$18 trillion and counting
...Take, for example, the domestic economic policy initiatives he supports. His fiscal irresponsibility, his desire to tax and spend, and his willingness to let the federal government control the economy are staggering, even when compared to other Democrats who have run for president in recent years.

He has called for new spending that (for now!) totals $18 trillion over the next 10 years. This massive sum is to be spent, among other things, on single-payer health care, an expansion of Social Security and a massive taxpayer-funded infrastructure program.

Under his plan, the federal government would directly control 30 percent of spending in the economy, compared to the 20 percent we have seen in recent decades. For a comparison, the European Union’s “federal” budget equals about 1 percent of the economy of its member states.

He has so far announced new taxes that are supposed to raise some $6.5 trillion over the 10-year window, with more to come. To put that number into perspective, Obamacare increased taxes by “only” about half a trillion dollars over a similar period. But even such an enormous package of tax increases would not be enough to avoid a future of disastrous deficits and a rapidly escalating federal debt burden, as his spending proposals exceed his proposed tax hikes by well more than $10 trillion....

...How do Sanders and his acolytes in the media defend his destructive policy proposals? They argue that these costs are exaggerated. Why are they exaggerated? Because, they say, there is no new spending: The money he wants the government to spend is simply money that consumers are spending right now. ...