I do not want to presume to be more “educated” than Dr. Joseph Frusci, an adjunct assistant professor of history at the College of Staten Island, so I will contradict his assessment that Bernie Sanders is NOT a socialist and not like Karl Marx with pure common sense facts.
Fact 1: Senator Sanders himself claims to be a democratic socialist, so he is a socialist.
Fact 2: Although FDR’s policies may have been considered “socialist” back in the ’30s, they were in direct response to an economy in a depression, with 25 to 30% unemployment and were instituted as a hand up not a hand out. Public works programs put Americans to work. It did not give them free money, like forgiving student loans, getting paid to stay home and collect welfare or free medical care for illegal immigrants.
Fact 3: The American worker, through payroll deductions, pays for unemployment insurance and Social Security. If you never worked, you are not entitled to unemployment insurance payments. If you did not contribute to Social Security, you do not get benefits at 62, 65 or 67. There is Social Security disability, but that is funded through taxpayer dollars, not contributions through payroll, which has well documented abuses in itself.
Fact 4: Even with the top tax rate at 90% or higher, and the middle-class tax rates exceeding 50% for the next 10 years, there is no way tax increases will pay for the programs Bernie is supporting. “Medicare for All” alone will cost at least $32 trillion. And given it’s a government program, over the next 10 years, it will in all likelihood double to $64 trillion.
If you think the budget deficits are high now, just wait. All private property, savings accounts, retirement income and pet goldfish will be confiscated to pay for it.
That is how socialism works, Dr. Frusci. No one will be allowed to own anything -- except the government. The only history that is supported here, Sir, is socialism destroys countries, liberal professors like yourself are teaching our children a distorted version of history and FDR is rolling over in his grave at the thought of being compared to Bernie.
(Bryan Mullins is an Ocean Breeze resident.)
