Bernie Sanders: ‘It’s Not Expensive’ to Expand Entitlements

CUOMO: "Testing it, it would be, tax and spend, senator. That's what you're saying. More typical lefty rhetoric. You're going to tax the rich, punish them for doing well and just dump it into programs that never work."
SANDERS: "Well, Chris, the truth is, that for the last 25 years there has been a huge transfer of wealth in this country from the middle class and working families. I'm talking about trillions of dollars. So the slice of the pie for the middle class has gotten smaller and all of that money has gone to the top 0.1 percent. And you compound that with this disastrous Citizens United decision in which billionaires are now able literally to control the political process in this country. I am very proud - I've got to tell you this - we announced five days ago on berniesanders.com. We sent out hundreds of thousands of messages. And on our first day we received $1.5 million in campaign contributions. Do you know what the average contribution was, Chris?"
CUOMO: "What was it?"
SANDERS: "$43. How's that?"
CUOMO: "So you're saying you're not going to be about the big money, but you have that big Supreme Court case, Citizens United. I mean that - that says that money is speech and they can play the game and it seems like everybody takes money in politics these days. You'll never change it."
SANDERS: "No, Chris, we - look, Chris, let's be very clear. When you have a handful of billionaires able to spend as much money as they want, supporting their candidates, so people like the Koch who are extreme right wing, what you are looking - and let's be clear - is the undermining of American democracy and moving our nation to an oligarchic form of society - and I mean that very seriously - where a handful of billionaires will determine who are elected officials are. We're not going to do that. I'm not going to take - establish a super PAC. We're getting small contributions from working people. I think we can raise the kinds of money we need, not to outspend our opponents, that won't happen, but to run a credible and, in fact, winning campaign."
CUOMO: "Do you think that you can match Hillary's position on immigration? She says full path to citizenship for the undocumented. It will be unpopular with the right. It will be unpopular with some in the middle. What do you say? 
SANDERS: Well, I have - I haven't seen her position in detail, but what I believe is, you know, we have 11 billion undocumented people in this country. I voted for a comprehensive immigration reform. I support comprehensive immigration reform. And that's what we should do."
CUOMO: "Full path to citizenship or qualified?"
SANDERS: "Over a period of years, a full path of citizenship."
CUOMO: "So over a period of years and then you make the adjustments within it?"
SANDERS: "Right."
CUOMO: "Now, Hillary Clinton says, I'm going to take on the big banks. I'm against this super wealthy class. I'm every day Americans. I'm going to do the same stuff Bernie does, I just sound different than he does. What do you say?"
SANDERS: "Well, again, you know, Chris, that's for the American people to decide. I think you have to look at my record. There is, in my lifetime, political life, no special interests that we have not taken on. I was the first member of the United States Congress when I was in the House to take on the pharmaceutical industry and tell people in my state and around the country, you know what, let's go to Canada and we can buy prescription drugs at a significantly lower price than we can in the United States. I have introduced legislation which says, not only are we not going to cut Social Security. You know what we have to do? We have so many low income seniors, we have to expand Social Security. You know what we have to do? We have to tell, in terms of the individual taxpayers, that these hedge fund guys are going to have to start paying their fair share. So I think if you look detail by detail at my record, I think you'll find it is a very strong record and standing up for people who are kind of voiceless today, who have given up on the political process, who don't have much power. That's my view."