While millions of
Americans, especially, Millennials and Democrats, are captivated by 2016
presidential candidate and self-declared socialist Bernie Sanders and his
message, it is apparent that they don’t bother to remember the Cold
War and what we were fighting against– socialism – in order to preserve Western
civilization, our freedoms and our way of life.
Nor do they seem to understand that socialism always fails once it takes
hold, and that it is just a steppingstone on the
path from capitalism to communism. In
its appetite for ever-increasing government power, the peoples’ money and
property, and extensive social control of the society, it inevitably leads to
complete control of the society. In this scenario, played out countless times
in the 20th century to the tune of 94 million killed by socialism/communism
from 1900-2000[1], it only leads to the death of freedoms, liberties and
ultimately millions of people.
The Merriam-Webster definition of
socialism is: a way
of organizing a society in which major industries are owned and controlled by
the government rather than by individual people and companies. The full definition[2]:
1:
any of various economic and political theories advocating collective or
governmental ownership and administration of the means of production and
distribution of goods
2 (a):
a system of society or
group living in which there is no private property
(b):
a system or condition of society in which the means of production are owned and
controlled by the state
3:
a stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and
communism and distinguished by unequal distribution of goods and pay according
to work done
As detailed above by Merriam-Webster,
socialism, as it has been defined - and as it has been practiced by countless
socialist regimes from the past to the present day - directly violates our constitutional
rights and civil liberties, and such a political ideology should have no place
whatsoever within our American political discourse. A society in which private property is not
guaranteed to its citizens, or in which the government owns the means of
production and distribution of goods, is 100% antithetical to American laws,
values and culture.
Socialism, in essence, means the
eventual elimination of our private property rights, leading to the
confiscation of the rightful property of one individual and transferring it to
another of whom it doesn’t belong. In
plain language, it would otherwise be called theft, but PC-friendly terminology from progressives today has
softened it to the more palatable – and deceptive - “income redistribution” and
“paying your fair share”.
To get Millennials and other constituencies on board with
socialism, Bernie Sanders has been promoting his cuddly, watered-down version
of this destructive ideology by now labeling himself a “Democratic
Socialist”. But, is this markedly
different from historic Marx’s socialism?
He claims that he’s doesn’t mean that the state should own and control
the means of production, as a “true” socialist would, nor does he say that he
wants eliminate private property – but he sure wants to eliminate a big chunk
of your property to redistribute it to others who haven’t earned it. Sanders wants to attack and eliminate
whatever economic freedom and opportunity we may have left and dramatically
raise taxes - especially on businesses and the most productive of society. His
plans include a multi-trillion dollar spending spree funding massive new social
programs, more government regulation and “free stuff” that our country simply
cannot afford – and that Millennials will be burdened to pay back in the
future. He is confident that our capitalist system is the root of income
inequality and poverty, when in actuality it’s the interference of the
government and corrupt politicians who are bought and paid for by a myriad of special interests who are
crux of the problem.
Calling himself a “Democratic
Socialist” is a ruse intended to deceive Millennials and other Americans into
believing that this ideology represents something other than true socialism.
“Democratic Socialism” is still socialism, and the two words should never be
paired together as such in the first place. Famed French philosopher Alexis
de Tocqueville wrote, “Democracy and
socialism have nothing in common but one word, equality. Notice the difference:
while democracy seeks equality in liberty, socialism seeks equality in restraint
and servitude”.[3]
On the issues of both
Sanders’ competency – or, lack thereof - he has emphatically glorified Scandinavia’s
massive welfare states, including Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland. Sanders and
his throngs of “Feel the Bern” fans point to the alleged “success” of these
countries as validation of their drive to bring the same to America. His Left-wing supporters advocate replacing
our capitalist – and, constitutional – system of government with their version
of a “Democratic Socialist” utopian paradise of free education, free
healthcare, almost free-everything, by implementing massive tax hikes while
attacking conservatism and capitalism as the root of society’s ills. What these
progressives fail to understand is that the things they want to emulate in the
Nordic countries - relative prosperity, income equality, longer lifespans, health,
lower levels of poverty, etc. - all predate the welfare state they want to
copy; for example, most of the shift toward higher income and income equality
happened between 1870 and 1950 — long before the welfare state took over.[4] In an article by Alex Newman about a
comprehensive new book written by academic Nima Sanandaji, Ph.D., Scandinavian Unexceptionalism:
Culture, Markets and the Failure of Third-Way Socialism, she makes an iron-clad
case that these Scandinavian nations' success predates the welfare state, or
their “third way era”.[5] These countries enjoyed rapid economic growth,
innovation and entrepreneurship while they thrived under free-market capitalist
systems, prior to the imposition of
expansive government, social programs and wealth redistribution policies, and
have been gradually sliding downhill since.
