So Bernie is a Millionaire. What does that take?

[MineralMan]

it's not really that difficult to make $1 Million.

For example, if you can get $10 from 100,000 people, that will do it. Or $100 from 10,000 people. Or $5 from 200,000.

Bernie wrote a book, or at least a book was published with his name on it as an author. How did it sell? Well, it sold well enough to earn him more than $1 million in royalties.

And that's why Bernie is a millionaire.

Others get paid for speeches. If you're famous, you can earn $100,000 or more for a speech. Famous like being a President or presidential candidate or a football legend or just a celebrity. It only takes 10 speeches like that to get to $1 Million.

While a million dollars is a lot of money for the average person, it's not so much if you're in a category that makes it possible to run for President. Nope. We have about 320 million people living in the United States. It's easy to get 200,000 of them interested enough to buy a book that pays you $5 in royalties.

It's really not that big a deal if you're prominent enough to run for President.

[Dopers_Greed]

1. This is just another RW hatchet job

CNN ran a piece about how scandalous it is that Sanders is a millionaire.

By millionaire, they mean he made ~1 million per book. It's not like he took tons of money from lobbyists and bribes.

I'm not even a Sanders supporter, and this line of attack is total BS.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

11. It's getting tiresome.

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[brush]

54. What's tiresome is he seemed to be hiding it by not releasing his taxes.

[dogman]

55. Now that's tiresome.

It's not April15 yet. He's answered this publicly that it will include 2018. Don't you want to see the results of last years book sales?

[brush]

57. He's been pressed to do this since 2016. Short memory?

[dogman]

58. He hasn't been a candidate since 2016. Can't forget.

[InAbLuEsTaTe]

59. Never! I think we just have to complete the anger phase before we can start movin towards acceptance

Bernie & Elizabeth 2020!!!
Welcome to the revolution!!!

[TwilightZone]

2. He's been a millionaire for a couple years now.

https://www.burlingtonfreepress.com/story/news/politics/2017/06/05/sanders-rakes-865-000-book-deals/371038001/

While I agree that it doesn't take much for a person in Bernie's situation to make a million dollars, I also think the "write a best-selling book and you can be a millionaire, too" response was pretty misguided, particularly in context of his rhetoric.

[MineralMan]

3. Oh, pretty much everyone who runs for President puts out a book.

It's sort of a rite of passage, in a way. And why not? I mean, if you have generated enough interest that you can credibly run for the highest office in the land, you must have something worth saying in a book. So, you write one or hire someone to write one after talking to you for a while. People buy it because - well - you're running for President.

I've written a few books, myself, but none of those made a million bucks. But, then, I'm not running for President, so that's not surprising. I didn't expect to realize that kind of money. I'm just not all that, really. I made some money, and helped some people learn some things, which was my goal.

You've never heard of my name. If you had, I'd be a helluva lot more famous than i am, because nobody much knows my name. In that case, my books might have sold better, and I might have earned a million bucks. Oh, well.

You can only get a million in profits from your book if you're famous, but if you're famous, it's pretty easy. It doesn't even have to be a very good book if you're famous. A million dollars just isn't that much money, really. It just seems like a lot of money if you don't have it.

[Nitram]

7. You only make a million dollars on a book if people buy it.

[Kanoko]

52. There are a lot of candidates running this year.

I wonder how many of them have not written a book.

[George II]

29. In my opinion that comment was dismissive. Plus, it would be interesting to get a summary....

....of who bought those books and where they ultimately wound up.

[MH1]

33. Yeah, I'm where you are.

In general I agree with MM's OP. But I also think his response to the question was bullshit.

Also he needs to emphasize that his policies would result in him having higher taxes himself.

I'm okay with people making money. It's how they do it, what they do with it, and how they want to change the tax code that interests me.

[Hokie]

4. Being a millionaire isn't what it used to be

According to Wikipeadia there were 5 million people in the US with a net worth over $1 million at the end of 2017.

If you figure a lot of older upper middle class individuals own homes that are worth a half million or more and have mortgages that are paid down quite a bit they are almost half way there just with home equity.

[MineralMan]

5. All the retirement gurus will tell you that you need at least $1,000,000

to retire. Wouldn't that be lovely? I guess I'm screwed...

[CentralMass]

12. I'm in that long line with you MM. Regarding Bernie selling books.

He had 13,000,000 people vote for him and had rallies with nearly 30k. It is no surprise that he has been able to sell some books.

