On Wednesday, Senator Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), had harsh words for fellow Congressmen who were crafting a bill that would give major microchip companies $52 Billion in corporate welfare. However, he ignored pressing issues facing the lower and middle classes in the U.S.
“At a time of massive income and wealth inequality, the American people are sick and tired of the unprecedented level of corporate greed that we are seeing right now,” Sanders said. “In other words, we’re looking at two worlds. The wealthiest people never had it better. The middle class continuing to decline, and the poor living in abysmal conditions.”
He noted that every American is facing rising inflation and the consequences for their daily lives. worst income inequality in 100 years — while billionaires have gotten $2 trillion richerOver the past years, and are Space joyride purchaseAnd $500 million yachts. Nevertheless, billionaires are still around. corporations often pay zero dollars in federal taxes.
Sanders stated that instead of focusing on issues such as renewing the expanded Child Tax Credit, passing Medicare For All, increasing teacher pay, or making higher-education affordable, the Senate is focusing on corporate handouts.
“The last poll that I saw had the United States Congress with a 16 percent approval rating, 16 percent. To me, this was shocking — really, quite shocking — because I suspect that the 16 percent who believe that Congress was doing something meaningful really don’t know what’s going on,” he said.
“So what is Congress doing right now, at a time in which we face so many massive problems?” he continued. “The answer is that, for two months, a 107 member conference committee has been meeting behind closed doors to provide over $50 billion in corporate welfare, with no strings attached, to the highly profitable microchip industry.”
Sanders pointed out that the bill also includes a $10 billion “bailout” for Jeff Bezos’s space flight company. The Vermont senator has been critical of this funding for months. He claimed that Bezos is the last person who needs a cash infusion from taxpayers.
Sanders went on to condemn Senator Joe Manchin (D.West Virginia), whose hypocrisy is blatant. You can cry endlesslyAbout the deficit when it is about helping the American public, but passed massive spending bills to corporations without any questions.
“For all of my colleagues who tell us how deeply, deeply concerned they are about the deficit… ‘Bernie, we don’t have the money to do that! We’ve got a big deficit!’ Well, what about the deficit when it comes to giving $52 billion in corporate welfare to some of the most profitable corporations in America?” he said. “I guess when you’re giving corporate welfare to big and powerful interests, the deficit no longer matters.”
While Sanders acknowledged that the microchip shortage — which is raising prices and costing workers their jobs, he said — does pose problems for regular Americans, he maintained that handing corporations money with no strings attached isn’t the way to solve it.
Semiconductor companies have made huge profits over the pandemic and are turning around to pay their executives massive compensation packages and spend tens of billions on stock buybacks — all while shipping manufacturing jobs abroad to exploit workers in poor countries. Instead of focusing their efforts on increasing production and conserving jobs, they are focusing instead on preserving them. the semiconductor industry isSanders announced that the U.S. would close more than 780 manufacturing plants and eliminate 150,000 jobs.
Intel, for instance, one of the companiesBenefit from the bill, made nearly $20 billion in profitsLast year, while giving its CEO Pat Gelsinger nearly $180 million. Microchip companies have been thriving in the interim. have spent $100 million over the past decade in lobbying and campaign contributions — an investment that has evidently paid back in spades.
Sanders suggested that Congress should work with microchip companies to address workers’ and taxpayers’ concerns, instead of giving companies handouts. He also suggested that companies not outsource jobs, union busts, or do stock buybacks.
As it stands now, with no-strings-attached handouts to corporations, the government is willingly perpetuating “crony capitalism,” he said.
