WHY PEOPLE JUST CAN'T BE EQUAL

I've told you about my friend who lives alone in a big 4 bedroom house that his family has always "owned."  Get used to that word being in quotation marks.  "Owned," as we now say.  The word is becoming archaic, silly, outdated.  The very idea that a person can "own" anything!  The word "own" is never allowed in a socialist or Marxist society.  The idea that an individual can "own" anything is repulsive, stupid and it has outlived it's usefulness.  Speaking of "owning" something belongs to the old generation, not the new one.  That's how we're being trained to think.

Anyway, my friend lives in this huge old house that he believes he "owns."  That's the word we old timers would have used for property we bought and paid for and it was always ours.  We felt that we "owned" it.  My friend feels that way.  But he supports Bernie Sanders' idea that we should all be economically equal.  I don't think he has thought it through.

Even though my friend is poor and lives on a small Social Security check, he is not equal.  He has a great deal more than many people.  First, he has that big old house, which is bigger than most houses around.  There are certainly many people who have to get by with much smaller houses.  Second, he "owns" two automobiles.  There are people around who only have one car.  There are many people around who don't have a car at all. Some people have to walk, hitch a ride or take the bus.  So my friend has better transportation than some people. 

Also, my friend eats out a lot.  I see him at restaurants around town, fast food and nicer placers, nearly every day.  A lot of people don't get to eat out nearly every day.  A lot of people have to eat at home and they may only be able to afford soup or Ramen Noodles.  You get the idea.  My friend is not equal.  He eats a lot better than some people.

My friend gets good medical care.  He has Medicare because of his age.  And I think he may have a "gap" policy that pays what Medicare doesn't.  There are a lot of people who are still uninsured and have trouble getting medical care at all.  So my friend is not equal.  He is above equal.

Now, to make the world equal, something will have to be done about my friend.  Simply put, he has too much to be equal with everyone.  True, there are many people who have more than he has; but there are many people who have less.  So, somebody will have to find all the people who have more and take away some of what they have.  Then, they will have to take away some of what my friend has (maybe his big house and one of his cars) and give it to somebody who is more "not equal" than he is.

However, this will cause yet more inequality.  My friend will still have more than some people and less than others.  
 

"The US Government already controls 50 percent of the US economy.  We already have a socialist government, just not total socialism.  How much Socialism would be enough?  75 percent?  90 percent?  Or do we need 100 percent, like North Korea?  How much socialism is enough?"

I don't think anyone has ever solved the true "equality" problem.  North Korea has come about as close as anyone ever has. (Cuba is really not that close). Each day, the North Korean government measures out a certain amount of rice for each man, woman and child in the country.  Everyone gets the same amount, except workers get more than those who don't work.  If anyone is caught growing or eating additional food, they are imprisoned and tortured.  The idea is that everybody must be equal.  In spite of those extreme measures, there is a small class of people who are rich and live lavish lifestyles.  They are elite members of the ruling Communist (Socialist) party.  They have limos, $3,000 suits, diamond rings...and they dine of caviar and drink expensive wines. They attend lavish dinner parties and spend thousands of dollars on one evening of entertainment.  That's all right, though, because we don't count them.  They are exceptions.  Nearly everyone else is "equal."

In North Korea, trading or commerce is not permitted unless it is done by the Communist Party - because somebody could possibly make some money or become more affluent than somebody else.  You cannot "own" a home, a vehicle, a vegetable garden or even an animal.  Chickens, horses, cows and even dogs belong the the Communist Party.  If you are caught killing a chicken, you are arrested and charged with stealing from the Party.  They try really hard to keep everyone equal.

Now, of course, my friend says that Bernie doesn't want that kind of Socialism for America!  However, that's the only kind of pure Socialism there is.  Anything less is not true Socialism but a mixture of Socialism and free market capitalism.  And all Socialists, in all of history, began by saying they didn't want that kind of Socialism.  Lenin said he didn't he want that kind of Socialism.

