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When asked during the PBS Democratic presidential debate Thursday night “how much larger would government be” if he were to succeed in becoming the next U.S. president, Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) refused to give a clear answer.
He instead told the audience at University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee that the government “has a moral responsibility to play a vital role” in the lives of the American people.
“Of course there will be a limit [to government expansion], but when today you have massive levels of income and wealth inequality, when the middle class is disappearing, you have the highest rate of childhood poverty of almost any major country on earth – yes, in my view, the government of a democratic society has a moral responsibility to play a vital role in making sure that all of our people have a decent standard of living,” said Sanders.
Listen to his remarks in the video clip below.
Rival and former secretary of state Hillary Clinton later criticized Sanders for not being “specific” enough about the price tag on his plans for government expansion.
She said that she only needs “about $100 billion dollars a year” to carry out her agenda.