Bernie Sanders’ Criminal Justice Reform Plan is Just Socialism in Disguise

Bernie Sanders must have officially lost his mind. Sanders’ campaign released his Criminal Justice Reform plan, but the measures are just a delivery system for socialism. Packed neatly into the very end of the proposal on Sanders’ own website are several policy proposals that have nothing to do with crime and everything to do with increasing the size and scope of government. Our own Jenny Beth Martin already debunked some of the proposals, but let’s get into the others…

From Bernie Sanders’ own website:

As president, Bernie will:

-Enact a federal jobs guarantee to provide good jobs at a living wage revitalizing and taking care of the community.

-Pass a $15 minimum wage.

-Guarantee mental health care to people with disabilities as a human right, including all the supports and services needed needed to stay in the community. Mental health care, under Medicare for All, will be free at the point of service, with no copayments or deductibles which can be a barrier to treatment.

-Enact paid family leave, so people can take time off from work to help themselves or a family member as they go through treatment.

-Ensure that people who interacted with the justice system are still able to get the rehabilitation services they need and are able to find housing and employment.

-End the exploitative practices of payday lenders and ensure all Americans have access to basic financial services through the Post Office, and capping interest rates on consumer loans and credit cards at 15 percent across all financial institutions. States will be empowered to cap rates even lower than 15 percent.

-Tie Department of Transportation funding to integration and improving commuting in urban centers, and restore the TIGER program to focus on public transportation.

-Create a $10 billion grant program within the Minority Business Development Agency to provide grants to entrepreneurs of color.

-Pass the WATER Act to create a $35 billion annual fund to remove and replace lead pipes in communities throughout the country.

-Ensure federal resources are focused on the Americans who need it most — often as a result of structural disadvantage. We will implement the 10-20-30 approach to federal investments which focuses substantial federal resources on distressed communities that have high levels of poverty.

Pay close attention to the first two bullet points. Guaranteed federal jobs for everyone?! That’s the most New Deal, socialist proposal we’ve ever heard. And following up that zinger of an idea with $15 dollar minimum wage for all those government employees. The United States will need to be renamed “Taxation Nation” if Bernie has his way.