You might be able to start thinking of Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders as the anti-George H.W. Bush. In his eventually unsuccessful 1992 reelection bid, the elder Bush was taken to task for his earlier campaign promise where he famously said, “Read my lips. No new taxes.” Sanders, by contrast, has the opposite message for you. “Read my lips. Plenty of new taxes.”

Hey, if nothing else you have to give the guy some points for honesty, right? (Free Beacon)

During a town hall on Tuesday, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) told the audience his healthcare plan, which would create a single payer, government-run system, would require tax increases for Americans. Sanders was asked about how he would pay for his Medicare for All plan, which the Mercatus Center found would cost the federal government $32.6 trillion during the first ten years of its implementation… One area Sanders suggested he would look to raise taxes on is an increase in payroll taxes paid by employers. Most employers are already required to pay taxes on an employee’s earnings including those for social security and Medicare. He additionally added he would fund his government-run healthcare program by “an increase in income taxes in a progressive way for ordinary people.”

Bernie is, of course, still talking about his Medicare for All plan. That boondoggle is estimated to cost $32.6 trillion over the first ten years while basically wiping out the health insurance industry in the process. So Sanders is talking about double-digit increases in payroll/income taxes. And that’s only going to pay for one of his proposals.

In the post-American socialist paradise that Bernie Sanders envisions, there will be many, many other programs to be funded. Where will we come up with the money? Sanders isn’t saying, suggesting that he’s not going to tell you how he plans to “raise every nickel in a $3.5 trillion budget” because it would just “engender enormous debate.”

Not for nothing, Senator, but isn’t a presidential primary sort of defined as a series of enormous debates? You’re talking about gargantuan proposals to address huge challenges facing the country. If handled poorly, the economy that’s finally fought its way back onto its feet would be sent crashing back into another recession. With all that in mind, do you really think the country should just accept an answer of, “trust me and we’ll figure out the details later?”

If Sanders is given his way with a compliant Democratic majority in both legislative chambers, he’ll be well on his way to vacuuming as much money as possible out of the private sector. Some of that wealth will be “redistributed” while the rest will go toward constructing a massive federal government that will ensure equality by telling you how to run each and every detail of your life. As I noted above, I suppose we should give him some credit for being mostly honest about it. But we should also take him at his word and make sure he never gets within smelling distance of the White House unless it’s on a guided public tour.