Bernie Sanders rips into Trump in Berlin

[nitpicker]

http://www.dw.com/en/bernie-sanders-rips-into-trump-in-berlin/a-39071730

31.05.2017

Bernie Sanders rips into Trump in Berlin

"Just follow all the young people." Those were the instructions I got when I asked for directions from the subway station to the main auditorium of the Free University of Berlin, where former Democratic presidential candidate Bernie Sanders was launching the German edition of his book "Our Revolution."
(snip)

Most of the people I talked to said that, to use the words of one German woman, "He's not part of the system." The applause the Vermont senator received upon entering the hall rivaled that of any campaign event in the lead-up last year's election. And if the audience was hoping for a scathing critique of Donald Trump, they got exactly what they wanted.
(snip)

In perhaps the most anticipated part of the speech, Sanders took dead aim at Trump: "I am not a great fan," he said. His words drew laughs from the audience, who suspected what was coming next. He started by excoriating Trump's proposed budget in the US, which Sanders said showed how "out of touch" the president was. Sanders called the budget the "most horrific" in modern US history. He said 23 million Americans would be out of health care, if Trump got his way, and thousands would "die needlessly." By contrast, Sanders said, the richest one percent of Americans would get $3 trillion (2.7 billion euro) in tax breaks.

The senator said he was "deeply disturbed" about Trump's "disrespect for democracy and traditional American values" such as freedom of the press. He decried Trump's attacks on journalistic institutions and his labeling of reputable American media outlets such as the New York Times and Washington Post as "fake news" as a "major assault on democracy in the United States." Sanders said that Trump, in contrast to the many other conservatives the liberal senator deals with, "time after time tells blatant lies and makes outrageous claims that are not backed up by facts." He accused Trump of having supported Republican attempts to "suppress the vote" in many states.
(snip)

He said that Trump had been elected because politicians in Washington had not listened to the "pain" of working-class Americans who have been left behind by the global economy. He lambasted corporations that made huge profits without paying taxes and said that there needed to be international efforts to combat the problem.

Sanders expressed his worry that the US was turning into "oligarchic form of society in which a small number of billionaires control our economy, as well as our political life." He said that the top one percent of the world's population had more money than the bottom 99 percent, and that the top eight people were wealthier than the bottom 50 percent of humanity. "Our job is not to accept this," Sanders thundered, drawing loud applause. "It's simply not acceptable."
(snip)

[burrowowl]

1. K&R!!!!!!

[thbobby]

2. Bernie is True American

I am so appalled by the people in my country who have their heads embedded in their ass and cannot realize what the GOP is doing to America. Are people really so hateful or stupid that they cannot see what the GOP and its stooge trump are doing to destroy 99% of American lives? Love living in poverty? Vote republican.

[pnwmom]

3. He's wrong. The economic issues facing working class people were not why DT was elected.

"Financially troubled" white working class voters chose HILLARY.

People who voted for DT had other primary concerns.

And those voters weren't put off by his racist appeals, his sexism, or the Wall. For many of them, that was a big part of his appeal.

https://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2017/05/white-working-class-trump-cultural-anxiety/525771/

White Americans carried Donald Trump to the White House. He won college-educated white voters by a four-point margin over Hillary Clinton, according to exit polls. But his real victory was among members of the white working class: Twice as many of these voters cast their ballots for the president as for Clinton.

In the wake of Trump’s surprise win, some journalists, scholars, and political strategists argued that economic anxiety drove these Americans to Trump. But new analysis of post-election survey data conducted by the Public Religion Research Institute and The Atlantic found something different: Evidence suggests financially troubled voters in the white working class were more likely to prefer Clinton over Trump. Besides partisan affiliation, it was cultural anxiety—feeling like a stranger in America, supporting the deportation of immigrants, and hesitating about educational investment—that best predicted support for Trump.

The Death of Community and the Rise of Trump

This data adds to the public’s mosaic-like understanding of the 2016 election. It suggests Trump’s most powerful message, at least among some Americans, was about defending the country’s putative culture. Because this message seems to have resonated so deeply with voters, Trump’s policies, speeches, and eventual reelection may depend on their perception of how well he fulfills it.

[betsuni]

4. +1

[NurseJackie]

8. Ahhh... REALITY. A voice of REASON. (Thank you!)

[musette_sf]

10. + 1

[DFW]

5. They need to get their billions and trillions straight

"By contrast, Sanders said, the richest one percent of Americans would get $3 trillion (2.7 billion euro) in tax breaks." Umm, well, no.

I doubt they are THAT direly in need of a calculator. I attribute the mistake to a translation error. A "billion" in English is a "Milliarde" in German, where a "trillion" in English is a "Billion" in German. I take it the "2.7 billion euro" for the $3 trillion was a mistaken translation of "€2.7 Billionen," i.e. 2.7 trillion euros.

[ProfessorGAC]

6. Either That Or The Exchange Rate Just Changed Drastically!

Nice catch DFW!

[Lucky Luciano]

7. I think he is including a repeal of inheritance taxes which could be that big. nt

[DFW]

9. The error is EXACTLY 1 to 1000. Sounds more like a mistranslation.

"€2.7 Billionen" is "€2.7 trillion" in English. "$3 billion" is "$3 Milliarden" in German.

[Lucky Luciano]

11. Ahh never mind! I now see what you mean!

I thought the $3T figure was in question - I didn't pay attention to the 2.7 billion euro conversion.

[DFW]

12. No big deal. When you live here and speak German at home

Stuff like that not only jumps out at you, it causes confusion when it's translated wrong.

[SFnomad]

13. It's not just a "mistranslation" ... it's the difference between short scale and long scale

between the US and Europe.

Short Scale - United States (also the UK from 1974 and on):
Every new term greater than million is one thousand times larger than the previous term.
Million = 10^6 = 1,000,000
Billion = 10^9 = 1,000,000,000
Trillion = 10^12 = 1,000,000,000,000

Long Scale - most of Europe (also the UK before 1974):
Every new term greater than million is one million times larger than the previous term.
Million = 10^6 = 1,000,000
Billion = 10^12 = 1,000,000,000,000
Trillion = 10^18 = 1,000,000,000,000,000,000

So ...
What most of Europe calls One Billion (Long Scale) is equivalent in the United States to One Trillion (Short Scale).
What most of Europe calls One Trillion is equivalent in the United States to One Quintillion.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Long_and_short_scales