Now, I have spent some time this winter watching both the Republican and more recently the Democratic debates. As I watched the last debate, Bernie Sanders had the opportunity to speak on the rising cost of college tuition, and how the government should make college free for all who desire it. He also touted "Income Equity", but didn't detail how he would accomplish this. Maybe by taxing the 1%ers or the corporations sheltering money in offshore accounts in the Caribbean -- not sure.
My first and enduring impression: "This guy is a SOCIALIST"!
No earth-shattering news there. He calls himself a "Democratic Socialist" or prefers "Progressivism".
Because what's in a label, right?
Some thoughts on socialism from historical figures that have dealt with it personally and directly:
"Socialism is a philosophy of failure, the creed of ignorance, and the gospel of envy, its inherent virtue is the equal sharing of misery". -Winston Churchill
"The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other peoples' money". -Margaret Thatcher
"The goal of socialism is communism". -Vladimir Lenin
"Socialism has no moral justification whatsoever; poor people are not morally superior to rich people, nor are they owed anything by rich people simply because of their lack of success. Charity is not a socialist concept - it is a religious one, an acknowledgment of God's sovereignty over property, a sovereignty the Left utterly rejects". -Ben Shapiro
Charity is not a socialist concept - it is a religious one. I like that.
Many politicians recently have countered with:
"You can always count on Americans to do the right thing - after they've tried everything else". -Winston Churchill. Which by the way, according to snopes.com -- he never actually said, but was attributed to him, because it "sounds" like something Churchill would say...
I think we can ALL agree that Americans did the right thing from the very beginning when they created the U.S. Constitution (after they tried British Colonial rule)...
Under the Socialist brand of government, sometimes called an "Administrative state", citizens do not rule their country, bureaucrats do, and with them the elite intellectuals. At least THEY think they are elite!
Socialism is like a cancer. It creeps up on you and pretty soon after being given everything by the government, you begin to expect it. You feel ENTITLED to it.
Entitlement is the scourge of our generation. Thank you Obama.
Entitlement is the scourge of our generation. Thank you Obama.
What ever happened to the "American Dream" -- where if you worked hard you could buy a house and provide for your family and possibly have enough saved up to send your children to college?
Bernie Sanders says he's going to get it from the "Billionaires" and the other 1%er's and then he's going to tax Wall Street and change banking laws to prevent offshore tax shelters used by big corporations... Of course!
But here's the catch: Middle-out economics with a progressive tax is an interesting idea, as long as it can encourage entrepreneurs and create jobs... but can it??? In trickle-down economics, at least the free market in and of itself decides the outcome. In a Middle-Out system, bureaucrats and the intellectual elite decide. Now the outcome is decided by a human factor that most likely is influenced by special interest and entitlement.
Bernie Sanders says he's going to get it from the "Billionaires" and the other 1%er's and then he's going to tax Wall Street and change banking laws to prevent offshore tax shelters used by big corporations... Of course!
But here's the catch: Middle-out economics with a progressive tax is an interesting idea, as long as it can encourage entrepreneurs and create jobs... but can it??? In trickle-down economics, at least the free market in and of itself decides the outcome. In a Middle-Out system, bureaucrats and the intellectual elite decide. Now the outcome is decided by a human factor that most likely is influenced by special interest and entitlement.
Some random somewhat thoughts regarding separation of church and state:
Separation of Church and State was intended to prevent the government to from dictating a religion to us (ref. Great Britan). The catch was, much of the constitution was based on Christian morals. So yes-- there is a separation of church and state in our version of democracy, but it also relies heavily on Christian values as a moral compass.
Separation of Church and State was intended to prevent the government to from dictating a religion to us (ref. Great Britan). The catch was, much of the constitution was based on Christian morals. So yes-- there is a separation of church and state in our version of democracy, but it also relies heavily on Christian values as a moral compass.
