Socialism for Fun and (No) Profit...

I was having a beer with an old chum the other day when the subject of socialism came up.  He was wondering just how this socialist guy Bernie was going to be able to pay for all the stuff he was promising his future voters.  I decided to tell him...

"Socialism," I explained to him, is where the means of manufacturing, production, distribution, sale and delivery are all under the complete and total control of the State.  That's unlike "communism," where the means of production and distribution, et al, are owned by the State.  (In practical application, there's no real difference.)      

Of late we've had a gentleman emerge upon the political scene, I went on to say, who calls himself a "Democratic Socialist."  Now, since the two terms are mutually-exclusive by their very nature, I presume that his definition has to do with perhaps the "election" of those from within the chosen socialist few who might be entrusted with the authority to manage this new "Utopian" sort of existence he envisioned.

Sort of like Fidel kept getting elected year after year.  And Mao.  And Kim Jung the Un.  Like that...

And that's simply because there's never been a time in human history that a socialist country has succeeded.  The Soviet Union couldn't do it.  North Korea hasn't done it.  Neither has Cuba.  Or most spectacularly, Venezuela.  That country was among the ten richest on Earth as recently as 50 years ago.  Now?  They're eating their zoo animals.

And don't give me Sweden and Norway.  Neither are socialistic.  Both are capitalistic.  They've just voted themselves yuuuge public benefits in exchange for sky-high taxes.  Income taxes there begin 48%.  They get six weeks vacation each year, but they don't have any money to go anywhere.  It's absolutely true that there's still no free lunch.

Socialism's indelible built-in failure mechanism is that the folks who are tapped to manage these public efforts are either corrupt now, or they soon will be.  With all the money and power flowing through an entire country, few can resist the temptation thus offered.  So far, none have in all of recorded history.  And I would suggest that such a future would befall America were we to start down the slippery slope of socialism.  Many of our elected leaders have already figured out how game the system and become millionaires.  Bill and Hillary Clinton are stellar examples.  They "managed" to turn a $35,000 a year Arkansas Secretary of State job a few decades ago into a $150 Million Dollar personal fortune.  One can only imagine how much more egregious it would become under socialism.  

Ask yourself, is not every single ruler of every single socialistic country on Earth a billionaire many times over?  Good.  Made my case...

So here comes Bernie telling us that only 3 people now have more wealth than half the Country.  Okay.  Alright.  And that we need to somehow "get it" from them, redistributing it according to his Master Plan, I'm assuming.  And then we need to offer Medicare for all, and free college for everybody, and $15.00 an hour minimum wage, and open borders, and The Green New Deal, and a whole lot more.  All such programs are estimated to cost some $97 Trillion Dollars in new spending over ten years, with 50% of everybody working for the Government.  By the way, at our current anticipated rate of income and growth, we're estimated to take in only $43.5 Trillion Dollars in that same period.  So Bernie's little ideas would cost us just about twice what we're likely to bring in.  

Are you terrified yet? 

Now, let me start by saying that I don't give a rat's ass who has a billion dollars, or a mansion on the hill, or a fancy little private jet.  I just tend to worry only about those things within my personal control.  And I see no benefit in blaming Warren Buffett or Jeff Bezos or Bill Gates because I don't have a new Corvette.  It's not their fault I don't, it's mine.  In America, if you want it bad enough, you have the FREEDOM to go out and get it.

(BTW, I don't want a new Corvette.  I was just using that as a literary construct.  Of course, you knew that.  I'm pretty sure I could get into one, but I'm absolutely certain I couldn't get out.  What I'd really like is a new Audi R8 supercar, in a nice shiny white, at only $150,000.  Just like the one Bernie Sanders has.  Which capitalism got for him.  Along with his 3 beachfront houses.  Just sayin'...)   

Capitalism rewards effort, you see.  And inspiration.  And sweat equity.  And investing in good ideas.  And working overtime.  And unionization.  And self-deprivation.  And supply-demand economics.    

Socialism rewards sitting on your ass, waiting for your neighbor to grow some food and bring it to you.  But it won't be long before your neighbor's sitting on his ass as well, awaiting your delivery of his lunch.  

Which do you prefer?

On my rhetorical way out the door, I'd like to add one simple truism:  "You vote your way in to socialism.  But you have to shoot your way out..."

(Oh yeah, I'm a graduate economist.  And in this single, solitary instance, I actually know what the Hell I'm talking about...)