Don't Get "Berned'

Don’t Get "Berned"

The View from the Middle

Consider this article as an appeal to all naïve optimists out there who are looking for the perfect world, especially the young voters in this country.  You have to look past the promises of a utopian existence and free stuff offered by politicians.  This may shock you, but politicians have been known to over promise and under deliver and even lie to us. 

And no one is promising more free stuff and idealistic outcomes than Bernie Sanders.  He’s offering free college, free healthcare, free childcare and expanded Social Security for everyone.  The first thing you have to realize is that NOTHING IS FREE!!  Bernie’s plans will cost us $18 trillion over a ten-year period, and that is above and beyond the $50 trillion our government is already planning to spend. 

Do the math, that’s a 36% increase in the cost and size of a government that 81% of Americans think is corrupt.  However, government is more than just corrupt, it’s inept.  According to Gallup, Americans today believe that the government wastes 51 cents of every dollar we send them.  That is the highest estimate of waste ever recorded by Gallup.  With this kind of waste and corruption, why would we want to make our government BIGGER?

Remember, especially you young people, that the government has NO MONEY!  Every penny that they spend/waste comes from you!!  But, you say, ”No, Bernie plans to get all this money from the rich!”  I have a surprise for you.  Bernie’s “soak the rich” plan only accounts for about six trillion of his $18 trillion binge-spending plan.  He will have to get the other $12 trillion or so from you.  In fact, that $12 trillion that you will be funding (not the rich) comes to $10,000 per household per year.  Got an extra 10 grand you want to give to the government every year?

“Oh, but we will be getting all that free stuff”, you say.  So at best you’ll be getting $5,000 worth of services for $10,000, and that’s if the government doesn’t get any more corrupt or incompetent than it is today.  And, as Bernie sucks this 10 grand from every family in America every year, we’ll all have less to spend on restaurants, cars and clothes.  This will mean that we will have fewer restaurants, car dealers and dress shops, which will mean fewer waiters, car sales people and store managers.  Get the picture?  Less spending equals fewer jobs.

But this isn’t even Bernie’s big lie.  His big lie is that life will be perfect when he’s in control and he has all your money.  You won’t have to worry about healthcare, education or childcare.  You also won’t have to worry about saving any money, because you won’t have any.  You won’t have to worry about owning a house or a car.  You won’t be able to afford one.  And, you won’t have to worry about working hard, because you won’t be rewarded for it.

Let’s look at the shining stars of socialism.  In Venezuela people can’t even wipe after their bowel movements for lack of toilet paper.  In Cuba, they have thousands of their citizens swimming through shark-infested waters to get out of the country.  And then there’s Greece who is currently tin-cupping it through Europe trying to get their bills paid.

Even the top socialist countries have tremendous issues.  In Denmark, the total tax rate is about 80% when you add federal, local and sales taxes together.  It is almost impossible to own a car or a home.  Their suicide rate is about twice what it is in the US.  And throughout Scandinavia, people are drowning in debt and the wealth gap is even worse than it is in the US, but Bernie won’t be shining the light on any of these realities.

No country is perfect, but I still believe the US in the best place to live on this planet.  And what got us here - free market capitalism, which has lifted more people out of poverty than any other system on earth.  It is our meritocracy that has lifted us above all other countries.  Here is where hard work will actually pay off and improve your life and even those around you.  Here is where you can determine your future instead of settling for a government provided poverty level existence.

So don’t fall for the false promises of a flawless government and an idealistic existence.  Vote for smaller, leaner, more efficient government that will just get out of our way and unleash the genius and power of our collective efforts.  This is what has made America great and what will keep us at the very pinnacle of the world community.