Lets get real. Obama pushed the Democrat Party into Socialism. The 2016 election allowed Democrats like Bernie Sanders to embrace the term. Now, the 2018 elections cemented the Democrat Party as the Party that mot only embraces socialism—but also embraces fascism—the bullying on the campuses, the harassment of government officials—the Fake News media corrupting free speech. They are not “Democratic” Socialists—they are totalitarian socialists.
“ What kind of Democrats are these progressive Democrats? Are they like European social democrats who want an expanded role for government social programs (as exists in Denmark)? Or are they socialists who want the government to run the nation’s factories, farms, banks, and means of distribution (like freight trains and trucks)? Or are they Bolsheviks, who want to impose a Stalin-like, Communist dictatorship on the entire country?
Most progressive Democrats say they want a Danish-style welfare state.
Perhaps the progressive Democrats are not familiar with the consequences of bigger and bigger government.
California already a Socialist State. The proper name of the former Golden State is Venezuela Del Norte—no free speech, high taxes, bad regulations, open borders, failed government schools, bad roads and streets. While the rich are very rich—the 12 million poor are very poor—if you like Venezuela, you will love California.
THE PROGRESSIVE DEMOCRATS: SOCIALISTS OR BOLSHEVIKS?
Richard Colman, California Political News and Views, 11/13/18
Traditional Democrats used to support economic growth, jobs, education, and some social benefits (like Social Security).
But now, there is a new element in the Democratic Party that has different ideas. This new element is the “progressive Democrats.”
In California, these progressive Democrats include Lt. Gov. Gavin Newsom (a 2018 candidate for governor); Sen. Kamala Harris (elected to the U.S. Senate in 2016); and former California state senate president Kevin de Leon (and a 2018 candidate for the U.S. Senate).
On the national level, there are similar progressive Democrats and an independent: Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vermont); Sen. Cory Booker (D-New Jersey); and Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D-Massachusetts.).
Another progressive Democrat is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, a member of Democratic Socialists of America. Ocasio-Cortez is seeking to win a congressional seat in the New York City area. In June 2018, she won the Democratic Party’s primary for the 14th Congressional District, which covers parts of Brooklyn and Queens.
Progressive Democrats — inside and outside of California — support such things as government-sponsored health care for all Americans, lower defense spending, relaxation of immigration rules, and more rights for convicted criminals.
These same Democrats also support pre-school and child-care for every youngster. In the area of housing, progressives want “affordable” housing for everyone, tuition-free higher education at state universities, more power for organized labor, big pensions for public employees, and mass-transit systems in population centers.
America is a free country, and Americans can express their thoughts without government interference.
What kind of Democrats are these progressive Democrats? Are they like European social democrats who want an expanded role for government social programs (as exists in Denmark)? Or are they socialists who want the government to run the nation’s factories, farms, banks, and means of distribution (like freight trains and trucks)? Or are they Bolsheviks, who want to impose a Stalin-like, Communist dictatorship on the entire country?
Most progressive Democrats say they want a Danish-style welfare state.
Perhaps the progressive Democrats are not familiar with the consequences of bigger and bigger government.
As government grows, so do taxes and regulations. There is the risk that bigger government would stifle creativity, entrepreneurship, and civil liberties.
No one really knows what the consequences would be if the progressive Democrats took power. Sometimes, modest political platforms turn into extremist movements.
During World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt, without any Congressional authority, interned over 100,000 people of Japanese ancestry. About two-thirds of these individuals were American citizens.
Could someone like the late Steve Jobs of Apple Inc. have flourished in an arena of big government? Jobs, who came from modest origins, transformed worldwide commerce with inventions in electronics. Jobs is responsible for such devices and techniques as personal computers, the i-Phone, the i-Pad, the i-Pod, and Pixar (a radically new way to produce movie animation). Would Jobs have accomplished anything under socialism?
Other American entrepreneurs have transformed society. Samuel F.B. Morse invented the telegraph. And there have been other American entrepreneurs who invented important things: Alexander Graham Bell (the telephone); the Wright brothers (the airplane); Chester Carlson (the photocopy machine); and Jonas Salk (polio vaccine).
Since 1913, government has grown enormously in America.
In 1913, when Woodrow Wilson, a Democrat, was president, the nation got the personal income tax and the Federal Reserve Board (a huge central bank that controls interest rates, the level of unemployment, and the rate of rising prices (inflation).
In 1935, under President Franklin Roosevelt, another Democrat, Social Security was created. Social Security was designed to give some extra income to wage-earners when — or if — they reached retirement age.
In 1965, under President Lyndon Johnson, also a Democrat, Congress passed Medicare, a plan that offers health benefits to senior citizens.
In 2010, President Barack Obama, another Democrat, signed the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare). Obamacare is supposed to provide health benefits — benefits that could never be taken away — to all Americans.
During the years of government growth, inflation has bedeviled America. The 1970 dollar, for example, is worth about 13 cents today. The national debt, which was $1 trillion in 1981, has grown to $21 trillion today. Interest on the national debt must be paid.
Excessive debt has ruined the economies of the such countries as Turkey, Argentina, and Iran. These countries have massive inflation and government-spending that is out of control.
Often countries with massive economic problems impose currency controls, which limit how much money an individual can withdraw per day from a bank and how much money he can take outside the country. Currency controls could prevent or criminalize the possession of gold.
The progressive Democrats, if they take power, can be expected to have trouble controlling government spending, and the United States could easily become like Turkey and other nations with high indebtedness.
The Republicans have not been any better. During President Donald Trump’s administration, which began on January 20, 2017, the federal government has produced economic uncertainties. From June 2017 to June 2018, prices in America rose 2.9 percent. When the federal government’s current fiscal year ends on September 30, 2018, the national debt will have increased by about $1 trillion since October 1, 2017.
The Trump administration has imposed large tariffs on imported steel, aluminum, solar panels, and washing machines. Tariffs raise the prices of imported goods.
Under Presidents Ronald Reagan and George W. Bush, no federal budget was balanced. (During President Obama’s two terms, which went from 2009-2017, there also were no balanced federal budgets.)
Inflation is the equivalent of a tax. If a person earns $100,000 a year and has to pay a three percent tax, he has $97,000 left over. If, during that same year, prices were to rise three percent, that person, assuming no government-mandated tax increases, would also have $97,000 left over.
In the area of immigration, what would happen if millions of unskilled immigrants who don’t speak English were to enter the country? Who would provide food, shelter, and health care for them? Progressive Democrats have not answered these questions.
Gavin Newsom is elected governor of California in 2018 and if Elizabeth Warren is elected president of the United States in 2020, there could be an economic catastrophe, such as national bankruptcy, hyperinflation, massive unemployment, and a stock market crash.
If Donald Trump keeps spending money recklessly and if he continues to impose tariffs on imported goods, America could also suffer inflation, recession, and bankruptcy.
The time for economic discipline is now. Lack of discipline could easily mean economic decline in California as well as economic decline nationwide. In fact, the decline may already have begun.
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