Bernie Sanders has offered specifics on how he intends to raise $40 TRILLION for his social programs like the Green New Deal and canceling student debt, pulling out papers filled with policy proposals during a town hall in South Carolina.

Sanders, the senator from Vermont, took out several documents from his jacket pocket and handed them to town hall moderator Chris Cuomo of CNN after he was asked by a voter how he planned to pay for his spending plans.

‘Here is what I want to do, I’m going to give this to you,’ Sanders said as he pulled out a number of sheets of paper.

‘I thought that might come up, this is a list that will be on our website tonight of how we pay for every program that we have developed,’ the senator said, prompting some loud cheers from his supporters.

Throughout the campaign, Sanders has been resistant to providing details on how his administration would plan to pay for ambitious policy goals like universal health care. During an interview which aired on CBS News' 60 Minutes on Sunday, Sanders declined to get into specifics of how he intended to pay for his programs, saying: 'I can't rattle off to you ever nickel and every dime.'

But in the CNN town hall, he presented an ambitious spending plan, which included $16.3 trillion for the Green New Deal, and $2.5 trillion on housing for all.

He also detailed how he would raise $16.4 trillion for Medicare for All - even though some have suggested it could cost twice that amount.

Cuomo pressed Sanders on the topic, saying: ‘The criticism here is, there is a lot of detail in here, you can look for it yourselves on the website, but it is not matching the price tag that some put at about $30 trillion for the Medicare for All transition.’

BERNIE SANDERS BROUGHT THE RECEIPTS ON HOW TO PAY FOR #MEDICAREFORALL AND HANDED THEM TO CHRIS CUOMO!!! THE TEENS LOVED IT!! #CNNTownHall pic.twitter.com/ecwTgztJEs — People for Bernie (@People4Bernie) February 25, 2020

Senator Bernie Sanders holds up a sheet of paper during a town hall event in Charleston, South Carolina, on Monday

The senator from Vermont pulled out the proposals and handed them to moderator Chris Cuomo when asked how he intends to pay for his ambitious social programs

Cuomo tells Sanders: ‘You get about halfway there. The question becomes how do you get the rest of the way?’

Sanders replied that while his plan does include a tax increase, he claims it would save Americans money since they would not have to shoulder the other costs associated with private health insurance.

‘No more premiums for the worker or the employer, no more out of pocket expenses, no more deductibles, nor more out-of-pocket expenses and because we’re taking on the greed of the pharmaceutical companies, no one pays more than $200 a year for prescription drugs,’ Sanders said.

‘The point was just the math on how much the numbers added up to in the proposal,’ Cuomo said.

He then gestured to the audience and commented: ‘But this is something for you guys to decide.’

How Bernie says he will pay for his agenda Green New Deal Sanders' Green New Deal is set to cost a whopping $16.3 trillion. He says this will be paid for by: Making the fossil fuel industry pay for pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes ($3.1 trillion)

Wholesale of energy produced by the regional Power Marketing Administrations ($6.4 trillion)

Reducing defense spending ($1.2 trillion)

Income tax revenue from 20million 'new jobs' which he claims will be created by the Green New Deal ($2.3 trillion)

Reducing the need for federal and state safety net spending because of those new jobs ($1.3 trillion)

Making large corporations pay more taxes ($2 trillion) Medicare for All Sanders does not put an exact cost on Medicare for all, but offers a number of ways he intends to raise money to fund it, totaling $16.4 trillion. Among his ideas are: A 4 percent income-based premium paid by employees, exempting the first $29,000 in income for a family of four ($4trillion)

Imposing a 7.5 percent income-based premium paid by employers, exempting the first $1 million in payroll ($5.2 trillion)

Eliminating health tax expenditures ($3 trillion)

Replacing the cap on the state and local tax deduction with an overall dollar cap of $50,000 for a married couple (($400 billion)

Taxing capital gains at the same rates as income from wages ($2.5 trillion)

Returning the estate tax exemption to the 2009 level of $3.5 million, and closing loopholes ($336 billion)

Enacting corporate tax reform ($1 trillion - plus another $2 trillion for the Green New Deal) College for all and canceling student debt Sanders estimates it will cost $2.2 trillion to make public colleges and universities tuition-free and to cancel student debt. He says this will be raised by a tax on Wall Street speculation which will raise $2.4 trillion . Expanding Social Security Sanders says a bill to increase Social Security benefits will paid for by making the wealthiest Americans pay the same rate as working families Housing for All A proposal to guarantee housing for all and eliminate homelessness will cost $2.5 trillion over ten years, paid for by a wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one percent which he says will raise $4.35 trillion. Universal Childcare/Pre-K Sanders says guaranteed universal childcare and pre-school to every family in America who needs it will cost $1.5 trillion. He says it will be paid for by the above wealth tax. Eliminating Medical Debt A plan to eliminate all of the $81 billion in past due medical debt held by 79 million Americans is to be paid for by establishing an income inequality tax on large corporations which pay CEOs 50 times more than average workers. SOURCE: berniesanders.com Advertisement

Sanders took questions from an audience of prospective voters in Charleston, South Carolina, on the eve of another Democratic debate on Tuesday.

The crucial South Carolina primary, which is viewed as Joe Biden’s last chance to slow Sanders’ momentum after the Iowa, New Hampshire, and Nevada results, is scheduled for Saturday.

During the town hall on Monday, Sanders’ campaign revealed the policy proposals on his web site.

The plan put forth by Sanders includes a ‘modest tax on Wall Street speculation’ which he says ‘will raise an estimated $2.4trillion over ten years.’

That money would then be used to make all ‘public colleges, universities and trade schools tuition-free...and cancel all student debt over the next decade.’

Sanders is also proposing a wealth tax on the top one-tenth of one per cent, which he says would raise $4.35trillion.

Sanders declined to provide specifics on how he intends to pay for programs like Medicare for All on 60 Minutes on Sunday

The senator from Vermont says that those taxes would then be used to subsidize public housing and eliminate homelessness over 10 years.

Sanders also wants to impose a wealth tax on the top 0.1 per cent, which he claims will raise more than $4trillion that is to be used to fund ‘universal childcare and preschool to every family in America.’

The senator is also proposing an ‘income inequality tax on large corporations that pay CEOs at least 50 times more than average workers’ that would wipe out $81billion in past-due medical debt.

Sanders, who is an Independent from Vermont, speaks to voters in Charleston on Monday

Sanders also claims that a Green New Deal would create 20 million new jobs that would generate $2.3trillion in new income tax revenues.

By enacting a Green New Deal and ‘averting climate catastrophe we will save: $2.9trillion over 10 years, $21trillion over 30 years and $70.4trillion over 80 years,’ according to the campaign web site.

Sanders also wants to raise $3.085trillion by forcing the fossil fuel industry to ‘pay for their pollution, through litigation, fees, and taxes, and eliminating federal fossil fuel subsidies.’

As to how Sanders plans to pay for Medicare for All, which some estimates peg will cost $32trillion, the candidate claims that he has ‘proposed a menu of financing options that would more than pay’ for the program.

Sanders’ proposal would be paid for by ‘creating a 4 per cent income-based premium paid by employees, exempting the first $29,000 in income for a family of four.’

He also proposes imposing a 7.5 per cent ‘income-based premium paid by employers, exempting the first $1million in payroll to protect small businesses.’

Sanders also calls for getting rid of ‘health tax expenditures, which would no longer be needed under Medicare for All’ and ‘raising the top marginal income tax rate to 52 per cent on income over $10million.’

The senator also calls for a $1.215trillion reduction in defense spending, which would come about by ‘scaling back military operations on protecting the global oil supply.’