STUART VARNEY (CO-HOST): That was Bernie Sanders from last night's Fox News town hall. He admitted we will all pay more in taxes. Joining us now, economist Peter Morici. Peter, as an economist, what did you make of Bernie Sanders' socialist economics?
PETER MORICI (UNIVERSITY OF MARYLAND PROFESSOR): He's a demagogue. It's that simple. A demagogue purposely obfuscates and exaggerates and distorts the facts. The reality is Medicaid for all would be terribly expensive, would probably cost the country somewhere between $3 trillion and $5 trillion a year out of a -- additional to what we're paying, OK? Medicaid already charges middle class people very high premiums. What would happen is because we can't afford to pay that big bill, if he put in Medicaid for all, lots of people who get health insurance where they work, like Mr. Varney at Fox, would instead be paying those very high premiums. So if you want to pay $1,000, $1,500 a month for family coverage, vote for Bernie Sanders.
VARNEY: OK look, but what concerned me more was the issue of fairness. Bernie Sanders thinks it's fair to take more money off wealthy people, more money out of their estate, tax their income well above 50%. I say that is grossly unfair. I want to lay down this rule. No government should take more than half of anyone's income, regardless of what they make. What say you?
MORICI: Well, New York City's out of business then, isn't it, because they are taking more than half the people's income there, between the federal, state and local tax. My feeling is I'm with you on that. What Bernie Sanders doesn't tell people, and I would love get him -- I always want to run for president, you know, raise $50 and register in New Hampshire so I could do it and dismember this. What he doesn't tell you is a school teacher in Amsterdam, not an anchor at Fox or an entrepreneur like myself, pays 50% of their income in taxes. They pay a good deal of what they earn in taxes. You look at ordinary working people in Holland or in England, they don't dress very well, they don't go to restaurants and so forth, because most of their income goes in taxes to pay for that welfare state. You can't possibly raise enough taxes off the wealthy to have free tuition, free medical care, free this, free this, an income for life, give people a grant at birth, and on and on the agenda goes.
VARNEY: Run in New Hampshire, please Peter and let's expose this.
MORICI: Actually get him on here. I bet you Bernie Sanders doesn't have the courage to debate Peter Morici. I bet you he wouldn't want to be -- you know what scares the living hell out of Bernie Sanders? Someone with substance to challenge him. He's like Barack Obama. He will always speak to crowds where he has lots of supporters.
