Fox News host Will Cain argued that the Democratic Socialists of America’s policy platform carries a price tag that far exceeds what could be funded through higher taxes on corporations and wealthy Americans, contending that the math ultimately points to the middle class bearing the cost.
During a recent segment, Cain broke down what he described as the estimated costs of several proposals commonly associated with the Democratic Socialists of America, including universal health care, reparations, a federal jobs guarantee and housing initiatives.
“Let’s start with that price tag. How do you get to $200 trillion over 10 years? The number is absolutely staggering, and it breaks down into categories. It breaks down into promises on the DSA’s wish list.”
Cain began with what he identified as the projected cost of universal health care.
“Let’s start with universal healthcare. Over a 10-year period, that’s estimated to cost as much as $75 trillion.”
He then turned to reparations.
“But we don’t stop there. There’s been talk of reparations. Add another $28 trillion to the wish list.”
Cain also discussed a federal jobs guarantee.
“How about a federal jobs guarantee? That’s $60 trillion potentially at the high end over 10 years.”
He included housing proposals in his calculation as well.
“Now if you add this all up, including housing for all, which is another $17 trillion, then you get to a high estimate of $211 trillion over 10 years. Bringing up the question again, who pays?”
According to Cain, supporters of the Democratic Socialists of America argue that the necessary revenue would come from taxing corporations and wealthy individuals.
“Now the DSA, it has an answer: the rich, big corporations.”
Cain then argued that those revenue sources would not generate enough money to fund the proposals.
“So let’s look at reality. This lays out the high-end and the low-end estimates of the DSA’s wish list costs.”
He said eliminating corporate profits through taxation would still fall short.
“Now, if you taxed over a 10-year period all corporate profits, so you zeroed out corporate profits over a 10-year period, you’d bring in about $35 trillion.”
Cain also addressed taxes on high-income Americans.
“If you taxed the wealthiest in America at a rate of 40%, you’d bring in another half trillion dollars.”
He continued by discussing the effect of confiscating wealth.
“If you confiscated all of their wealth, well, you’d bring in about $6.6 trillion.”
Cain then explored an even higher tax scenario.
“But I want to go even further, because anybody on the left or a member of the DSA’d be saying, I don’t want to stop at 40%. So let’s go further. What if you did what America did in the mid-1950s and 60s, and you implemented a tax rate of over 90%?”
According to Cain, even that would not close the gap.
“We would still then only bring in about $2 trillion over 10 years.”
Cain argued that the proposals ultimately collide with economic reality.
“So, what the DSA’s wish list, its empty promises run into is the hard, cold reality of math.”
He said that, in his view, even the lower estimates remain well beyond available revenue.
“You add all that together, and you come nowhere near. Forget the high estimate of $200 trillion, but the low estimate of $71 trillion.”
Cain concluded that the burden would ultimately shift to middle-income Americans.
“So where do you go for the money? They go where they always end up going for the money: to you, the middle class.”
He also argued that implementing the proposals would dramatically increase the size of the federal government relative to the nation’s economy.
“And then, of course, it’s what do we look like? What’s the country look like? What size of government are we dealing with? Right now, our government spending amounts to about 40% of gross domestic product.”
Cain said his estimates indicate government spending would increase substantially under the DSA’s proposals.
“All right? The DSA’s wish list agenda on that low-end projection would take it to 57% of GDP. But the high-end projection of more than $200 trillion over 10 years means that government spending would be 92% of GDP.”
He concluded by arguing that such a change would fundamentally alter the nation’s economic system.
“That is a lot of government. That is actually a fundamental rewriting of the American economy and a fundamental rewriting of America.”
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