Bernie Sanders Backs NYC 'Millionaire's Tax' To Fund Subways

FINANCIAL DISTRICT, NY — Mayor Bill de Blasio's proposed tax on high-income New Yorkers to help fund the MTA won support Monday from U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont), who lauded it as a progressive plan to fix the city's ailing subway system.

Sanders, a Brooklyn native who favors higher taxes for the rich generally, also said he opposes so-called congestion pricing proposals that would impose a toll on cars crossing the city's East River bridges, which are currently free. De Blasio's political rival, Gov. Andrew Cuomo, supports that idea — though Sanders said he was trying to avoid intervening in their feud.

"When somebody has to get to work they have a right to know that their mass transportation is going to work and get them there on time," Sanders said at a news conference inside the Fulton Street subway station. " And a little bit of a tax for the people on the top can do that and create thousands of jobs at the same time."

Sanders endorsed de Blasio's plan before appearing with him at a campaign rally Monday night, though Monday's news conference was coordinated by the mayor's government office. Sanders called de Blasio "one of the great progressive leaders in the United States of America, a man who must be re-elected."

De Blasio this summer proposed a 0.5 percent income tax hike on New Yorkers earning $500,000 or more annually. That would generate about $800 million annually for the MTA, with $500 million funding improvements to the aging subway infrastructure and the rest paying for half-price MetroCards for low-income straphangers.

The plan is de Blasio's alternative to congestion pricing, which would raise money from tolls on the East River bridges while reducing tolls on outer-borough bridges. Cuomo embraced that idea over the summer; both would require action by the state Legislature to become a reality.

Sanders said that concept could burden working people who need to drive to Manhattan, echoing the basis for de Blasio's opposition. But a study by the Community Service Society, released last week, found congestion pricing would impact very few such people.

"In general, I think that at a time of massive income and wealth inequality, you don't want to be taxing working families and working people who might have an automobile and are traveling in the city," Sanders said.

Sanders and de Blasio rode the A train to Fulton Street from Penn Station, the mayor's first subway ride accompanied by reporters since the summer. An "earlier incident" delayed the train by about 10 minutes, leaving the pair to wait on the platform, where they were serenaded by a pair of musicians.

Plenty of bystanders cheered Sanders — and de Blasio, once they realized he was there, too. One man led commuters in a chant of "Trump must go" as the crowded train traveled downtown.

"They're regular people — I think that's cool, getting on the train with regular people," Tyisha Peek of East New York told Patch. Peek voted for Sanders over Hillary Clinton in last year's Democratic presidential primary and plans to give de Blasio "another chance" in the Nov. 7 election.

Sanders helped Cuomo roll out his plan to offer free tuition at state universities in January. But he said he wasn't taking sides in the governor's ongoing feud with de Blasio and has no plans to stop by Albany on his way up to Vermont.

"I will stand with any mayor, any governor anywhere in the United States that is prepared to stand up for working people, and if money is needed, to demand that the wealthiest people start paying their fair share," Sanders said.

Sanders easily swiped his MetroCard through the turnstile at Penn Station, a contrast with Clinton's struggle to get onto the 4 train platform in April 2016, before she ultimately Sanders.

"Hillary Clinton couldn't do it, I did it," Sanders told de Blasio.

"That's your New York soul coming out," the mayor replied.

(Lead image: U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders speaks in New York City during his 2016 Democratic presidential campaign. Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)