Is this the future of the Democrat party?
There is lot of talk about this in the wake of 28 year old Democratic Socialist Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's stunning primary defeat of establishment Democrat Rep. Joe Crowley in a New York City congressional district last week.
DNC Chairman Tom Perez recently said that the socialist Ocasio-Cortez was the "future of our party."
Really?
For a little perspective on where the Democratic Socialists of America stand on the issues, consider this tweet from the New York Democratic Socialists listing some of their major policy priorities.
Let's take a look at these in a little more detail.
Abolish profit. I am interested in knowing who would be willing to open a business and hire people if there is no reward in doing so? Why would anyone risk their money and capital to start or run a business if there was no expectation of a profit? Who is going to hire someone and guarantee a wage to someone when there is no expectation to make a profit?
Abolish prisons. Do I even need to discuss the lunacy of this position?
Abolish cash bail. Why do you need to abolish cash bail if you are going to abolish prisons?
Abolish borders. I am sure this would work really well. Alternatively, the DSA wants to abolish ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement). Why don't they just abolish all the law enforcement in the country while they are at it if they also want to abolish prisons?
You have to ask yourself who would want to live in a country that abolishes profit, prisons, cash bail and borders?
It is certainly not a country that I would want to live in.
Democratic Socialists also want Medicare for all, free college tuition and child care.
Left unsaid is how all of this would be paid for.
Those on Medicare have been paying payroll taxes for 40 years before they are eligible for Medicare. The program is still heading for insolvency. Making it available for everyone is going to make it better for the seniors who have paid into the system their entire lives as well another 250 million more?
There is already $1.5 trillion in outstanding student debt. Who pays the this tab as well as providing free college in the future?
What good is provided child care if there are no jobs?
How do you generate tax revenues if there is no profit to tax?
That leads to what liberals have always derided as inherently unfair regressive taxation. Higher sales taxes. Payroll taxes. Gross receipt taxes. Value-added taxes.
There is no free lunch. In socialist countries, much more of the tax burden is borne by the middle and lower income groups than is the case in the United States.
For example, as this graph indicates, the average worker in France, Austria, Italy and Germany are paying about 50% of their income in taxes. In the United States, it is about 30%. And this was before
the Trump tax lowered taxes for the middle class.
I have written before that most liberal and socialist ideas are hard to disagree with at first blush. They appeal to our human sense of fairness and justice.
In a theoretical laboratory these ideas make a lot of sense. I think that is why so many academics are liberal. The ideas make such great sense in the classroom or a textbook. Unfortunately, in the real world these ideas must face reality. A reality where human beings make decisions based on incentives or disincentives relative to their own self-interest. A reality where unintended consequences often have much greater effects than the intended consequences.
There is a reason that the people in Venezuela, Cuba and North Korea are struggling every day.
For example, in Cuba there are 4.5 million people who have jobs. However, 3 million are employed by the government. Despite this, private workers produce 90% of the food in Cuba. However, 57% of the food that is produced is squandered by the communist system before it gets to the consumer.
There is a reason that the people of Russia and China have enjoyed more economic prosperity as their economic freedom has increased.
There is a reason that the people of South Korea have prospered and those in North Korea struggle to survive. These are the same people separated only by economic and political philosophy. In fact, North Korea has much more abundant natural resources than the South.
There is a reason that the average American worker's tax burden is nearly 20% less than their European counterparts.
There is a reason that the United States has created more wealth and prosperity than any country in history. There is also a reason that our poorest would be considered rich in most of the rest of the world.
Of course, all of this seems to be lost on a number of those in the Millennial generation.
A poll last year showed that 51% of Millennials would rather live in a socialist (44%) or communist country (7%) compared to a capitalist country like the United States.
By comparison, only about 1/4 of Baby Boomers share this view.
Therefore, the Millennials are not generally getting these views from their parents. It undoubtedly is coming as a result of their education.
What kind of economics and history education are they getting in the liberal academic echo chamber?
What kind of country does the Millennial generation want to live in?
Do they really believe that a country with no profit, no prisons and no borders is going to provide them a better life than what they have had in the United States?
If so, God help them.
I think Ben Shapiro has it right with this observation about this recent trend about how cool it is to be a socialist.
"Socialism is growing in America because everyone in America is rich because of capitalism."
Amen.
On this Independence Day, send this on to a Millennial you love. Do they really understand that socialism and freedom are incompatible?
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