Having watched it all happen, I can assure you that the wheels set in motion by Bernie Sanders here in Vermont resulted in the creation of a lot of private wealth. The Sanders administration invested in high quality public amenities like a network of bike trails, the waterfront park system and the Church Street Marketplace. They promoted the arts through the Mayors Arts Council, and encouraged the restoration of the historic Flynn Theater into a vibrant live performance space. Spending on these public works was derided by conservatives here as wasteful and socialism. But guess what? Burlington started showing up on Best Places to Live lists and top destinations to visit lists.

By focusing on quality of life issues, Burlington became an attractive place to live. This in turn attracted young, educated people, who started companies and grew the economy without much notice from big corporations. This movement begat Ben and Jerry's Ice Cream with their strong social message. It also lead to the creation of companies like Dealer.com by allowing local entrepreneurs to attract national talent.

The central idea I want you to take from all this is that these public investments spurred private growth. The more the city invested in the arts and the environment, the more people wanted to be here. This has lead to a decades long trajectory of raising real estate values and so a great many people have made fortunes building houses, apartments, and hotels.

I think when reporters always point out Bernie is a Socialist, people who don't know what he did or how he did it assume that he wants to confiscate private wealth. The imagine him nationalizing various industries, and taxing the wealthy out of existence.

That is not what he did, and it is not what he is proposing to do. I was at his campaign kick off rally. He did not say "let's take their money." What he said is that it is time for the very rich to pay their fair share. Asking them to pay the same proportion as the rest of us is hardly a Marxist ideal. By proposing to invest in infrastructure, Bernie knows that it will spur employment, which in turn will energize the economy. We used to know this stuff, but the media treats him like some kind of wild orchid.

Watching Bernie being interviewed by Andrea Mitchell, it really looked like she did not want him to discuss his platform. If people get to hear what he would do as president, they might just vote for him. Heaven forfend!

"In the Soviet Union, capitalism triumphed over communism. In this country, capitalism triumphed over democracy."

Fran Lebowitz