It’s not often that the president of the United States writes an op-ed for a major newspaper. But this is exactly what President Trump did on October 10 in USA Today.

Trump was railing against (and rightly so) the Democrats’ “Medicare for All” (S.1804) proposal to “establish a government-run, single-payer health care system that eliminates all private and employer-based health care plans” and will “cost an astonishing $32.6 trillion during its first 10 years.”

Writes Trump:

The Democrats’ plan means that after a life of hard work and sacrifice, seniors would no longer be able to depend on the benefits they were promised. By eliminating Medicare as a program for seniors, and outlawing the ability of Americans to enroll in private and employer-based plans, the Democratic plan would inevitably lead to the massive rationing of health care. Doctors and hospitals would be put out of business. Seniors would lose access to their favorite doctors. There would be long wait lines for appointments and procedures. Previously covered care would effectively be denied.

And why is Trump “fighting so hard against the Democrats’ plan that would eviscerate Medicare”? Trump says: “I also made a solemn promise to our great seniors to protect Medicare.”

And of course, it’s not just Trump. He asserts, correctly, that “Republicans believe that a Medicare program that was created for seniors and paid for by seniors their entire lives should always be protected and preserved.” The Free Society Laurence M. Vance Best Price: $13.55 Buy New $17.54 (as of 04:55 EST - Details)

But it’s not just Medicare that Trump and the Republicans want to protect. Trump is “committed to resolutely defending Medicare and Social Security from the radical socialist plans of the Democrats.” In the latest Republican Party platform, they express their intention “to save Medicare by modernizing it, empowering its participants, and putting it on a secure financial footing.” Republicans also “accept the responsibility to preserve and modernize a system of retirement security forged in an old industrial era beyond the memory of most Americans.” All options “should be considered to preserve Social Security.”

In case you haven’t figured it out yet, let me get right to the point: Social Security and Medicare are socialist programs. They are cornerstones of the welfare state.

Social Security is a government-funded, government-managed, universal, mandatory Old-Age, Survivors, and Disability Insurance (OASDI) program administered by the Social Security Administration.

Medicare is a government-funded, government-managed, universal, mandatory health care program for Americans 65 years old and older and for those who are permanently disabled administered by the Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS), part of the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS). And Medicaid is even worse.

The Social Security tax rate is 12.4 percent (split evenly between employer and employee) on the first $128,700 of income. The Medicare tax rate is 2.9 percent (split evenly between employer and employee) on all income. Want to invest that money for your retirement or set it aside for your health care instead of give it to the government to help fund the retirement and health care of a little old lady in Pasadena?

Go directly to jail.

There is no connection between Social Security and Medicare taxes paid and benefits received. And neither is there a contractual right to receive Social Security or Medicare benefits. The government decides how much people must “contribute,” what the benefits are, and when the benefits will be paid. You have no say in the matter. The Problem with Socia... Thomas DiLorenzo Best Price: $9.49 Buy New $11.93 (as of 06:45 EST - Details)

Social Security and Medicare are socialist programs. And aside from this, it is neither constitutional nor the proper role of government to set up, maintain, or fund retirement, disability, or health care programs.

Trump is so naïve. He maintains:

If Democrats win control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America. Government-run health care is just the beginning. Democrats are also pushing massive government control of education, private-sector businesses and other major sectors of the U.S. economy.

We already have socialism in America. We already have government-run health care. We already have massive government control of education, private-sector businesses, and other major sectors of the U.S. economy. And if Republicans hold on to control of Congress this November, we will come dangerously closer to socialism in America.

Trump and his fellow Republicans are simply making America socialist again.

For the antidote to socialism, read The Problem with Socialism, by Thomas J. DiLorenzo.

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