Submitted by Deirdre Purdy
CAPITALISM, SOCIALISM, AND MARJORIE TAYLOR GREENE
Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene, a Georgia Republican, warned folks at a conservative conference that President Joe Biden is addressing such issues as“education, medical care, urban problems, rural poverty, transportation, Medicare, Medicaid, food stamps, and welfare.”
Under Biden, Greene said, the U.S. has made “the largest public investment in social infrastructure and environmental programs, that is actually finishing what FDR started, that LBJ expanded on, and Joe Biden is attempting to complete.”
That sounds good, right?
But then Greene hit her point: “Biden is trying to complete socialism.”
Be Afraid, Be Very Afraid.
And that is ludicrous.
The U.S. is the strongest and most powerful capitalist country in the world.
We have an economic and political system in which our trade and industry are controlled by private owners for profit. That is capitalism.
Capitalism is based on individual initiative. It favors market mechanisms over government intervention. Socialism is based on government planning and limitations on private control of resources.
Modern economies, like ours, combine elements of both systems because uncontrolled capitalism creates great inequality. Most Americans make theirmoney by working – that’s ordinary income. But the rich make money from their capital, that is, by investing the money they’ve already piled up.
In the United States, capital gains are taxed far less than normal income, if at all – and those capital gains are heavily concentrated at the top. In 2011 Jeff Bezos qualified for the Child Tax Credit because he made so little traditional income.
Republicans believe that the rich should simply be allowed to get richer, maybe until they have it all. If you believe this, the fat cats thank you for your service.
Democrats believe that the rich should be fairly taxed, at least equal to taxes on the poor and middle class. Then the government can afford to provide benefits to individuals and communities that they cannot get alone, especially infrastructurebenefits that we all share such as health care, roads, bridges, water systems, airports, and high-speed internet
Democrats are proud of the beneficial programs that Greene attacked, proud of FDR and of Johnson’s Great Society accomplishments. Most Americans like those programs, too. A March 2023 poll found that 80% of Americans like Social Security, 81% like Medicare, and 76% like Medicaid – a large majority of members of all political parties.
A big thanks to Marjorie Taylor Greene (R-GA) for pointing out how well this Democratic government in a capitalist economy is doing, providing the benefits the American people want and need.
Stop please my sides are splitting from laughing so hard. Great comedy. This is some of the funniest stuff ever.
Kudo’s on a local copy of The Onion and the Babylon Bee combined.
How do you write this stuff with a straight face?
In response to Diedre Purdy, she does make some valid points. The question of socialism is one of the points where I differ with her. Socialism is an economic system based on public ownership of the means by which goods and services are produced. Capitalism is the same idea basically, but private ownership is the means of production. Our Countries basic tenets are founded on capitalism. Statistics provided by the varying states vary somewhat as each state has slightly different ways for implementing both the federal and state funds they receive from taxation. Based on numbers from Social Security , H.E.W. etc, their numbers tell us that it is 45% of the workforce that pays for the other 55% of the population. My personal belief is that programs like Social Security and Disability and Unemployment are not entitlements because we and our employers paid into that . That money came out of our check right off the top. Things like Johnsons war on poverty, which on paper may sound good, has turned a portion of the population it was designed to help, into generational ways of life. This is just one example that I could expound upon at great depth, as I am sure Diedre would of liked to expound her views the same way. But time and space restraints are what they are.. We have more oils and gas resources yet we pay high prices in the name of climate change. The climate “czar” wants 50 trillion sent over the next 15 years with no answer as to what it will accomplish except give us a greener footprint than countries like China who care less about going green unless they can sell us windmills and and electric batteries whose materials are harvested using exponentially more climate damaging technology and predominately what Democrats themselves have defined as slave labor when pointing it out to other countries about their labor policies. My point is without private ownership, we can be forced to be like Sweden which has as high as a 90% tax rate on wages and people are forced to survive off of government programs. Bidens policies are pushing us in the same direction. My hope and prayer is that people from both sides of the aisle, either in spite of or because of our differences, can come together to work for the common good. To attack or disparage an idea because we come from the other side, does nothing to solve the problem. My Bible says a house divided cannot stand. I believe that. It is also why I believe Calhoun County has not moved as forward as it could have these last 50 or more years. Calhoun deserves the best both parties have to offer. It starts with us. Thank you Diedre for sharing your beliefs. Open dialogue is the beginning.
We pay more for oil and gas because we have fewer refineries, requiring we sell our excess oil, based on OPEC prices, to countries that have the capability of refining the crude oil. We then have to purchase it back at OPEC prices for refined oil and gas.
I’m sure Michael Plato understands why Democrats expound on becoming manufacturers of those windmills, solar panels and hydro generators (one of the largest manufacturers is in CA). This is why they push for the green initiative.
MTG screams about Socialism, but where is the Socialism? What do you find offensive about good roads, education for our children; the future of this nation, all of the United States socialism is based off or our capitalism. Our structure is based off of the companies and individuals who pay taxes. This is actually why most people say the companies in this country to do not pay their fair share.
MTG’s perverted definition of Socialism is based on what she “believes” will ring the bell for conservatives. It doesn’t deal with the facts. And although I know emotion is what gets most people moving, we need to start looking at facts. Things are not as simple as what we believe.
In response to Ms. Smith, as one who has spent their career in scientific research and engineering, it might surprise to to learn how much energy it consumes to make the products for the green iniatitives. Ask any bank to finance these windmills, solar panels etc with the energy savings they create used to pay back the initial cost, and they will laugh you out the door. Just simple economic fact. You correctly cite roads, education etc as things our tax dollars are used for. As it should be. You also correclty cite that companies and individuals both pay taxes. Is it because the companies as you claim pay so much less than their fair share? Or could it be that things like wanting to put 50 trillion dollars, a number that the energy czar gave, gave with I might add, not one concrete answer as to what that money would accomplish, which is ls close to 15 trillion dollars more than our current national debt. He had no idea about what he is doing other than asking for a 50 trillion dollar blank check. That is just one example and I could cite others all day. Also with only 45% of the people who work, including part time workers, paying for the other 55% of our population. I could see why the Dems want deep pockets to pay more for social programs. The money has to come from somewhere and only those who work can bear the cost. Another economic 101 question is how much does it cost when our pipelines are open and we can get our oil to the refinery directly rather than shutting down our pipelines and force ourselves to but oil on the international market then shipped here? I would hazard a guess that rather than blame the corporations and working people for not giving enough, maybe we need to look on both sides of the aisles and give some basic 4th grade math lessons.