
More Democrats Than Ever Think Socialism is a “Good Thing” for U.S.
If the media treated Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez as they would any Republican with her stunning lack of credentials, knowledge, or critical thinking skills, perhaps her admirers on Twitter would be a little more embarrassed about supporting her. But since they treat her as the next coming of Barack Obama, she is seen by millions of millennials and other left-wing voters as the savior of the party – if not the world. (12 years and counting!) And part and parcel with that, her brand of so-called democratic socialism is catching fire with Democrat voters.
According to a new Fox News poll, 40% of Democrats now think it’s a “good thing for the United States to move away from capitalism and more towards socialism.” Only 34% sad it would be a bad thing for the nation if that happened.
From Fox News:
Among all voters polled, 54 percent said a move toward socialism would be bad, with only 24 percent saying it would be good. Republicans were more united against the shift, with 80 percent saying socialism would be a bad move, and eight percent saying it would be good.
The poll also found that voters prefer increasing spending on domestic programs over cutting taxes and reducing spending, and their preferred way to finance that spending is by taxing the wealthy.
Other polls have shown a similar move left from not only Democrats, but Americans in general.
Back in 2010, 68 percent of young people, 18-29 years old, said they approved of capitalism, while 51 percent said they approved of socialism, according to Gallup. Fast-forward to August 2018, and that same age group backs socialism over capitalism, 51 percent to 45 percent.
It is deeply disturbing that this shift is taking place at the same time that a country to our south is experiencing the brunt, brutal effects of a socialist economy. Venezuela is on the precipice of a crisis that could lead to a bloody revolution, and its seeds were planted by former dictator Hugo Chavez and his “let the government take over everything” philosophy. He presided over massive increases in spending, telling the citizens that all of this would be fine due to the exorbitant prices Venezuela was getting for their oil reserves. Unfortunately, once Chavez’s successor took over, the country could no longer take that oil revenue for granted. Now the people of Venezuela, having relied on the government for their basic needs for years, have been left with nothing.
The United States did not grow to become the greatest country in the world by teaching its citizens to rely on the government. Quite the opposite; our country was founded on a firm foundation of: If you want it, it is yours for the taking. But no one is going to GIVE you anything.
We can’t afford to abandon that principle now.