She writes, “the rate of business formation during the
‘third-way era’ was ‘dreadful.’ In 2004, none of the 100 largest firms ranked
by employment were founded within Sweden after 1970….despite Sanders' recent
pronouncements on ABC News about Scandinavia having “more income and wealth
equality,” Sweden still has a great deal more “wealth inequality” today than
the United States, according to a study cited in the monograph”.[6]
Further, their wealth redistribution policies and excessive regulation on
business has removed the incentive for entrepreneurs to take the personal risk
and work hard to succeed – how many innovations and new technologies have come
from this part of the world in the recent decades compared to America? I can’t think of any, either. The
Scandinavian welfare states severely hindered prosperity, economic growth and
their civic cultures, and under the impossible weight and costs of their
massive social entitlement spending, the Nordic governments have recently
started to learn from their mistakes and have reversed course, expanding
economic freedom across the board.
Denmark, for one, is struggling to support its native population with
the weight up supporting its massive influx of Muslim immigrants.[7] Not to mention the fact that their citizens
pay most of their income in taxes - 58% - 72% in Denmark, and they have some of
the highest rates of depression, suicide, and alcoholism in the world. Productivity
is in decline, with Danes working a scant 28 hours a week.[8] Some
paradise.
About Sanders’ policies
that he wants to bring to America, they include: taxing the most successful
entrepreneurs and managers at a 90%
marginal tax rate and allowing investors to keep only 10% of the earnings on
their investments, with state taxes that could add up to 100% of marginal
earnings[9].
He has made bizarre statements, such as his implication that too many deodorant
choices and too many brands of sneakers cause child hunger[10],
and that “It makes no sense that students and their parents pay higher
interest rates for college than they pay for car loans or housing mortgages”[11],
apparently Bernie has never taken economics 101 to learn about the value of
securing loans with assets – a bank can repossess your car or house if you fail
to pay, but not your degree. His touted tax plan, as high as it is, can’t pay
for his big government “Democratic Socialist” agenda of free college tuition,
free Medicare to all, universal childcare, and rebuilding the entire US
infrastructure. Sanders’ proposals may
sound wonderful, but they would require and endless amount of tax dollars to
fund, tax dollars which will surely dry up as he attacks and penalizes the very
system – free market capitalism – that supplies those dollars. With his planned expenditures outpacing the
revenues coming in needed to pay for them, Sanders’ programs will operate on a
deficit and require future generations to pay back (with interest, of course);
there is no free lunch.
Reuter’s
columnist Daniel Indiviglio added it up and in $12 Trillion cost to pay for
Sanders’ massive socialist programs over a ten year period, his sky-high taxes
fall a gaping $8 Trillion short.[12] Perhaps someone needs to introduce Mr.
Sanders to a basic calculator, for starters?
Not to mention the number of companies and entrepreneurs who will simply
leave the country for more favorable business environments in order to avoid
his record high taxes, as they have left Vermont – where Sanders has held
political power for decades. Young
people – and many companies – have left the state because of the high taxes and
lack of opportunity. The state’s costly regulatory climate and high taxes have
landed it in 49th or 50th place since 2008 in the
American Legislative Exchange Council’s annual state economic outlook rankings.[13]
Millennials, while they might be enticed to support Sanders
with all of his vote-buying rhetoric about free college tuition and free health
care, and his attacking of the “top 1%” of earners (who, by the way, pay more
in taxes to support all of our big government programs than the bottom 90%
combined), will be paying the biggest price for such misguided support in the
future when they foot the bill for his out of control spending and socialist
policies.
It’s time for
Millennials and Democrats to wake up to the impending disaster that would
follow if Sanders – or another socialist like him – were ever to be elected
president of the United States, where we would all surely “Feel the Bern” –
and, the Burn.
[1]
https://reason.com/blog/2013/03/13/communism-killed-94m-in-20th-century
[2]
ibid
[3]
https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/quotes/a/alexisdeto135752.html
[4]
http://www.thenewamerican.com/world-news/europe/item/21463-debunking-the-myth-of-socialist-success-in-scandinavia
[5]
ibid
[6]
ibid
[7]
http://www.breitbart.com/london/2015/12/22/danish-towns-not-enough-resources-cope-migrant-crisis/
[8]
http://nypost.com/2015/01/11/sorry-liberals-scandinavian-countries-arent-utopias/
[9]
http://www.commdiginews.com/featured/bernie-sanders-90-tax-rate-stagnate-us-economy-depression-42556/
[10]
https://www.washingtonpost.com/news/wonk/wp/2015/05/26/sorry-bernie-sanders-deodorant-isnt-starving-americas-children/
[12]
http://moneymorning.com/2015/10/16/why-the-bernie-sanders-tax-plan-cant-pay-for-his-socialist-agenda/
[13]
http://dailycaller.com/2015/11/19/heres-the-truth-about-socialist-bernie-sanders-vermont/
