On the Path to Socialism???

Over the past couple of years we keep hearing various media outlets and bloggers debate about whether or not America is on the path to socialism. Many people talk about the destruction of privacy from Bush’s Patriot Act, while others discuss the nationalization of the healthcare system from Obamacare.

According to dictionary.com, the definition of socialism is;

1. a theory or system of social organization that advocates the vesting of the ownership and control of the means of production and distribution, of capital, land, etc., in the community as a whole.
2. procedure or practice in accordance with this theory.
3. (in Marxist theory) the stage following capitalism in the transition of a society to communism, characterized by the imperfect implementation of collectivist principles.

For comparison’s sake, the definition of communism is;

1. a theory or system of social organization based on the holding of all property in common, actual ownership being ascribed to the community as a whole or to the state.
2. a system of social organization in which all economic and social activity is controlled by a totalitarian state dominated by a single and self-perpetuating political party.

If I am reading this correctly, socialism is merely a stepping stone to utopia – communism (according to Marx anyway).

You don’t need to read my newsletter or my blog for too long to realize I am not very happy with the current state of affairs in the US.

Our freedoms seem to shrink on a daily basis. Our government continues to spend money at the expense of future generations because ‘they’ think that is what is best for the people. We continue to go to war for ambiguous reasons increasing the wealth of the political supporters at the expense of the citizens. We now live in a society where if 51% of the population agrees that it’s ok to steal from you, then it’s ok.

I could go on and on, but I think you get the picture. However, I would argue that we started to path towards socialism and/or communism decades ago.

Here is the point where you fire off your hate emails to me calling me unpatriotic and requesting that you are unsubscribed from all future mailings. I want you to know that I measure my success with this newsletter by the number of people that unsubscribe each week; so fire away.

Maybe you don’t believe me. Maybe you still think we live in the land of the free and the home of the brave. How many of you are familiar with Karl Marx’s ‘Communist Manifesto’?

I won’t go into too much depth here, but here are the 10 requirements for full realization of the communist utopia once they have gained political power:

1. Abolition of property in land and application of all rents of land to public purposes.
2. A heavy progressive or graduated income tax.
3. Abolition of all rights of inheritance.
4. Confiscation of the property of all emigrants and rebels.
5. Centralization of credit in the banks of the state, by means of a national bank with state capital and an exclusive monopoly.
6. Centralization of the means of communication and transport in the hands of the state.
7. Extension of factories and instruments of production owned by the state; the bringing into cultivation of waste lands, and the improvement of the soil generally in accordance with a common plan.
8. Equal obligation of all to work. Establishment of industrial armies, especially for agriculture.
9. Combination of agriculture with manufacturing industries; gradual abolition of all the distinction between town and country by a more equable distribution of the populace over the country.
10. Free education for all children in public schools. Abolition of children’s factory labor in its present form. Combination of education with industrial production, etc.

I urge you to read through this a few times. Go ahead, I will wait….

Now let’s address these one at a time in order to explain what they mean in terms that are relevant to today.

1. Do you really think you own your property? You say you have paid it off and owe no one… Stop paying your property tax and see who really owns your house. You are merely renting your property from the government. They have effectively eliminated private ownership of property. You should also consider that nearly 80% of the land west of the Mississippi river is government owned. It seems we are well on our way to fulfilling #1.
2. The 16th amendment of 1913 granted congress the power to tax income and made it a permanent fixture of the US tax system. We now have a progressive tax system that penalizes you the more productive you become. Do we really want to provide negative incentives for people to create businesses which in turn create jobs? Some say it is actually unconstitutional because it does not grant equal treatment to all citizens.
3. We aren’t 100% there yet, but we do have a very heavy death….I mean inheritance tax that robs a family of its wealth and grants it to the federal government. You could also argue that the majority of the population die completely broke because of government programs like Social Security and Medicare which provide the safety net in your older years. This is a huge tax burden during your working years that reduces your ability to save and invest for retirement and future generations.
4. One of Bush 2’s last pieces of legislation signed into law before he left office was an exit tax for Americans who give up their citizenship. It effectively charges you with the inheritance tax upon your departure. There have also been recent cases where private property was seized of people considered to be enemies of the state. I wrote about von NotHaus in the March 24th newsletter (send me an email requesting this if you didn’t get it) where he was charged with domestic terrorism for creating his own bartering system. The feds are now trying to seize his private property.
5. Federal Reserve. Need I say more???
6. FCC. Telecommunications tax. Public highways. Gas tax. Airports. Airline tax. All communication and transportation now is federally controlled. First class mail delivery is also a government monopoly.
7. Companies like GM and Chrysler are still heavily owned by the federal government. The bailouts over the past couple of years have shown us where the government’s loyalties lie – with their campaign supporters. You could also argue that the massive farm subsidies for corn and other crops could be in accordance with the government’s common plan.
8. Industrial armies – labor unions. The government now is the most unionized employer in the country. Look around and you will find numerous government programs designed to put people to work – of course they don’t really work…
9. While I don’t have much to say about the combination of agriculture with manufacturing, there certainly has been a concerted effort to spread the population out over the country. City and county planners determine what gets built and where with the intention of minimizing overcrowding. There are also numerous incentives for home ownership. Take a look over the past couple of decades. There has been a push towards suburbia.
10. This is probably my favorite. Primarily because I advocate the elimination of public education altogether. The public education system is riddled with flaws and tends to draw the least competent administrators and teachers. Not to say there aren’t good teachers working there, but they are certainly in the minority. Of course the big argument here is that without public education, the poor would not send their kids to school. I say BULLSHIT. This problem is easily solved with the proper incentives. Give them a tax deduction or credit when their kids are in school that offsets the cost. If you want to solve 2 of the 10 issues listed above, privatize the public school system. Sell the schools to investors who will run the school as a business. This generates a huge amount of revenue to the city or county with the property sale and also allows the elimination of property tax since most municipalities use property tax for education purposes. There would be no net job losses as we still need the teachers. Taxes would drop. Education quality would soar. There could even be schools with different specialties allowing you to choose making them compete for tuition. Feel free to email me your arguments or debate it on my Facebook Fan Page. I would love to see this discussion.

“What does this all mean?”, you may ask. Basically this is a wakeup call – a slap in the face – a splash of cold water. But I suspect many of you are already aware of these things, or else you would not be seeking alternative viewpoints like my newsletter. You may not have made the direct comparison to Marx’s writings, but you probably feel that something just isn’t right.

Inside, you know what is going on is detrimental to our future and that of our kids and grandkids. You know that the America of tomorrow will be but a shadow of yesteryear. No world superpower stays that way forever; America is no different.

This doesn’t mean you are helpless though. I have written about some of my suggestions on what to do in this era I call the ‘Great Reset’. Now is the time to explore your options. Protect your wealth while you still have some. Make yourself more valuable. Learn new things. Create options for yourself. But don’t sit on your thumbs.