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Bernie Sanders is Not a Social Democrat; He’s a Marxist
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Joe Cooper
Feb 13, 2016, 1:25:53 PM2/13/16
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When is the last time you were in Denmark? Or Norway? Or Sweden?
If you have had the pleasure of visiting these lovely places you may have
noticed something really odd. Nobody there talks the way Bernie Sanders
talks.
Sanders frequently points to northern European countries, especially
Denmark, as examples of how he would like to remake the United States
economy – by which he mainly means higher taxes and more social services.
But the main difference between the tax systems of the US and Denmark is
not high taxes on the rich. It’s higher taxes on the middle class. (See
my previous post on this.)
By and large, people in Denmark do not demonize the rich. They don’t
think that successful people are the reason why average incomes aren’t
higher. Nor are they clamoring to confiscate the wealth of those at the
top of the income ladder.
Take inheritance taxes. The US has higher estate taxes than virtually any
country in Europe. According to the Tax Foundation, our top estate tax
rate is 40%. In the Netherlands it’s 20%. In Denmark it’s 15%. In Norway
and Sweden, there is no estate tax!
Here is Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail:
In the last 30 years in America there has been a massive redistribution
of wealth. The problem is it’s gone in the wrong direction. Trillions of
dollars go from the pockets of working families, trillions of dollars,
into the bank accounts of the top one tenth of one percent and brothers
and sisters, you and I together are gonna change the flow of that
revenue!
And although she is not nearly as bad, Sanders has managed to pull
Hillary Clinton in the direction of this same world view. For example,
she has repeatedly claimed that “the deck is stacked,” with “the wealthy
getting wealthier at the expense of hard-working families.”
This is what I call barnyard Marxism. It’s the view that all wealth is
theft. It’s the view that there is no essential difference between making
money in the marketplace and robbing a bank. It’s rhetoric designed to
divide. Sanders in particular employs the same kind of attacks on the
rich that anti-Semites use in attacking Jews, that white southern racists
used to use in attacking blacks, that nativists use to attack immigrants
and that demagogues all over the world use to find scapegoats for the
problems of ordinary people.
As Bret Stephens wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “The Vermont socialist
preaches class hatred to crowds besotted by the politics of envy.”
The coded message is: if you lost your job, if you wages have been
stagnant, if you have trouble making ends meet – it’s not your fault;
it’s the fault of the scapegoat.
It is also pure bunk.
Bill Gates is estimated to be the world’s richest man. J. K. Rowling is
estimated to be the world’s richest woman. Did either of these two ever
take money out of your pockets?
Gates got rich by providing the software that I am using at this very
moment as I create this editorial. It’s well worth what I had to pay for
it. Rowling got rich because people all over the world like to read Harry
Potter novels and enjoy watching Harry Potter movies. How could anyone
object to that?
If we look down the list of the 400 richest Americans, it is remarkable
that 69% are self-made. They started with virtually nothing and became
billionaires. How did they do it? Jeff Bezos founded Amazon. Sergey Brin
created Google with Larry Page. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook.Phil
Knight created Nike. And so on.
Last time I looked, there is no gun pointing at any one’s head forcing
them to buy from Amazon. No one requires you to use Facebook or to wear
Nike sneakers. And no one has to use the Google search engine. All of
these people got rich by meeting our needs better than other people could
meet our needs.
Almost all American billionaires are philanthropists. At last count, 141
of them have pledged to give half their wealth away. Warren Buffett is
giving 95% away. Bill Gates is giving 99%. I’m sure it will be much
better spent than if it were in the hands of bureaucrats in Washington,
D.C.
Bernie Sanders hates the idea of competition and the profit motive. He
would like to remove the private sector entirely from the health care
system, for example. Social democrats in northern Europe have a different
view. One reason Denmark is so successful economically, despite its high
taxes, is that it freely endorses deregulation, privatization and letting
markets do what only they can do well – allocate resources.
There are, however, places in the world where the Sanders’ rhetoric
accurately describes reality. These are places where the people at the
top really have stolen everything they have from those at the bottom.
They are places where the luxurious lifestyle of those at the top really
is oppressing those below them.
Ironically the very worst examples are Marxist countries, where leaders
came to power using the very same rhetoric Bernie Sanders uses.
Fidel Castro’s former bodyguard Juan Reinaldo Sánchez says that the
communist leader “lived like a king” and “ran country like a cross
between medieval overlord and Louis XV.” While ordinary Cubans stood in
breadlines and suffered the effects of a declining economy, Castro had
his own private yacht and his own private island -- a luxury Caribbean
getaway, complete with dolphins and a turtle farm. In Havana, he lived in
an immense estate with a rooftop bowling alley, a basketball court and
fully equipped medical center.
While his fellow countrymen are starving to death, North Korean communist
leader Kim Jong-un has managed to slip by international sanctions and
import $2.09 billion in luxury goods from China between 2012 and 2014,
according to The New York Times. The items include Mercedes-Benz S-Class
cars and a luxury yacht worth as much as $6 million. More recently, he
imported the materials needed to construct a world class ski resort. As
far as I can tell, the only skier who will use it is Kim Jong-un himself.
According to Hong Kong-based historian, Frank Dikötter, Chinese communist
leader Mao Tse-tung was the greatest mass murderer in world history. “At
least 45 million people were worked, starved or beaten to death,” he
writes. “It was like [the Cambodian communist dictator] Pol Pot's
genocide multiplied 20 times over."
