This is the slogan a lot of Bernie Sanders supporters are using. I have to wonder who came up with it. Although the supporters think it’s really catchy, I hate to tell them it can easily be turned into slogans for the opposition. How about ‘Feeling the Bern: How Socialism will vaporize your property rights.’ This is an example of exactly how much tunnel vision Bernie supporters have. They believe so much in their candidate that they cannot conceive of why anyone would disagree with them. This will likely be their downfall. Only by understanding your enemies can you hope to defeat them.
Sanders supporters love Bernie for the same reason that Obama supporters loved him in 2008. They see him as a Savior. A deliverer of free school, free medical care, free, free, free. Many of them have yet to experience the agony of a higher tax bracket and how that mutates their paycheck from a nice fat sum to a pile of pennies. They all aspire to get there. I doubt that many of them truly want to be socialists. Socialism is all about sacrificing for the good of all, at the expense of many. Does anyone really believe that these self centered young people want to give away what they have to make life better for others? Of course not. They want others to give in order that they may get more, but I feel certain that they would balk in mass at the idea of them giving away to others.
For example, truly poor people still don’t have their own cell phones in some places…..THE HORROR!!!! I suggest, that in order to equalize cell phone access that all the IPhone owners be charged double for their phones to make sure everyone has access to the latest, greatest phone to take selfies with. I mean, there are even people out there suffering through the degradation of owning a flip phone. They need to be saved. It’s inhuman to expect anyone to live without a good phone these days. Do you suppose that, if I circulated this on college campuses, I would get support for it? I doubt it.
When you show how socialist ideas will impact individuals, they rarely jump for joy and say ‘I would gladly give all that I have to make things better for everyone.’ That’s a very naive notion about people and not even a 5 year old is usually willing to give up what they have to equalize things for others. So, Bernie, a master manipulator, has invented a villain to be targeted. Those evil rich people…..that 1% of the population that has the nerve to have a lot of money. Why, if we could just take all their money, we could get whatever we want. They have more than enough money to pay for free college for everyone who wants it, healthcare for anyone that wants it, for heavens sake, free IPhones for all as well.
The problem is that the math just doesn’t work. In order to fund all these ‘free’ things, middle class people will have to anty up much more than they are already being bilked for and turn it over to a government that is notoriously horrible at managing anything. The government will make absolutely certain that this money is distributed in a fair manner and everyone will have whatever they want…HOORAY!!!!! Bernie has already said that he will definitely raise taxes. To the millenials still in college, this doesn’t mean much. Most of them have no clue what most adults pay in taxes every year. It’s one of those cold realities that slap you in the face once you have your diploma and your first job out of college. You take that job offer—$80,000 a year!!! Hot Damn. Comes to about $1,500+ a week. Well who couldn’t live on that? So you diligently start your job, enthusiastically expecting that $1,500 check and planning what all you will do with it. Then you get the paycheck…open the envelope….’Hey, what happened to my $1,500?’ It was stripped by taxes down to about $1,000 a week. Well, still pretty good money right? Hold on. Rent is $1,000/month, student loans are $1,000/month. Car payment $500/month–had to get something nice and new since you are a professional adult now…are you keeping track? That $6000/month paycheck is now down to $1,500/month. Out of that you buy food, medical care, gas, utilities, etc, etc. Ah, reality. You really could use some of that $2,000 a month they government took from you. And guess what they do with that money? They allocate a large amount of it for people that don’t work or that try to raise 5 kids when they don’t have resources for one. You pick up the slack.
You cannot tell the young ens this, however. They think they are different. They would gladly give up more money, because of all the ‘free’ things they get. Now they are starting to realize that ‘free’ means that a taxpayer funded it. Now they are the taxpayers, not the ones getting the freebies. How long do you think they will feel the Bern from that?