A public opinion poll indicated that the majority of Americans between 18 and 29 view socialism favorably and prefer it to free market capitalism. This is very dangerous. The good news is that those young people are often confused about what “socialism” means. The bad news is that in every country where it was imposed very few people in the public really understood it – but the people who suffered under its terrible consequences found out.
Venezuela was once the wealthiest country in Latin America. Twenty years ago Hugo Chavez told private property owners there that the land belongs to the nation, not you. They confiscated property, and agricultural production went down drastically. They confiscated businesses, buildings and equipment, and there was no longer an incentive for anyone to produce. Today, the country is in ruins. 3,000,000 people have fled the hunger, chaos and misery.
The authoritarian government has wiped out any shred of prosperity through confiscations, censorship, price controls, arrests and brute force. They have printed so much money, it has caused inflation rates projected to reach one million percent in 2018! A stack of bills two feet high is barely worth ten US dollars. The richest person in the country is Hugo Chavez’s daughter!
South Africa is on the brink of going that way, and people who have experienced socialism from all over the world showed up to warn them of the danger and destruction that would surely ensue.
At a rally for Bernie Sanders a young man decried that companies should be owned by the workers as he debated a small businessman who showed up. The businessman had ten employees, and the young man thought the employees should be able to own the business. I thought – you can. Why don’t you get together with ten of your buddies and start a business – you are free to do so in the US. It probably wouldn’t work at all for the young man. Perhaps he doesn’t want his own business, he wants someone else’s.
Of course, not all young people believe these idealistic and dangerous ideas. Matt Wilson, co-founder of Under30Experiences says “We have only one shot at leaving a legacy on this planet. Entrepreneurship gives us the highest probability of effecting change.”
There are exactly zero examples of socialist countries in history who have prosperous societies. They always lead to poverty, ruin, loss of freedom and suffering. We can look at many examples to see plain and clear, that freedom causes prosperity.
We need property rights, limited government, and free market capitalism. I will speak out and defend it. Will you?
Thank you for this warning of socialism Larry. Yes, I will speak out with you. I told my wife the only present I wanted for Christmas was your book, “The Highest Calling”. She gave it to me and I’m eager to read it!
Young people need better history lessons , that’s the best way to combat socialism.
Yes I will Larry. If young people are not taught this at home, they don’t stand much of a chance in most public schools and the majority of colleges because socialism is glorified there.
Well said, we must not forget the principles that this great country was founded on.
I shudder at the thought of socialism. As Margaret Thatcher said “Socialism is great until you run out of other peoples’ money”
Unfortunately many of the children and youth of today are being indoctrinated in our educational system to think that Socialism is the way to go.
Excellent thought sharing on a response to the prevalent cry for a socialist solution. Young people need to get much more conversant with history… Real history, not the revised versions!! The best incentive for prosperity is entrepreurship based on capitalism…but it does mean you have to WORK!! Thanks, Larry.
Yes, It is hard to believe that intelligent people buy into Socialism, it seems to me that only proves they are not thinking or not looking at history because as you stated, it is not a new concept and has yet to show any proof of sustainable success.
“There are exactly zero examples of socialist countries in history who have prosperous societies.”
This statement is false. You fail to recognize Sweden, Finland, Denmark, Belgium, Canada, Ireland, New Zealand, and the Netherlands as countries who are CURRENTLY prospering under socialist ideologies, namely democratic socialism. There are many forms of socialism, and you are simply spouting off about one of the worst current examples of dictatorship in Venezuela, which is overtaken by a man tricking his country into thinking his form of communist socialism will save them. Obviously, those forms of socialism do not work (Marxist, Stalinism etc.). For the record, Bernie Sanders does not support nor advocate these forms of socialism. Equating his platform as such is not correct and shows a clear lack of understanding of his position and political background.
Please don’t just dismiss all the good socialist ideologies do for other counties around the world to this very day. Like with everything in life, it’s about balance. Neglecting to even mention the other side to your argument or even acknowledging that there are many different forms of socialism is largely a lie of omission. Something Chavez is very familiar with.
Before you claim “property rights, limited government, and free market capitalism” is the one true path, remember: Not everyone’s happiness is based on power and wealth. Some find success in helping others less fortunate achieve their goals and aspirations. Some find hope in community and making sure everyone is treated with the same respect. We are a far cry away from that in America, but clearly other countries know the value in this phrase “a chain is only as strong as its weakest link.”
This is such an important topic my friend, and we must teach our children and children’s children that Socialism does not work on any level. My husband and I strongly believe in Freedom and the right to own your own business which we have for years. The people need to wake up and figure out nothing is for free. We must work hard and earn it. The government is not there to take care of us.
The myth that Sweden is a utopian paradise where all the social problems have been solved and that you can have high growth with high taxes has been touted by Bernie Sanders as well as the many Millennials that follow him.
The glory days for Sweden economically took place prior to the 1960s, when they had a free economy, low regulation and lots of wealth. Between 1870 and 1950, Sweden had the highest per capita income growth in the world and became one of the richest countries, behind only Switzerland, the U.S., and Denmark.
