Socialism is a fool’s game complete with fool’s gold.  I am seeing a very disturbing trend here in America.  It seems as if more young Americans are embracing socialism and what is really disturbing is that they have no clue what all is included in the socialist “utopia”.

I guess the public and private schools in this country have become so liberal that what socialism stands for and how it governs is not taught.  What educators and the so called intellectuals cover about socialism are the selling points used to draw people in to believing it is a better way.

I have written blogs about this subject before but I feel compelled to write yet another in hopes that it will be read and passed along to many young people so at least when someone begins to try and sell them socialism they will be armed with a basic understanding of what they are being sold. https://keepusgreat.com/2017/09/22/democrats-desperate-despots-leading-us-socialism/

https://keepusgreat.com/2018/11/25/socialism-grows/

In every socialist country the state or government owns the means of production.  In other words, the government will own all the farm land, cattle ranches, pig farms and any other major food producing entity.  The government will also own all natural resources such as oil fields, coal mines, refineries, wind farms, and solar farms and all associated power plants.  The government will also completely control the medical industry from hospitals to pharmaceuticals.  Steel mills, concrete plants, and lumber farms will all be state owned.  Are you starting to get the picture?  This is critical in a socialist country so they can control the people and the prices they pay for goods and services.  I know what you are thinking, you are thinking Don, this could never happen here, how could the government gain control of Exxon or Nucor steel?  Well if you want a good example of how, just look at Venezuela.

First the people of Venezuela elected more and more liberal socialist leaning leaders into their legislature.  You see, socialists paint a pretty picture by telling people that they are going to spread the wealth of the country around more evenly.  I mean, why should people like Jeff Bezos and Bill Gates have billions of dollars, there is no way they need that much money, why can’t I have some of their money?  I mean really, I work hard at a job that sucks and my pay sucks along with it, so I want more money and the government should take their money and give me a raise.  Socialism must pit those people who are successful in a country against those who are not.  So, when you see Ocasio Cortez supporting a 70% income tax on the wealthy or Elizabeth Warren supporting a huge wealth tax this is exactly what they are promoting.  It is re-distributing the wealth at the whim of the state.

Let’s look at how the state can absorb Exxon or any other big energy company.  First they must turn public opinion against these companies by telling the people these companies are charging too much for their products and making too much money.  Then, the state will promptly raise taxes on these companies taking more and more of their profits and forbid these companies from passing the taxes down to the consumer by placing price controls on their products.  As their profits fall, so does the dividends they pay their shareholders which in turn drives the price of their stock down.  Fairly quickly, they will not be able to raise money to find new oil reserves or maintain their refineries.  This will then force them into severe financial hardships eventually forcing them to shutter their business.  Of course they will be declared “too big to fail” by the state and the state will take control of the business.  Then, just as in Venezuela, the state will take control of dilapidated refineries and have no new oil reserves.  No international companies will want to invest for fear of losing their investment to the state.  Then, fuel and other energy supplies will begin to fail.

You must understand that the state must control what you see, what you hear, and what you read.  Nothing that contradicts the mission of the state must be communicated by any means.  This is why I am confounded by the networks that are horribly liberal.  In a socialist society you don’t need several networks, you need just one.  That one network can control all the channels and what is shown and when it is shown.  So, many of these network executives and so called journalist will be out of a job, yet they support the liberal agenda.  Crazy huh?  Newspapers and magazines will be censored and told what to print as well.  I know you don’t think this is possible but trust me it happens every day in China, Cuba, and Russia.

Nothing worth owning is free.  Somebody must pay for everything that has value.  If someone promises you a free college education, or free health care, they are lying.  If they say the government will pay for it, they are still lying.  In one way or another you and I will pay for everything that a socialist promotes as “free”.  It really is very simple, there must always be more makers than takers or the state will collapse.  So, if you are working for or own a company, you will pay the state more and more of your money to provide “free” services for those less fortunate.

I could go on and on about the dysfunctionalities of socialism but the bottom line is this; I cannot think of a single aspect of socialism where the benefits outweigh the detriments of the socialist form of government.  Point to any socialist country and compare their standard of living to ours and we will come out on top every time.

I encourage you to embrace the freedoms our ancestors blessed us with.  I challenge you to read the Constitution and Bill of Rights and understand the meaning of what is written in these documents and appreciate how precious they are.

Please do not fall for the false narrative of free goods and services from the state, they just don’t exist.