Initially, we here at Issues Under Fire had no intentions of getting involved with the U S' 2016 presidential election. But after the Hillary Clinton campaign decided to make an issue out of Senator Bernie Sanders' proclivity for socialist economics, this observer felt obliged to unpack the two competing economic concepts and examine the features and benefits of both. African Americans should pay close attention to this post/podcast.
Considering how badly the concept of socialism has been demonized in America, we'll take a look at that one first. Socialist leaning economies like France Canada and Germany provide government protections for labor from private industry. They invests heavily in social programs, provide free education, healthcare and a strong social safety net for its aging citizenry. When students graduate from university in many socialist economies, they leave debt free. When employees need additional job training, that too is provided by socialist economies.
When a French, Canadian, Norwegian, Swedish, Chinese or Belgium woman becomes pregnant, she's guaranteed maternity leave and a job to return to when medically cleared by her attending phsysian. When that woman is home attending her newborn, her spouse is guaranteed paternity leave to help out. When this happy couple returns to their 35 hour work week and 3-4 weeks of guaranteed vacation, they can rest assured they're jobs are secured through retirement, And that retirement will be one with dignity. You might not retire to a chalet in the south of France, but you won't end up dining on cat food or sleeping in a cold doorway.
By now, you should be wondering how all these goodies are being paid for. Well the short and honest answer is this: Socialist governments tax the living Sh*t out of you. And the more you make, the more the state takes. The downside of Socialism is the heavy taxes levied against big business and the rich. To cover the cost of ensuring the average citizen can't fall below a predetermined economic baseline, those who have a lot will, will have a lot less. Socialist take from the upper-class to ease the burden on the working class. And as a result, you may find it difficult to get rich in socialist countries, but you won't starve either.
On the other hand, Capitalist economies offer opportunities beyond one's wildest imagination. But, there's a catch. In a place like the United States, if you're born in the right zip code, if you know the right people, if you can afford to go to the right schools and prepare to work your ass off, you have a chance to do quite well in life. And if you're lucky enough to land in the right income bracket, taxes won't even be a concern. In Capitalist economies the more you make, the less the state can take.
In Capitalist countries, while others may be suffering all around you, if you got yours, its up to the others to get their own. If you need a college education, you're on your own, if you need job training, you're own your own. If you need maternity, vacation or personal time off, you got, it in many cases, you're on you're own. If you need childcare, good luck finding something you can afford. If you need affordable housing, tough break. In fact, whenever someone suggest raising taxes to lessen the burden on the working class, they're slapped with the dreaded Socialist label.
Unfortunately, in the United States fewer and fewer citizens are being born in the right zip code, to know the right people, so they can get into the right schools. If you're poor, Black or in the shrinking middle class, you know this already, so lets move on. While the American narrative of pulling one's self up by one's bootstraps and working hard leads to climbing the ladder of success, the reality is, the upper-class stole the ladder to success decades ago.
Bottom line: Capitalism is an economic system designed by sharks for sharks. Considering many Americans ( Blacks especially) don't even have boots, let alone the straps to pull themselves up with and stand a better chance of winning lotto than realizing the American dream, its a mystery why Socialism wouldn't be more appealing. Podcast below
And by the way, this is not an endorsement of Bernie Sanders. This issue is being addressed to help Black and poor voters make an informed choice.
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