In the 1960s, Sweden started to redistribute wealth, which brought wealth creation to a halt. By the mid 1990s, the country had growing economic problems because it continued to redistribute wealth it wasn’t creating. It was at this juncture that many of the wealthy (ABBA band members included) and entrepreneurs were leaving Sweden. In 1994, Sweden began implementing the following measures designed to reverse this trend:
Reduce Regulation
Reduce Government Spending
Reformed their Welfare Programs
Shrank their Government
Sweden has continued on this path for the last 24 years, which has brought them a modest rate of growth, but not nearly as robust as pre-60s levels due to government taxation remaining high.
Many view Sweden as socialist. However, the country is in fact very pro capitalism, but does it with redistribution through taxes. Personal income is taxed at a rate of 61.85 percent, plus a 7 percent social security tax rate for employees. On top of these taxes, Sweden also has a 25 percent consumption tax. For these sacrifices of financial freedom, this is what Sweden offers their citizens in benefits:
Pension
Healthcare
Unemployment Insurance
Education through PhD Level
Child Day Care
Very generous leaves of absence from work with benefits including: education up to 6 months, starting your own company up to 6 months off, parental leave up to 16 months with 80 percent of your pay during time off
16 public holidays (10 of these holidays are Christian-based, even though just five percent of the population are regular church attenders).
Naturally, nearly everyone takes full advantage of these benefits. Johan Norberg, an author and historian, states that while Sweden is one of the healthiest countries, it also has one of the highest rates of sick leave in Europe, no doubt in large part because Swedes receive 80 percent of their salary while they stay home.
Where do the healthcare technologies and medicines come from? Nearly all of it is invented and implemented in America in a competitive health care market.
Norberg offers caution, however, to those who would implement of “free” healthcare system similar to Sweden’s single-payer program.
In Sweden, the government tries to price healthcare at near zero, so demand is unlimited. However, resources are limited, resulting in rationed healthcare. Long waiting lines are the norm. Stories abound of people with an illness such as brain cancer being told they will need to wait for treatment until they have equipment and doctors ready for them.
Like Canadians, many will go to other countries to get timely treatment. Economist Andreas Bergh explains that Swedes are healthy not because of the healthcare system but because they eat healthy foods and are physically active.
One aspect to taxes in Sweden that is not well known is that while taxes are high on labor, they are relatively low for corporations (22 percent) and capital. Keeping taxes low keeps corporations and capital from going to other countries. The 1994 changes in government deregulated everything from taxi, air service, railroads, electricity, telecom and school choice.
The open-competition school choice model in Sweden would trigger U.S. teacher unions into a froth. Parents and pupils decide what school they want to attend and they are all paid for by taxes. Corporations, towns, charities, religions, most anyone and anything can start a school, but it’s up to parents and pupils if they want to attend. The more people that choose a particular school determines if that school will get more government funding.
The fiscal side of Sweden has become increasingly pro free market, ranking 15th globally while the US ranks 18th. These capitalist features have helped sustain Sweden’s standard of living, but dark clouds are on the horizon. The nation has an ageing workforce coupled with a slowing birthrate (1.67 per female, well below the 2.1 needed for a population to maintain its population). Decades without significant construction in cities has resulted in skyrocketing housing prices, while high wages leave many unskilled workers, both Swedish and foreign-born, on the fringes of the labor market.
These fiscal challenges have been exacerbated by immigration.
Sweden, which has a population similar to that of Michigan, brought over 163,000 asylum seekers in 2015 and 28,939 in 2016—more per capita than any other nation.
Nearly one-fifth of its population (10.1 million) is comprised of foreign born residents (1.7 million), many of whom qualify for free housing and monthly cash benefits. The primary issue with this new crop of immigrants is few have marketable skills or connections to enter Sweden’s rigid labor market.
Yaron Brooks of the Cato Institute remarks that debating the social benefits Sweden offers versus the social welfare and entitlement programs in the U.S. are moot because both models are unsustainable and headed for Ponzi-scheme-like outcomes unless there is significant government spending intervention. Like the U.S., Sweden is experiencing mediocre mixed economies of low economic growth and little progress compared to pre-1960s levels.
For Bernie Sanders and his Millennial followers, a question to be asked is, “Do you want to mature and have personal responsibility to manage your own life or give up financial freedoms and be taken care of as was depicted in Obama’s ‘Life of Julia’?” The narrative was a slide show that followed Julia, a single mother cartoon character from age 3 to age 67 that explained how Obama’s policies, from Head Start to Obamacare to mandated contraception coverage to Medicare reform, would provide Julia with a better life.
American values have historically been about self- reliance, personal responsibility, and liberty. But society is changing, and the nuclear family structure that once allowed individuals to rise and thrive is giving way.
If this trend continues, Americans may soon find themselves in a system like Julia’s, one in which the government take care of them—from birth to grave.
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Ella, I think Pam gave a lot of information about Sweden to show that the idea that they have a socialist system to be modeled is false. What else is? And for the record, I like some of Bernie’s ideas, but I am not a political person so I do not claim to know all of them. I did not say anything about his policies in this post.
Ella Rhymes, all you need to do is to come and look at the destruction of South Africa, a world force 25 years ago. Every aspect of civilized society has now collapsed. And the thugs at the top just become richer, with their cronies.
You only have to acknowledge that when socialism and communism fail, as it will, the capitalists are who they turn to to bail them out.