Sen. Bernie Sanders Joins De Blasio To Tout Millionaires' Tax For Subway Repairs
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) -- U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont) was in New York Monday to promote a plan to tax the rich with Mayor Bill de Blasio.
As WCBS 880's Rich Lamb reported, Sanders did what Hillary Clinton could not on one occasion captured on video when she was campaigning in the city back in April 2016. He got into the subway with one swipe.
It was right before he rode the train with the mayor to promote his plan.
At the Fulton Street subway stop in Lower Manhattan, with Sanders at his side, de Blasio renewed his pitch for a tax to fix the subways.
"I know where the money is. I know it! We all know it!" de Blasio said. "Those who have benefited so much in this society have the resources, it's time for them to pay a little more -- and to them, I assure you, it is just a little more, so the rest of us can get around!"
Sanders chimed right in.
"If we say to the wealthiest people in this country: 'You know what? You need to start paying your fair share of taxes,'" he said.
But Sanders did say he was not taking sides in the skirmish between the mayor and Gov. Andrew Cuomo about how to finance fixing the subways.
Mayor de Blasio announced the tax plan in August. Under the plan, the top tax rate would rise from about 3.9 percent to 4.4 percent.
It would affect individuals making more than $500,000 a year and couples earning more than $1 million.
The mayor said the tax is projected to raise $700 million in 2018 before rising to $820 million a year by 2022.
But Cuomo said he is exploring a different revenue stream of ways to use congestion pricing to pay for subway repairs. Meanwhile, the state Legislature won't deal with subway funding until next year, so when voters go to the polls in November, they won't know whether the mayor's proposal is a good plan or one that just sounds good now.
(© Copyright 2017 CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. The Associated Press contributed to this report.)