Halsey discusses the wealth tax with Bernie Sanders: “we must eradicate billionaires”

Halsey has today (October 5) shared a conversation between herself and US Democratic Senator Bernie Sanders, as part of a new series where the singer encourages fans to register to vote in the upcoming American election.

The interview took place last week, on September 30, the day after current president Donald Trump and candidate Joe Biden took part in the first presidential debate of 2020.

Halsey began by stating it was “arguably one of the most frustrating pieces of television I’ve ever had the misfortune of witnessing,” to which Sanders replied, “it was certainly not one of the great moments in American history.”

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The pair then went on to discuss current issues facing Americans, specifically to do with tax evasion and wealth inequalities. Watch the eight-minute clip below.

During the conversation, Halsey opened up about her upbringing in a “lower class family” with mixed-race parents.

“We grew up in really, really underprivileged situations. My parents had access to medical assistance, I grew up in those scenarios. And now, as an adult, at 26-years-old, I’m part of the one per cent.

“Having that sort of shift in perspective, given the ability to kind of see things from both sides, there’s one thing that I know for a fact: it’s that, for me personally, there is no amount of money that I think is worth personally contributing to the alienation, the disenfranchisement of millions – hundreds of millions of people across this country – which is why, despite being in the one per cent, I support the wealth tax. Because I believe that the people who oppose it are motivated by greed.”

On September 27, The New York Times revealed Trump only paid US$750 in federal taxes the year he won presidency, and a further US$750 in his first year in the White House. Prior to that, the President had avoided paying any federal taxes for 10 out of the previous 15 years.

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Sanders agreed with Halsey’s stance, proceeding to then point out how the top one per cent of wealthy Americans own more than the bottom 92 per cent.

“So what we need to do is say to the people on top, sorry, we got folks, half a million people who are homeless, we have kids who are hungry, you are not going to have billions and billions and billions while so many people suffer.”

“We must eradicate billionaires,” Halsey replied. “It’s an absolutely preposterous concept.”






Halsey and Bernie Sanders wrapped up the conversation by endorsing Joe Biden as the next US president, whilst encouraging viewers to register to vote.

The interview is labelled “the first of many more episodes,” so it’s safe to assume we’ll be hearing more from Halsey as the campaigning continues.

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