What Bernie Sanders misses about Dwight Eisenhower’s tax rates

“There has to be real tax reform, and the wealthiest and large corporations will pay”, Sanders said.

Before we go further, let’s review what the marginal tax rate means. Anytime tax dollars are pooled together for the common good, you have the concepts of social democracy at work.

“Under Ronald Reagan’s first term, the highest marginal rate was 70 percent”, he pointed out. “He will create a progressive estate tax on the top 0.3% of Americans who inherit more than $3.5 million”.

“We haven’t come up with an exact number yet”, Sanders responded. For the duration of Eisenhower’s presidency, that rate affected individuals making $200,000 or more per year or couples making $400,000 and above per year.

Today the tax brackets are adjusted for inflation, but are exceptionally lower than in Eisenhower’s day.

When pressed on the subject, Bernie affirmed that his marginal tax rate plan would be below the rate adopted by the Eisenhower administration.

When asked to provide more specifics on his tax plan, and how high he was willing to raise the government’s burden on the people, Sen.

Bernie Sanders famously describes himself as a democratic socialist and is unusual among modern politicians in the enthusiasm with which he advocates for higher taxes on wealthy Americans.

But a 91 percent tax rate on capital gains really would be historically unprecedented. It was even a bit higher before he took office.