Sanders Comes Out Against Bush Bailout Plan

Liberal Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) has come out against President Bush's $700 billion bailout plan for Wall Street, signaling opposition on the left to go with that from the right.

“This proposal as presented is an unacceptable attempt to force middle income families (and our children) to pick up the cost of fixing the horrendous economic mess that is the product of the Bush administration's deregulatory fever and Wall Street's insatiable greed,” Sanders said in a statement released by his office.

“Let us be clear. If the economy is on the edge of collapse we need to act. But rescuing the economy does not mean we have to just give away $700 billion of taxpayer money to the banks,” he added.

Sanders also bashed the Bush administration, something all Democrats - and some Republicans - agree is a good idea.

“These are the last days of the Bush administration, the most dishonest and incompetent in modern American history. It is imperative that, at this important moment, Congress stand up for the middle class and for fiscal integrity,” Sanders added. “The future of our country is at stake.”

Sanders is proposing a five-year surtax of 10 percent on single Americans making over $500,000 per year, or couples making $1 million annually, to help pay for the bailout. Sanders said such a tax would yield $300 billion.

Sanders also wants much tighter regulation of Wall Street, as well as the dismantling of huge corporations that are "too big to fail."

“If a company is too big to fail, it is too big to exist,” Sanders said.