Bernie Sanders plans tax on wealthy; Cory Booker to hike teacher pay

Sen. Bernard Sanders on Tuesday announced a proposal to levy new taxes on the super-wealthy that his campaign said would raise more than $4 trillion over the next decade.

The progressive tax would start at 1% for married couples with a net worth of more than $32 million and steadily increase to an 8% tax on wealth of more than $10 billion. The brackets would be cut in half for single people.

“At a time when millions of people are working two or three jobs to feed their families, the three wealthiest people in this country own more wealth than the bottom half of the American people,” said Mr. Sanders, a 2020 Democratic presidential candidate. “Enough is enough.”

The plan would generate roughly $4.35 trillion over a decade, according to an estimate from economists Gabriel Zucman and Emmanuel Saez that was released by the Sanders campaign.

The money would go toward funding Mr. Sanders’ plans for a “Medicare for All” universal health care system, universal child care and increased affordable housing.

Mr. Sanders’ campaign estimated that the plan would cut billionaires’ wealth in half over 15 years. To enforce the plan, Mr. Sanders would create a “national wealth registry” and increase funding for the IRS so the tax-collection agency could hit a 30% audit rate for the wealthiest 1% and a 100% audit rate for all billionaires.

The plan is more far-reaching than the wealth tax proposal from Sen. Elizabeth Warren, one of Mr. Sanders’ top rivals for the 2020 Democratic presidential nomination. Ms. Warren has proposed levying a 2% tax on assets of more than $50 million and a 3% tax on assets of more than $1 billion, generating an estimated $2.6 trillion over a decade.

Gabbard on Iran

Rep. Tulsi Gabbard on Tuesday said she would reenter the Iran nuclear deal as part of a response to the country’s recent alleged involvement in attacks on oil facilities in Saudi Arabia, warning of a potential “inferno” of war in the region.

“As president right now what I would do is reenter the Iran nuclear agreement, take away those sanctions that have been put in place so that Iran is brought back into an agreement where they are complying, we have inspectors going in,” Ms. Gabbard said on CNN. “Because every single day that this doesn’t happen, Iran is moving forward towards developing a nuclear weapon.”

Ms. Gabbard, an Iraq War veteran, rejected the notion of sending troops into Saudi Arabia in the wake of the recent attacks.

“I would see the situation for what it is, which is this latest attack on Saudi Arabia is a retaliatory attack because of all the sanctions that are in place that are essentially blocking Iran from selling their oil on the market,” the Hawaii Democrat said.

She warned against continuing a “cycle of retaliation” that could lead to an “all-out inferno” of a war in Iran and across the region.

“That would be so costly and devastating, that would make the war we served in in Iraq look like a picnic in comparison in lost American lives, trillions of taxpayer dollars, exacerbating an already-terrible refugee crisis,” she said.

Teacher compensation

Sen. Cory A. Booker on Monday announced legislation intended to boost the compensation of public school teachers through refundable tax credits, notably for teachers in schools with students living in poverty.

“America’s teachers are constantly being asked to do more and more without any significant increase in their compensation, and often at their own expense,” Mr. Booker said.

The bill would create a refundable $10,000 tax credit for public elementary and secondary school teachers in “high poverty” public schools.

Teachers in schools with at least 75% of students in poverty would be eligible for the full credit, with the value declining for teachers working in schools where fewer students are living in poverty.

Similar credits would be offered for early childhood educators with a bachelor’s degree and educators with an associate’s degree in “high poverty” early childhood centers.

All teachers, regardless of the level of poverty in their school, would receive at least a $500 refundable tax credit.

The legislation also would increase an educator tax credit intended to offset the cost of school supplies from $250 to $500 and as much as $1,500 for educators in the “highest need” schools.

Sestak on autism

Former Rep. Joe Sestak on Wednesday called for increased federal funding for therapies and services for people with autism.

“I fought throughout my time in Congress to increase support for individuals and families living with autism, beginning with military families,” Mr. Sestak said. “As president, I will continue to do everything in my power to support all Americans with autism and their families.”

Mr. Sestak touted his work in Congress in securing new federal funding and for autism in a 2009 defense spending bill but said the federal government needs to step up with more funding both for treatment and research.

“We must increase funding, as part of the transition to a universal healthcare system, for evidence-based, medically necessary therapies and services for people with autism,” he said. “And we must also increase funding for expanded research into the efficacy of various therapies, because there still has not been nearly enough such research thus far.”

He also said there should be more resources devoted to finding the cause or causes of autism.

“We need to find out why the rate of autism is increasing faster among African American and Hispanic people, after having long been more prevalent among the white population, and how environmental factors and genetic factors come into play,” he said.