[dogman]

60. That depends largely on lifestyle.

That million gives you a higher standard of living and less stress. A person in their 30's will need several million if they want to maintain their lifestyle stress free.

[George II]

6. The point is not that he's a millionaire, the point is that he's been criticizing millionaires....

....for years, all while he was one himself.

Along these lines, he also criticizes Amazon and Walmart every chance he gets, but where does he sell his books? ON AMAZON and WALMART!

As far as getting 200,000 people to buy his book, many of his books were purchased in bulk from the publisher and handed out at his speaking appearances over the last year or so. Everyone who purchased a ticket got a "free" book. So, instead of getting paid to deliver a speech (which is illegal) he's getting "paid" a book royalty for each ticket that's sold.

[Nitram]

8. I think it would be more accurate to say that Sanders has been criticizing people who made tens or

hundreds of millions on the back of the American people, and he is criticizing people who use their millions to game the system to avoid taxes and make bigger profits.

[MineralMan]

9. It's easy to criticize millionaires if you're not one.

it's popular, too, to criticize millionaires. Bernie can't really do that any longer, though, since he is one.

However, guess whose book sold way better than Bernie's? Michelle Obama's book. And she wasn't even President. HaHa!

[BlueFlorida]

10. Exactly this

I don't care if a candidate is a millionaire or a billionaire. I have a problem with a candidate being a millionaire and then acting as though he was a pauper and then attacking the millionaires and billionaires.

Remember the picture of Bernie waiting in the gate area while flying coach? This was advertised to show how frugal he was and to contrast him with Hillary Clinton who was flying in private jets. It was the height of hypocrisy because as soon as Sanders raised enough money, he started flying private jets as well. I'm pretty sure he has not flown coach since 2016.

Then came the Vatican junket where he took his whole extended family on a chartered jet. Then, after being rebuffed by the pope, they laid in wait for the pope in the morning and ambushed him to get a photo op. That shows a very poor character -- like Sanders' photo op was more important than the pope's express wishes. Corruption starts with poor character.

[Voltaire2]

16. So George, In your opinion nobody over a certain income level can criticize inequality

in our system?

Seriously?

[George II]

21. I didn't say that.

[Voltaire2]

22. Of course you didn't. Saying that would be ridiculous.

So what was your point exactly?

[lapucelle]

27. "The point is that he's been criticizing millionaires....while being one himself."

"Along these lines, he also criticizes Amazon and Walmart every chance he gets, but where does he sell his books? ON AMAZON and WALMART!

As far as getting 200,000 people to buy his book, many of his books were purchased in bulk from the publisher and handed out at his speaking appearances over the last year or so. Everyone who purchased a ticket got a "free" book. So, instead of getting paid to deliver a speech (which is illegal) he's getting "paid" a book royalty for each ticket that's sold."

Maybe the very clear points will be clearer if bolded.

[George II]

30. My point is very clear in that post.

[Voltaire2]

38. OK

So this "The point is not that he's a millionaire, the point is that he's been criticizing millionaires....

....for years, all while he was one himself." Was not your point then?

[Kanoko]

53. FDR criticized the rich and powerful while being wealthy himself.

"I welcome their hatred."

Teddy Roosevelt was the Trust Buster.

Since when do have to be poor to fight for the majority.

[George II]

62. FDR was wealthy long before he ran for President.

[jalan48]

13. Where does Bernie stand on taxation policy? That's the real question. Does he support cutting taxes

on people who share his income level?

[George II]

31. We don't know, he's been very unclear on specifics of his tax policy.

[stonecutter357]

14. millionaires and billionaires !

[OnDoutside]

15. He could also have donated any profits from the books, to good causes, thus keeping

his principles in tact.

[Voltaire2]

17. Which principle is that?

[OnDoutside]

18. Emmm, the redistribution of wealth principle ?

[Voltaire2]

24. So Sanders supports absolute income equality through redistribution of wealth?

I didn't know that. You you provide some links to Sanders saying anything remotely like that?

[George II]

32. Interesting that most of what you do here is ask questions.

[Voltaire2]

36. Why is that interesting?

[OnDoutside]

44. Lol, funny how he went to such lengths to hide his tax returns, while railing against the

Millionaires and the billionaires ! There's plenty willing to fall for the man of de peeple horseshit, but I'm not one of them. It is however, perfectly open to him to eschew the trappings of material wealth by donating the profits to worthy causes. I won't be waiting with baited breath.

