Ron Stone wrote a letter praising socialism. There’s a lot of support for that idea these days. It’s time to read George Orwell’s “Animal Farm.” It starts off with the slogan “All Animals Are Equal.” Later it turns into “All Animals are Equal — But Some Animals Are More Equal Than Others.”
Venezuela is the latest example. A certain element gets in charge and lives pretty well, but a majority of the people don’t do so well. Part of it is economics. As Margaret Thatcher pointed out: “Socialism only works until you run out of other people’s money.” Ron Stone pointed to Social Security and Medicare. He did not mention that those programs are due to run out of money unless there is a sharp increase in contributions, or a substantial reduction in benefits, or both.
He goes on to call for socialized medicine. So do a lot of the Democratic contenders for the presidency. None of them produces a believable estimate of what that would cost, or where the money would come from. Or how many medical workers would stay on the job under the conditions that would arise. So in the end, the Big Shots get special treatment and the masses stand in line. Same thing for groceries, clothes, etc.
For all its defects, the free enterprise system has produced a pretty good living standard for most people in the United States. Some of the problems are: interference with free speech, invasion of privacy, poor education results and civil disorder. They originate mainly from the left.
Terry Quinn
Eagle
