“None Dare Call it Socialism”

The word “socialism” has come up a lot in our political debate over the last year. Perhaps you’ve noticed whenever a commentator has used this term – usually in context of some new Obama initiative -- there’s nervous laughter and awkward gestures of embarrassment. Ever wonder why? Let’s take a look at the definition:

Socialism: 1. An economic and political theory that advocates collective or governmental ownership of property with centralized control over the means of production and distribution. 2. A stage of society in Marxist theory transitional between capitalism and communism.

After Obamacare passed in the House last week, Al Sharpton appeared on Fox News and was asked if this was socialism. He replied, “The American public overwhelmingly voted for socialism when they elected President Obama.” He added, “I think that this began the transforming of the country the way the President had promised. This is what he ran on.”

Indeed, President Obama promised to transform America. Leading up to election day he said this from the stump, “In five days we are going to fundamentally transform America.” That’s quite a bold statement, but in context of what this administration has been doing it should be clear now what that transformation is — socialism.

Karl Marx was an atheist who held an evolutionary view of mankind and society. He believed that socialism was merely a pit stop on the way from capitalism to communism. History proves him correct in the notion that the growth of government does indeed increase over time if not checked by an opposing and constraining force. Thomas Jefferson addressed this tendency in explaining the purpose of the U.S. Constitution: “In questions of power, then, let no more be heard of confidence in man, but bind him down from mischief by the chains of the Constitution.” Marx would consider the growth of government as “progress,” but Jefferson viewed it as tyranny.

Socialists create “rights” and bestow them arbitrarily. This is incompatible with the philosophy of America’s Constitution which acknowledges self-evident rights are unalienable and cannot be transferred or abridged. The important distinction is this: rights given by the state can be taken away, rights given by God (i.e. Natural Rights) are everlasting endowments that exist beyond the reach of usurping rulers, no matter how well-intentioned their motives.

Many on the Left claim that our democratic government would never oppress us, because we have the ability to make it respond to our will. Yeah, right! All of the polls showed that the American people did not want this health care bill and what did Congress do? If they’re not responsive to us now, at the time of initiating this gigantic government takeover, what do you think their responsiveness will be once the system becomes entrenched and self-serving?

Apparently, we never seem to remember all of the prior deceptions perpetrated by Big Government. The modern income tax originally applied to just 4% of the population with a top rate of 6%. Social Security was intended to be only supplemental insurance and started with a ratio of about 35 contributors for each recipient. Now it is running at 3:1. This year, for the first time, more money is going out of Social Security than coming in. Common sense says this is an unsustainable condition. As an example of why we’re in such debt, consider that in the 30 years from 1962 to 1992 the budget flip-flopped from 30% non-discretionary spending on entitlements to 63%. Thus, over time we’re engineering an intractable system of “spread the wealth” transfer payments that is bankrupting us.

The government continues to default on Medicare and Medicaid re-imbursements paying only a percentage of what’s due to health-care providers. That’s why Walgreens announced recently they were no longer taking Medicaid patients. In 2006, Medicare went underwater- paying out more than it received. Medicare originally cost taxpayers $3 billion in 1966. The proponents projected it would expand to $12 billion by 1990. Want to guess how close they were? The taxpayer burden for Medicare in 1990 exploded to $107 billion- a mistake of about 700%. So, when someone in government promises you that a new program is going to be cheap, don’t you believe it!

So, why do people snicker and squirm when the word “socialism” is mentioned? I believe it’s because subconsciously we all know that it’s a scam but we just can’t help ourselves from indulging in the make-believe wish for a “free lunch.” Too bad that free lunch often comes with a Gulag dessert. (email comments to: WFC83197@aol.com )