Sen. Bernie Sanders (I., Vt.) told George Stephanopoulos on Sunday's This Week that he would raise taxes on all Americans to pay for the social programs he hope to implement if elected president.
"If we're going to make public colleges and universities tuition-free as we have to do in the 21st century. yeah we are going to have a tax on Wall Street speculation and ask Trump and his billionaire friends to pay more taxes," Sanders said.
Sanders claimed the billions of dollars in profits large corporations make should be taxed at a much higher rate. When asked how high he was willing to raise the top tax rate to, Sanders was not willing to offer specifics.
"We'll come up with it but higher than it is right now," Sanders said.
Billionaires are not the only ones Sanders wants to increase the tax burden on, he also suggested that in order to pay for paid family and medical leave, all Americans would have to pay more to the government in the form of an increased payroll tax.
"I think if you are looking about guaranteeing paid family and medical leave which every other major country has so that when a mom gives birth she doesn't have to go back to work in two weeks or an illness in a family, dad or mom can stay home with the kids. That will require a small increase in the payroll tax," Sanders said.
Stephanopoulos got Sanders to admit that an increased payroll tax "would hit everybody."
Continuing a major theme from his debate performance on Tuesday, Sanders pointed to other countries as a model for the economic regime he would like to bring to America.