Why is Bernie Sanders blaming Detroit bankruptcy on capitalist corporations?

Detroit is a hellhole right now. Thanks to greedy, corrupt and inept politicians and unions, the city of Detroit, the once bastion of the middle class, is now the epicenter of how government can destroy a city.

During a recent Democratic debate, 2016 presidential candidate and socialist Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders was asked about the situation in Detroit, including its government schools, government housing and other issues that matter to Detroit residents. According to Sanders, the collapse of Detroit is the fault of capitalist corporations and millionaires and billionaires.

The Sanders campaign also sent out a tweet that said in 1960, Detroit was the wealthiest city in the United States, and now today it’s the poorest.

In 1960, the wealthiest city in America was Detroit. Today, it is the poorest big city. https://t.co/eLPVW4W2mN pic.twitter.com/1a2qtYR1hD

— Bernie Sanders (@BernieSanders) March 3, 2016

Of course, this led to much derision and fact checking on Twitter, which pretty much concluded that Detroit has been run by liberals and Democrats for many, many years.

So, anyway, a big government metropolitan city that collapsed is the fault of capitalism? That just doesn’t make any sense. Here is why Detroit fell:

• Excessive government spending
• Unfunded pension liability
• A falling tax base
• Rising unemployment rates
• An increase in crime

These only touch upon the surface of why Detroit fell. But to say it’s the capitalists’ fault for Detroit’s bankruptcy or the Flint water crisis is just absurd and intellectually disingenuous. It’s as if Bernie Sanders can never fault government for anything that goes wrong. In the mind of Sanders and his supporters, if the government were to confiscate iPhones, shoot babies on Capitol Hill or ban alcohol then somehow it would be the fault of capitalism or free markets.