[Voltaire2]

45. His book income has been in the public record for years.

[OnDoutside]

46. So why has he been hiding his taxes from public view ?

[Voltaire2]

47. Well I guess it isn't because of his book income. LOL.

[OnDoutside]

49. Indeed !

[gibraltar72]

19. I was in insurance, estate planning etc. before retirement.

I had many clients who were millionaires. That really isn't a very high bar. It used to be but not anymore.

[MineralMan]

34. Well, yes. Estate planners, financial advisers, and retirement specialists

tend to work mostly with people who have wealth to manage. None of them would be interested in spending any time with me.

If one deals with wealthy people all the time, it's easy to get the idea that more are wealthy than is actually correct.

You're correct, though, to say that a net worth of more than $1 Million is not nearly as unusual as it once was. Money has been devalued a great deal over the past 40 years or so.

[marylandblue]

20. It's just more right wing talking points from a long tradition, such as:

-Climate change is a lie because Al Gore flies in airplanes.
-Poor people aren't suffering because AOC isn't actually poor.
- Trump isn't a crook because Clinton gave a speech to Goldman Sachs.
- Obama is a Marxist because he and Saul Alinsky are both political organizers from Chicago.
-Harris isn't a progressive because she prosecuted people when she was a prosecutor.
-Pelosi is a left wing nut because she is a woman from San Francisco.
Banks aren't fleecing American because Warren isn't really an Indian.
And of course, now we have,
-Income inequality isn't a problem because Sanders sold a lot of books.

[Gothmog]

23. From the Hoarse Whisperer

Link to tweet

?s=20

[ecstatic]

25. More twitter responses:

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

Link to tweet

[Eko]

48. Wow.

Thats pretty effective.

[comradebillyboy]

28. How can a person making a six figure salary for the last 25 years not

accumulate a couple of million dollars? I'm a retired school teacher in NM, where the pay was never great, and my wife is a retired postal worker and we managed to accumulate over a million in savings and investments, not including our paid off house and other real property. Who knows though? Maybe Bernie never heard of the stock market.

[MineralMan]

35. Oh, a lot of people in that category haven't.

I can't say I know tons of people with that kind of income, but I know enough to understand that many of them are just much deeper in debt than I am. People who live beyond their means come in all income levels.

I suspect that Donald Trump, for example, has a pitiful actual net worth compared to all the money that has passed through his hands. I'm pretty sure he lives through indebtedness. That will catch up to you eventually.

Who knows, the Presidency could easily end in his financial downfall and impoverishment. For four years, he won't be able to borrow his way out of disasters like he has for decades.

His chickens are coming home to roost, I expect. I hope he enjoys chicken.

[comradebillyboy]

37. Still, I would expect any prudent person to save and invest for

their own future. I really don't want a financially illiterate or irresponsible person to be president or to represent me in any other way.

[Voltaire2]

39. The people pushing this attack are desperate.

[MineralMan]

41. Well, yes, I agree. On the other hand, things happen.

Sometimes prudence and planning fall victim to things unanticipated.

See, I don't have any problem with Bernie Sanders being a millionaire. I would sort of expect him to be, really. I expect anyone seeking that kind of high office to have been successful in life, and have a substantial net worth in their 70s. It doesn't bother me at all.

I'm not a Bernie fan, but that's for other reasons. I don't care what his net worth is. Perhaps it's higher than he'd like his "progressive" supporters to know about. Maybe that's why he's been resisting making his tax filings public. I don't know. Perhaps we're about to find out, though.

[comradebillyboy]

50. I don't begrudge Bernie having a few million, but my goodness he's sensitive about it.

[delisen]

40. By not releasing tax info he hid his status -that's the issue

[MineralMan]

42. It could be that you're correct.

[Voltaire2]

43. Er, the income from the book deals is in the public record.

His Senate Financial Disclosure Forms over the last three years covered all of that.

So what's the issue again?

[robbedvoter]

51. That's probably the least we'll find in his taxes

assuming he releases them

[ucrdem]

56. He didn't earn a million in book royalties, though that's what his statement suggests.

As usual, his statement is misleading in a self-flattering way. He said “I wrote a best-selling book. If you write a best-selling book, you can be a millionaire, too.” But he didn't say the book made him a million dollars. And it didn't.

[dogman]

61. Actually he has written three books.

CNN says the first two earned him 1.7 million, approx 885,000 each. The third book will likely be revealed after tomorrow.