, and “Where We Go from
Here” came out last November.
Mostly because of book
advances and royalties, Sanders and his wife reported income above $1 million
in 2016 and 2017 when they released 10 years of tax returns April 15.
In 2018, the couple had
substantially less, but still hefty, adjusted gross income of $561,293, about
$393,000 from book income. The Sanderses reported $19,000 in charitable giving
last year.
And yet, all is not
clover for the independent senator and leading Democratic presidential
contender – at least until Joe Biden enters the race.
A headline in The New
York Times said of Sanders: “He’s part of the 1%.”
Trevor Noah joked on
“The Daily Show” that Sanders’s being a millionaire is like finding out Trump
is secretly a Mexican.
Good one. But wait.
Yes, Sanders has railed
for years against income inequality, a corrupt political system and “millionaires
and billionaires” not paying their fair share. But he did pay his taxes.
The Sanderses paid
$372,368 in taxes in 2016, $343,882 in 2017, and $145,840 last year.
“These tax returns show
that our family has been fortunate,” he said in a statement. “I am very
grateful for that, as I grew up in a family that lived paycheck to paycheck and
I know the stress of economic insecurity.”
He said he won’t
apologize for his best seller -- nor should he. In a Fox News town hall
interview Monday night, Sanders also called on President Donald Trump to
release his taxes, which Trump will never do willingly.
Congressional Democrats
hope to force Trump to release his taxes, but the longer Trump delays, the more
people wonder what he’s hiding.
Unlike Sanders who
seems embarrassed by his own wealth, Trump’s returns might embarrass him by
showing he’s not as rich or as charitable as he says, or that he’s found legal
loopholes to avoid paying taxes.
Everyone knows a turn
in the White House can unlock a treasure chest. Forbes magazine estimated
Hillary Clinton’s worth at $45 million in 2016, almost all amassed after she
and President Bill Clinton left the White House.
Michelle Obama wrote the
bestselling nonfiction book of 2018. “Becoming” sold 2 million copies in its
first 15 days and still occupies the Times bestseller list 21 weeks later.
Sanders, though, is proof
that running – and losing the nomination -- can also boost one’s bottom line.
In 2015, the Sanderses had adjusted gross income of about $205,000 – mostly
from his $174,000 Senate salary and Social Security benefits for both.
His 2016 campaign
captured imaginations with populist, “us versus them” rhetoric.
Some 13 million
Americans voted for Sanders in the primaries and caucuses, and he won 22
states. People wanted to read what he had to say -- and not just in the United
States. “Our Revolution” has been translated into five languages, the Sanders
campaign says.
Sanders needs to accept
his good luck and stop sounding peevish. The self-styled democratic socialist
denied on Fox his success is proof capitalism works. So much for winning
disaffected Donald Trump voters.
And to The New York
Times, Sanders said, “If you write a bestselling book, you can be a
millionaire, too.”
It’s doubtful, of
course, he’d have had best sellers or that Jane Sanders would have received an
advance of more than $106,000 in 2017 to write a book about the couple’s public
service, had he not run for president.
Even if he’s
uncomfortable, Sanders did the right thing in releasing his returns, as have six
other Democratic presidential hopefuls. Kamala Harris is a millionaire, and
Elizabeth Warren is close. The other contenders need to release their tax
returns, too,
so voters know who they are voting for.
Populism isn’t defined
by how much – or how little – money someone has in the bank. It’s defined by the
commitment to creating jobs, improving education and other policies that ensure
opportunity for all.
©2019 Marsha Mercer. All rights
reserved.
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