2016 presidential candidate Bernie Sanders has touted numerous government-funded programs to help combat income inequality, but critics question the reality of Sanders’ proposals. 

Joydeep Bhattacharya, professor of economics, explained how many of the proposed programs could be paid for. 

Tuition-free college

• Government can ask employers to help fund the program via taxes; they would later be rewarded in the form of higher pensions. 
• Should be the first program Sanders pushes through, due to the program having numerous downstream benefits. 
• The program could cause private colleges to decrease tuition price.

Paid maternity/paternity leave 

• Government could negotiate with corporations to provide paid leave; they could be rewarded with cuts on corporate taxes. 

Income-inequality gap 

• Tax top 10 percent instead of top 1percent of wealthy
• Reduce opportunity inequality 
• Tax some of the ‘luck factor’ that comes with high incomes 
• Tax capital and speculative gains