Socialism, Incentive and the New America
Larry Spargimino
June 17, 2016 by SWRC
June 17, 2016 by SWRC
Thomas Sowell, a critical thinker on critical subjects, said this about socialism:
“The great promise of socialism is something for nothing. It is one of the signs of today’s dumbed-down education that so many young Bernie Sanders supporters seem to think that the cost of their college education should—and will—be paid for by raising taxes on ‘the rich.’”
However, what socialists don’t tell you is that the rich only become rich in a non-socialist environment. When the rich no longer exist, socialism’s pay off is zero—like in Venezuela.
The anti-capitalist policies in Venezuela have worked so well that the number of companies in Venezuela is now a fraction of what it once was. That should certainly limit the rich exploiting the poor. The rich are no longer rich and the poor are everywhere. (Sound like the Nazi/Democrat [Carter, Bushes, Clintons, Obama] agenda of the past years?)
According to Ian Bremmer, writing for Time, no more Coca-Cola for Venezuela—there’s not enough sugar. Diet Coke is still around, but not for long. Venezuela is running out of aspartame.
In April, Venezuela’s largest private company, Empresas Polar SA, which makes 80% of the beer Venezuelans consume, closed its doors. The government now rations water, so Venezuelans have begun stealing it from tanker trucks and swimming pools. Socialism, as is true everywhere, is just not working.
It’s no surprise that Venezuelans are angry. There are an average of 17 demonstrations a day across the country. That discontent helped an opposition alliance win control of parliament last December for the first time in 17 years. President Maduro’s approval rating is at 26%; 70% of the population want him removed.
Senator Sanders has a great following. He, and his followers, are socialists. When Sanders shouts, “The system is rigged,” no one checks on what that means. No one checks on the details. Sowell gives some interesting details:
“Back in 1948, when inflation had rendered meaningless the minimum wage established a decade earlier, the unemployment rate among 16–17 year old black males was under 10 percent. But after the minimum wage was raised repeatedly to keep up with inflation, the unemployment rate for black males that age was never under 30 percent for more than 20 consecutive years.”
A fact that is often forgotten—higher tax rates on upper income earners do not automatically translate into more tax revenue coming in to the government. Often high tax rates have led to less revenue than lower tax rates.
In a globalized economy, high tax rates may just lead investors to invest in other countries with lower tax rates. That means that jobs created by those investments will be overseas.
The Bible presents an economy that is based on private ownership and hard work for those who are able to work. The words “Thou shalt not steal” condemn socialist governments whose main procedure is to steal from the rich.
America will possibly elect a socialist as the head of state. The appeal of something-for-nothing is mighty attractive. It is also deadly.
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