During a House-Senate budget conference committee meeting on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders took the time to school his Republican colleagues on the actual causes of the deficit.

“The reason we’re in a deficit today is two unpaid wars, Medicare Part D program, unpaid for, large tax breaks, $1 trillion of which went to the wealthy,” he said. “As we go forward to figure out where we want to be as priorities, you’ve got to remember that fact as well.” - Sen. Bernie Sanders speaking to Republicans on the actual causes of the deficit

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During a House-Senate budget conference committee meeting on Wednesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders took the time to school his Republican colleagues on the actual causes of the deficit.

“Is it fair to say that the reason we began to go into deficit was because we went to war in Iraq, which by the time we take care of the last veteran is going to cost us about $3 trillion?” he asked Congressional Budget Office Director Doug Elmendorf. “How do we pay for that war?”

Elmendorf started to reply that Congress did indeed cut taxes during that period, but Sanders shot back: “You’re not suggesting that in the middle of a war which cost $3 trillion Congress actually cut taxes for the rich?”

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Paul Ryan, the poster boy for austerity economics then interrupted laughing, saying “Bernie, that’s fine. Come on.”

Because in Republican land, cutting government revenues by $1.8 trillion while spending $3 trillion obviously means creating a surplus...

Watch Sanders lay down some basic math: