Senator Bernie Sanders (Socialist-VT) lost his temper on Thursday and went off on a FOX Business reporter after she attempted to question him about an insane workweek proposal he unveiled this week.
On Wednesday, the socialist Vermont senator on Wednesday introduced legislation establishing a 32-hour, four-day workweek, claiming his idea would protect workers’ pay and benefits to ensure there’s no loss in pay. He also called it “an important step toward ensuring that workers share in the massive increase in productivity driven by artificial intelligence, automation, and new technology.”
But Sanders’s crazy idea would be a massive job-killer. Labor costs, for example, would skyrocket by as much as 25% in some cases. This would make it far more challenging for businesses to hire or create new positions, limiting job growth, as the California Chamber of Commerce notes.
Employers would also need to fire full-time employees or employ temporary workers to fulfill Sanders’s wishes.
Hillary Vaughn caught up with Sanders in the halls of Capitol Hill and tried several times to ask a simple question regarding the bill. An agitated Sanders responded by cutting her off several times during the short interview. The economically illiterate socialist also rudely snapped at Vaughn at a couple of points after she kept trying to get a straight answer from him (she never did).
Sanders closed by taking a shot at Amazon CEO Jeff Bezos to justify his loony idea.
WATCH:
Relevant Transcript:
Vaughn: Senator Sanders, can I talk to you about the 32-hour work week? It seems like Democrats want businesses to be taxed more, pay their workers…
Sanders: Really? Is that what you think?
Vaughn: Pay their workers…
Sanders (snapping): Excuse me! Excuse me!
Vaughn: I didn’t get to ask the question.
Sanders: We held a hearing on a 32-hour workweek. Because what we have seen is that over the last 50 years, despite a huge increase in worker productivity, almost all of the wealth has gone to the top 1%, while 60% of the people living paycheck to paycheck.
Vaughn: Can I ask you a question about that? It seems like Democrats want businesses to be taxed more…
(crosstalk)
Sanders (snapping again): I can yell as loud as you! (Vaughn never yelled at any point in the interview)
Vaughn: How are businesses going to survive that? That’s the question. How can businesses survive all of those proposals?
Sanders: When Mr. Bezos pays an effective tax rate lower than the average worker, I think we have a real problem with our tax system. I think that billionaires have got to start paying their fair share of taxes. Thank you.
Many of our people are exhausted. We work the longest hours of any people in the industrialized world. I think it’s time for a shortened workweek.
That answer, of course, was not what Vaughn asked.
As Fox News notes, here is what Vaughn’s full question was supposed to be before cranky Bernie rudely interrupted her several times:
“It seems like Democrats want businesses to be taxed more, pay their workers more, lower prices, and now pay their workers not to work. How are businesses going to survive all that?”
The answer is they will not, which is why Sanders seemed so desperate to cut Vaughn off.
