Michael Bloomberg attacked Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders for his policies on income inequality, saying they are evocative of communism.

While discussing the topic of workers' representation on company boards during the Nevada Democratic presidential debate on Wednesday, Sanders said, "You know what Mr. Bloomberg, it wasn't you who made all that money. Maybe your workers played some role in that as well."

He added: "And it is important that those workers are able to share the benefits. Also, when we have so many people go to work everyday, and they feel not good about their jobs, they feel like cogs in a machine. I want workers to be able to sit on corporate boards as well, so they can have some say over what happens to their lives."

The moderators shifted to Bloomberg to see if the former New York City mayor agreed with Sanders's policies. "Absolutely not," he replied.

"I can't think of a way that would make it easier for Donald Trump to get reelected than listening to this conversation. This is ridiculous. We're not going to throw out capitalism. We tried that. Other countries tried that. It was called communism, and it just didn't work," he said.

Years ago, Sanders didn't shun being called "a communist."

In 1972, a 32-year-old Sanders said, "I don't mind people coming up and calling me a communist. At least, they're still alive."

At many points, Sanders involved himself with left-wing organizations such as the Socialist Workers Party.

As mayor of Burlington, Vermont, Sanders's office was consistently littered with papers and pamphlets from communist revolutionary groups. And at one point, the FBI investigated his ties to the Socialist Workers Party, though no charges were ever brought.