In fact, it’s possible that with the kind of democratic socialism that Sanders has advocated for decades, America’s economic meltdown might never have even happened. On Sunday, the Washington Post chronicled how Germany and France also shut down their economies to stop the spread of the virus yet expect just mild blips in joblessness (in Germany, a rise of just .2 to .5%!). How could this be? Those nations were ready to go with generous programs that allowed firms to keep lock-downed employees on their payroll — expensive, yes, but less expensive than our Great Depression II will be. In the United States, the ridiculously complex Rube Goldberg-like machines to get a simple check to struggling citizens or loans out to small businesses, laundered through banks that are mucking up the process, are a disaster.