Hey America: You Already Have Democratic Socialist Programs, Skip the Hypocrite Fear Mongering

I do, however, always want information and data clarified, and when I see conservatives using half-truths as a weapon, it enrages me, as it should you. I therefore feel obligated to peer into the looking glass and offer the realities of the existence that we live in and expose the idiocies of the right for what and who they are: hypocrites. 

The Republicans absolutely LOVE to scare people, because they know that fear will drive votes.

The GOP has been generating the steam of hate on one of their favorite terms: “socialism.” They have devoted many years to spreading their brainwashing propaganda in sources such as Fox/Breitbart/Sinclair, refusing to acknowledge or even identify the fact that the United States already has many programs in place that fall under the identity of “Democratic Socialism.” In the eyes of conservatives, socialism is denoted with government-owned everything and they push this as a concept that is anti-Democracy and anti-capitalism. This ideology is a high priority for them as they know that Republicans are in the minority and they require a strategy of cheating, lying and misinformation so that they can win. 

People of all political persuasions use and take advantage of many of the programs that we already have in place that fall under the definition of “Democratic Socialism”. The list is both incredible and familiar and yet we do not consider any of these programs to be harmful or in any way smacking of the old socialistic regimes of the past. 

There is no doubting that the liberals and Democrats of the country have made decisive movements away from the center and center-right and are now leaning left of center. This includes addressing topics that are critical to “we the people” such as Medicare-for-all, increased minimum wage, affordable college, affordable child care, a path of citizenship for immigrants, reduced destruction to the planet from humans, to name a few. 

While the extreme left adores invoking FDR as their Democratic Socialist leader and his “New Deal” program as the elevated example, they also avoid looking at what was happening in the nation to require such drastic measures: the Great Depression. The programs that were set in place during that time were meant to be temporary measures and they indeed succeeded in helping many Americans lift themselves out of destitute poverty. Today’s Democratic Socialistic programs are crafted in from an entirely new philosophical platform and are designed to elevate and enlighten; they do share one common goal with FDR’s and that is to offer opportunities. 

Since When Have You Been Able to Trust Corporations? 

The government has a number of laws that have been put in place to protect the people against the greed and glut of the corporate structure. It wasn’t all that long ago that there was child labor, workers exposed to toxins and poisons in the workplace, minimal pay for many hours of labor, no time off, employee punishment, and the list goes on. Companies have only one goal and that has always been profit and therefore the government was forced to step in to give them the opportunity to make money without destroying the very people that worked for them. 

My goal in this article is to simply offer an explanation, definition and clarity regarding our already existing programs and to try to diffuse the propaganda that conservatives want to spread regarding “Democratic Socialism.” The interests of the Republicans have always been to support investment into companies and every so many years they regenerate their “trickle down” theory that has been shown to fail every time. They throw it out to uneducated followers under the guise that if you invest in the corporations, that money will trickle down to bring more jobs and prosperity to the people. It has never worked. Companies share any and all profits with stockholders and/or internal owners and the people get nothing. 

If you doubt the intention, just take a look at the most recent Trump administration desire to turn back time on child labor laws. In a New York Post article they include a few of these details: 

The Trump administration wants to roll back decades-old protections for America’s youngest workers by allowing teens to toil for longer hours under some of the nation’s most hazardous workplace conditions, a new report said Tuesday. 

“The Department of Labor will propose relaxing current rules — known as Hazardous Occupations Orders — that bar 16- and 17-year-old apprentices and student learners from receiving extended, supervised training in certain dangerous jobs, sources told Bloomberg Law.

That includes roofing work, as well as operating chainsaws, and various other power-driven machines that federal law recognizes as too dangerous for youths younger than 18. 

‘The Department proposes to safely launch more family-sustaining careers by removing current regulatory restrictions on the amount of time that apprentices and student learners may perform HO-governed work,’ the DOL stated in summary of its plan.” 

When will Americans learn that we can not only NOT trust companies, but we must hold conservatives to a high level of suspicion as they support even the most heinous activities with goals of profit and greed? 

Republicans have based their entire political agenda on the topic of “less government interference”. This is really conservative-speak for “let us make money on the backs of the people in any way that we can without punishment or being held accountable.” 

While Democratic Socialism will never curb the GOP greed, the various laws set in place assist in protecting everyone and everything and the additional programs in place that are sponsored by the government enable companies that comply with the rules to earn a profit and the employment of millions. 

It’s Time to Talk About Healthcare for All 

There is probably no other topic that is as “hot” as healthcare for all and a majority of those that are running consider it political suicide to recommend this as part of their platform. The GOP has weaponized this subject as their main talking point against “socialism”, and when you watch the conservatives making comments on any social media, you realize that they are completely uneducated about how health insurance works. The continues screams of “I don’t want to pay for the health problems of others” –or- “no one should force me to have health insurance” falls under the headline name of “idiots”. Health insurance, like automotive insurance, uses an algorithm for charges based on location, demographics, and age. Everyone pays into the program for themselves and others. That’s why both health insurance and auto insurance are higher in states such as Florida than in North Carolina. 

But here’s the thing: Those that are yelling against being forced to buy health insurance end up as a burden on the state system when they do become ill and end up in the hospital. They can’t afford the out of pocket costs and it’s both state and federal that pick up the tab at a much higher price. 

But this topic goes beyond just knowing how health insurance and medical coverage works; it enters into the very lifeblood of the people themselves. Even those that pay higher costs for health insurance may find themselves in a catastrophic medical situation. In these cases, the costs escalate and spiral out of control. 

No One Can Plan for Millions of Dollars in Medical Costs — and Americans Shouldn’t go Bankrupt because of it 

While the Affordable Health Care Act was a preliminary step in the correct direction, it also made many missteps as President Obama was forced to make changes that the conservatives knew would allow failure. The only real benefit that came out of ACA was to include pre-existing conditions in coverage without the previous exorbitant costs. However, we have seen that both the medical industry and the health insurance industry have made billions of dollars in profit by elevating the prices and forcing the government to foot the bill. 

If you think that the horrid healthcare bill that the conservatives have put together will be better, think again. Their plan, as always, is to offer more profit abilities while moving the industry back to the way things used to be: removing the pre-existing condition clause and making sure that only the wealthy can afford good health insurance and medical care. 

I can speak from personal experience. In the last years I have lost two members of my family. One because she couldn’t afford health insurance in a pre-ACA situation and therefore died and the other more recently with a sudden diagnosis and treatments that spiraled into over a million dollars for three weeks of treatment. 

Arguments against healthcare for all have covered the gamut from “it works in other countries because they are smaller” to “I don’t want the government involved in my medical decisions.” Neither of these are correct and it’s time for the American people to step up and recognize that we already have Medicare and Medicaid in place and healthcare for all will simply be an expansion of these programs. 

When positioned with the cost argument, I can heartily say that people outside of ACA are paying as much as 15–20% of their income for mediocre health insurance and when given the option of slightly higher taxes for excellent medical coverage for all compared to potential bankruptcy and ruin in a “crapshoot gamble” if you or your family got ill? It’s a no brainer. 

Democratic Socialism already exists in our country and as each program has been instituted it has been carefully crafted and monitored so that it creates the best offerings. We have now entered a time when we need to promote additional programs that benefit “we the people” and not the corporate greed.

(S. Novi is a journalist who worked in the media and continues to seek out truth and integrity. A liberal and one who is suspicious of cults and empty promises. Her posts originate at Medium.com. She is a contributor to CityWatch.) Prepped for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.