- EURASIAREVIEW.COM - A la une - 13/07/2024 22:52

Robert Reich: Debunking Myth #7: America Is Socialist – OpEd

I keep hearing a lot about “socialism” these days, mainly from Donald Trump and Fox News, trying to scare Americans about initiatives like a Green New Deal, universal child care, free public higher education, and higher taxes on the super-wealthy to pay for these. Well, I’m here to ask you to ignore the scaremongering. First, these initiatives are overwhelmingly supported by most Americans. Second, for the last 85 years, conservative Republicans have been yelling “socialism” at every initiative designed to help most Americans. It was thescare word used by the Liberty Leaguein 1935 when President Franklin D. Roosevelt proposed Social Security. In 1952, President Harry Truman noted that “Socialism is the epithet they have hurled at every advance the people have made in the last 20 years.” Truman went on to say: “Socialism is what they called public power … Social Security … bank deposit insurance ... free and independent labor organizations ... anything that helps all the people.” Truman concluded by noting, “When the Republican candidate inscribes the slogan ‘Down With Socialism’ … what he really means is, ‘Down with Progress.’” Third, if we don’t want to live in a survival-of-the-fittest society in which only the richest and most powerful can endure, government has to do three basic things: regulate corporations, providesocial insuranceagainst unforeseen hardships, and support public investments such as schools andpublic transportation. All of these require that we pool our resources for the common good. Regardless of whether this is called democratic socialism or enlightened capitalism, all are necessary for a decent society. Fourth and finally, America spends very little on social programscompared to other industrialized nations. As a result, almost 30 million Americans stilllack health insurance, nearly 51 million householdscan’t afford basic monthly expensesincluding housing, food, child care, and transportation. And we’re the only industrialized nationwithout paid family leave. Most Americans who lose their jobs are not eligible for unemployment benefits. We provideless unemployment insurancethan nearly every other advanced country. We’re alsoamong the worstwhen it comes to reducing poverty,especially child poverty. Only 36 percent of Americans have government-subsidized health insurance.Other advanced countries provide better access to health care, and alsobetter health care outcomes. Fewer than 30 percent of working Americans have access to paid family leave. Again, the contrast with other advanced nations is stark. Almost all their citizens get paid leave. And while people in most other countries get 3-5 weeks of paid vacation, Americans on average get only 11 days. We force young people to go deep into debt to finance their college educations. Most other advanced nations providedebt-free education. We offer families almost no support for child care and elder care. Other advanced nationssubsidize child careandelder care. Our Social Security retirement benefits are skimpy as compared to the generousretirement benefitsof other advanced countries. No, America doesn’t have socialism. We practice extreme capitalism. Yet for one group of Americans, Americaissocialist. Executives who run their companies into the ground get gold-plated exit packages even as their workers get pink slips. Boeing’s outgoing CEO could get a “golden parachute” worth as much as $45 million. The CEO before him got one worth $62 million on his way out the door in 2019. After a security breach at Equifax that exposed the personal information of 145 million customers to hackers, CEO Richard Smith retired with an $18 million pension. The Wells Fargo CEO in charge of the unit that opened more than 2 million unauthorized consumer accounts departed with a $125 million exit package. Meanwhile, thousands of big American corporations are raking in billions each year in government subsidies, bailouts, and tax loopholes,all funded by taxpayers. Yet because they don’t pay their lowest-paid workers a living wage, many have to rely on programs like food stamps and Medicaid. Corporations that don’t pay their lowest-paid workers a living wage in effect get fat government subsidies. This government largesse raises stock prices for the richest 1 percent, who own half of the stock market, as well as CEOs and other top executives who are paid largely in shares of stock. Of course other advanced countries generally havehigher taxes than the United Statesto support all these benefits — especially taxes on the rich. Yet in America, the rich have done such a good job convincing people that any increase in public benefits would be … you know, that S word …that we just accept things as they are. All of this is a major reason why America has such staggering levels of inequality and poverty. We’re the richest nation in the history of the world, yet many Americans are insecure. Almost one-fifth of our children are impoverished. America has socialism for the rich. Almost everyone else is subject to unnecessary levels of anxiety or hardship. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CVm2e3Gyp6I This article was published at Robert Reich's Substack