Tom Del Beccaro: On socialism, Democrats' only debate is how quickly they want to get there
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Round two of the debates is the books and Democrats are firmly committed to doubling or tripling the size of government. From health care to education and beyond, Democrats' plans mean that, for them, socialism is a matter of when, not if.
What is the definition of socialism? Historically, it has meant government ownership of industries. In the modern world, however, the focus should be on the size of government compared with the size of the private sector. When government spending dominates the economy, a country can rightly be called socialist.
As I wrote before, there are Just Nine Steps From Freedom to Socialism to Societal Breakdown. Massive government spending leading to huge tax bills and deficits are the hallmarks of those steps. Given the programs the Democrats are demanding, it is obvious they all want to run up those steps sooner or later.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Elizabeth Warren wants socialism within a matter of years. She is proposing nearly $130 trillion in new spending over the next decade. That’s $13 trillion more annually, which could take the federal budget from almost $5 trillion to $18 trillion a year! Overall, government spending under Warren would go from 37% of the economy to over 80%. You can bet deficits would explode exponentially from their current stratospheric levels along with massive tax hikes. All of that is socialism.
Elizabeth Warren wants socialism within a matter of years. She is proposing nearly $130 trillion in new spending over the next decade.
Bernie Sanders' spending plans are not far behind. He wants to phase in "Medicare-for-All" over four years, with a $3.2 trillion yearly price tag, and is also proposing $2.2 trillion in new spending on education. Under Sanders, the federal government would more than double in size.That would mean our governments would become more than two-thirds of the economy. His spending, tax hikes and deficits also equal socialism.
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Kamala Harris proposes a somewhat slower transition to socialism – over 10 years instead of four. While her "Medicare-for-All" program would immediately enroll the uninsured and newborns, it mandates a 10-year transition program for everyone else. Meanwhile, she would increase federal support for education $315 billion over that same time period along with other spending increases.
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As for the so-called moderates, Joe Biden would increase spending on health care $750 billion over the next decade along with $4 trillion on climate change and $200 billion on education as part of the $6.4 trillion in spending increases he has announced so far.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Congressman Tim Ryan sparred with Sanders and Warren in round two of the debates over "Medicare-for-All." Ryan said:
“This plan that's being offered by Sen. Warren and Sen. Sanders will tell those union members who gave away wages in order to get good health care that they're going to lose their health care because Washington's going to come in and tell them they got a better plan.”
Maybe so, but Ryan still supports "Medicare-For-All" even if it's not on the Sanders/Warren timeline. Ryan also wants to spend $150 billion on schools as part of his overall $2.1 trillion spending plans.
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Even without the Democrats' new programs, no one can seriously say that government spending is under control in America. As spending increases, taxes and deficits rise and economic growth falls. As growth falls, people become more dependent on government and spending rises even more.
Obviously, the Democratic candidates' plans will drive up spending dramatically. That is not subject to debate. It is not a question of if, but when, they want the Unites States to be a socialist nation.
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