How Much Does Socialism Cost?

A favorable view of socialism is rising among certain demographic groups in the United States. In a recent Gallup poll, 57% of Democrats surveyed said they now have a more favorable or positive view of socialism, compared to 16% their Republican counterparts. Not surprisingly, 51% of people under the age of 30 view socialism favorably, while 45% of the same age group believe that capitalism is still a good idea. It's important to note that those responding favorably to the idea of a socialist economic system don't necessarily advocate, nor do they endorse, the U.S. government nationalizing (that is, seizing ownership of) big corporations and small private businesses. They lean more toward the government providing basic needs, such as free health care, guaranteed employment, and "free" college education. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, the 28-year-old avowed socialist and fresh face of Democrats, had trouble answering the question "How do you pay for it?" during a podcast interview on Pod Save America. Ocasio-Cortez defaulted to a vague, canned answer of paying for it in the same manner that Congress pays for wars, tax cuts, and tax extensions. And there's always the infamous canard: tax the rich. In other words, she's clueless as to how Congress funds the $32-trillion "Medicare for All" scheme, with that number being the cost estimated by the George Mason University Mercatus Center. The Urban Institute also crunched the numbers for a Medicare for All proposal, having already confirmed the $32-trillion price tag. In response to presidential candidate Bernie Sanders's free health care for everyone campaign promise in 2016, the Urban Institute's report also estimated that the Sanders revenue-raising plan to fund his version of Medicare for All fell short almost $16 trillion. Should we be surprised? Not at all. Don't forget that both Social Security and Medicare aren't sustainable, as promised. In mathematical terms, the CBO estimated that in order to fund the Sander's plan, payroll taxes would have to be increased 29%, on top of the current 15.3%. These are real numbers, as opposed to ambiguous, vacuous campaign promises of the socialist groupthink crowd.

Ocasio-Cortez and numerous Senate Democrats also believe that everyone who wants a job should have one. And the government should not only guarantee jobs, but "make work" for its citizens – at $15.00 an hour, with benefits! A study commissioned by the Liberal Center on Budget and Policy Priorities estimated that the cost of such a proposed job guarantee program would be somewhere in the neighborhood of $7 trillion based on 9.7 million enrollees at a guaranteed $56,000 annual salary. The report assumed that enrollees would be currently unemployed; however, the authors of the report failed to take into account that 60 million people in the U.S. currently earn less than $15.00 an hour, thereby creating a potential stampede of people vying for government-sponsored jobs. No word yet regarding what kinds of "make work" jobs the government is supposed to create. Rounding out the list of socialist giveaway proposals is taxpayer-funded college. As you can imagine, it's a big hit with the under-30 age group. The Tax Policy Center scored Bernie Sanders's free college campaign promise over the next decade at a mere $807 billion – peanuts compared to his free health care scheme. And that's not all. The same group of Democrats in Congress who are pushing for guaranteed jobs also want to raise money to pay off the estimated $1.4 trillion in college loan debt. The only way the government raises money is to raise taxes. In plain speak: debt forgiveness. In one fell swoop, trillions of dollars of existing college loan debt will disappear. You read that right: other people's money will wipe out trillions of dollars of college loans. In order to accomplish this grand gesture of forgiveness, Democrats and especially those of the socialist stripe have floated ideas such as a permanent 28% corporate tax, a carbon tax (amount yet to be determined), a value added tax on all luxury item purchases, and an across-the-board 15% income tax hike. What exactly is the cost of socialism? Simple. The American taxpayer will be mandated by law to return almost half of his annual salary to the government, in exchange for free stuff. That's the socialist economic system.