So let's all go down to the polls and elect Bernie in November.  Let's trust Bernie not to give us that kind of Socialism, but a friendlier, gentler kind (whatever that is).  There is only one problem with that.

The US Government already controls 50 percent of the US economy.  We already have a 50% socialist government, just not purely or totally socialist.  So, if we are not socialist enough now - we must need pretty radical socialist reform to drive us further toward a Marxist-Lenist economy.  How much Socialism would be enough?  75 percent?  90 percent?  Or do we need 100 percent, like North Korea?  How much socialism is enough?

How will we know when we are all financially equal?  Will it be when the government begins to measure out our food each day?

WHY MY FRIEND THINKS HE LIKES BERNIE SANDERS

I have a friend who loves Bernie Sanders, or thinks he does.  My guess is, he doesn't know Bernie Sanders or what he really stands for.  But he thinks Bernie is all right.  He thinks Bernie wants to makes all of us more equal.

My friend believes that it is wrong for some people to earn a lot of money while other have nearly nothing.  He believes it is unjust that his former employer lived in a large house, drove a new car and went to expensive vacations, while he, my friend, earned minimum wage and barely got by.  My friends longs for a world in which Bernie Sanders will make the rich people pay more and give the poor part of their wealth.

However, my friend will not like the world when the followers of Bernie Sanders take over.  Believe me, he will not like it. 

You see, my friend, though he considers himself to be poor, lives in a large old house that he inherited from his mother and father.  He lives alone in the old house with 4 bedrooms, a separate living room, dining room, kitchen and 2 bathrooms.  That's more house than he needs.  That's more than many poor people have.

That house should be occupied by a larger family with, say 5 or 6 kids, and 3 or 4 adults.  My friend should be moved to a small efficiency apartment with one bedroom, a tiny bathroom and a small kitchenette.  Maybe 700 sq. ft.

Who says he should?  Bernie Sanders, that's who.  In the real world of socialism, the government forces "efficiency."  One old man has no right to live in a large house that could better be used to house a large family with 6 kids.  In fact, an individual has no right to own anything...period.  The government would own the house and decide who gets to live there.  And it would not be my friend.  The government would decide how many automobiles to be manufactured each year and it would own the auto production factories. my friend drives an old car but if he ever wanted a newer one, he would have to get Bernie's permission to buy one.  I don't think he would like that.

For socialism to work, the government must own and control nearly everything.  As long as individuals own private property, they can decide what to do with it.  This is as anti-socialist as it gets.  Socialism must, by definition, destroy the private ownership of property. That's the only way to make everyone truly "equal." Once our right to "own" anything is taken away, we have no real rights.  

Who says my friend has a right to live in his big old house if he wants to?  The private ownership of property says so.  He owns it, he can live in it as long as he wants. But only as long as he owns it. But if he no longer owned it.....   If the government owned it....  Then, the government would decide who lives there.

My friend drives a big, gas guzzling automobile.  The socialist would say he should not do so.  He ought to drive a little Geo Metro or some other little two-seater contraption. 

If my friend understood Bernie, I don't think he would like him or his plan for America.  But my friend does not understand Bernie.  Neither do the millions of people pushing for a socialist or Marxist agenda for America.  They won't like the real Bernie, either.  Any more than Russia liked Lenin or Stalin.  Any more than Cuba liked Fidel, once he was really in power.  Any more than Venezuela liked Hugo Rafael Chávez Frías. But they learned too late.

I saw a poll the other day that says 40 percent of college students feel that socialism is better than our present free enterprise ("capitalist") system.  50 percent of high school students prefer socialism.  However, a majority of them could not define or explain what socialism is.  They've just been taught to prefer it. 

 If you believe those numbers, we can't be very far away from electing a socialist (excuse me "Democratic Socialist") government. Heck, the Socialist candidate got 40 percent of the vote in Georgia and Alabama in the primaries.  Maybe we're even closer than I feared.