In a book written by Mao’sown personal physician, Dr. Li Zhisui writes:
Despite his populist pretensions, Mao lived like a traditional emperor
with all the material comforts that China could afford. His physical
needs were taken care of by attendants recruited from young, uneducated
peasants, who bathed and clothed him and combed his hair …. [He] indulged
in young women--sometimes more than one at the same time -- and … even
had a special bed made for his sexual activity…
The world’s second greatest mass murderer, Josef Stalin killed 20
million, many by forced starvation. Stalin himself had no fear of
starvation, however. Upon his death, he was worth an estimated $75
million.
On his death, Mao Tse-tung was worth an estimated $1 billion. Mao’s
granddaughter has been named to China’s rich list, with a fortune of
nearly £530 million.
During the reign of avowed Marxist, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela drowned in a
sea of corruption involving “some of the most senior figures in Mr.
Chávez’s “Bolivarian revolution,’” according to The Economist. The
country is ranked as the eighth most graft ridden country in the world.
Even places like Haiti and Zimbabwe rank higher.
Although Chavez is now dead, according to Venezuelan media sources his
daughter, María Gabriela Chávez, has bank accounts in the U.S. and
Andorra with assets totaling nearly $4.2 billion – making her the richest
individual in Venezuela.
And what about ordinary Venezuelans? In a New York Times report, Nicholas
Casey writes:
In the capital, water is so expensive and scarce that residents wait for
hours with bottles at the side of a mountain where it trickles out onto
the highway.
In the countryside, sugar cane fields rot, and milk factories stand idle,
even as people carry bags of money around to buy food on the black market
in every city and town…
Inflation is expected to hit 720 percent this year, the highest in the
world.
R.J. Rummel estimates that almost 170 million people were killed in the
20th century by their own governments. These are not deaths in war. They
are the victims of genocide by the government in the country where they
lived.
It is amazing how many of the people responsible for this carnage used
the exact same language Bernie Sanders is now using in coming to power.
They promised to redistribute wealth. And they did. A lot of it to
themselves.
Source: http://bit.ly/1TfiatF
--
Obama Nine Hours Before Paris Terror Attack: "We've Contained ISIS."
ISIS: "We've contained Obama."
"Never underestimate the willingness of white progressives to be offended
on behalf of people who aren’t and to impose their will on those who
didn’t ask for it." (Derek Hunter)
"No doubt Hillary would like to call [Paula] Jones a liar, but Bill paid
Jones $850,000 to settle her sexual harassment suit. Can you imagine the
fun Donald Trump, for one, would have with that? Plus, it was Bill
Clinton, not Paula Jones, who was found by the presiding federal judge to
have committed perjury."--John Hinderaker
If you have had the pleasure of visiting these lovely places you may have
noticed something really odd. Nobody there talks the way Bernie Sanders
talks.
Sanders frequently points to northern European countries, especially
Denmark, as examples of how he would like to remake the United States
economy – by which he mainly means higher taxes and more social services.
But the main difference between the tax systems of the US and Denmark is
not high taxes on the rich. It’s higher taxes on the middle class. (See
my previous post on this.)
By and large, people in Denmark do not demonize the rich. They don’t
think that successful people are the reason why average incomes aren’t
higher. Nor are they clamoring to confiscate the wealth of those at the
top of the income ladder.
Take inheritance taxes. The US has higher estate taxes than virtually any
country in Europe. According to the Tax Foundation, our top estate tax
rate is 40%. In the Netherlands it’s 20%. In Denmark it’s 15%. In Norway
and Sweden, there is no estate tax!
Here is Bernie Sanders on the campaign trail:
In the last 30 years in America there has been a massive redistribution
of wealth. The problem is it’s gone in the wrong direction. Trillions of
dollars go from the pockets of working families, trillions of dollars,
into the bank accounts of the top one tenth of one percent and brothers
and sisters, you and I together are gonna change the flow of that
revenue!
And although she is not nearly as bad, Sanders has managed to pull
Hillary Clinton in the direction of this same world view. For example,
she has repeatedly claimed that “the deck is stacked,” with “the wealthy
getting wealthier at the expense of hard-working families.”
This is what I call barnyard Marxism. It’s the view that all wealth is
theft. It’s the view that there is no essential difference between making
money in the marketplace and robbing a bank. It’s rhetoric designed to
divide. Sanders in particular employs the same kind of attacks on the
rich that anti-Semites use in attacking Jews, that white southern racists
used to use in attacking blacks, that nativists use to attack immigrants
and that demagogues all over the world use to find scapegoats for the
problems of ordinary people.
As Bret Stephens wrote in the Wall Street Journal, “The Vermont socialist
preaches class hatred to crowds besotted by the politics of envy.”
The coded message is: if you lost your job, if you wages have been
stagnant, if you have trouble making ends meet – it’s not your fault;
it’s the fault of the scapegoat.
It is also pure bunk.
Bill Gates is estimated to be the world’s richest man. J. K. Rowling is
estimated to be the world’s richest woman. Did either of these two ever
take money out of your pockets?
Gates got rich by providing the software that I am using at this very
moment as I create this editorial. It’s well worth what I had to pay for
it. Rowling got rich because people all over the world like to read Harry
Potter novels and enjoy watching Harry Potter movies. How could anyone
object to that?
If we look down the list of the 400 richest Americans, it is remarkable
that 69% are self-made. They started with virtually nothing and became
billionaires. How did they do it? Jeff Bezos founded Amazon. Sergey Brin
created Google with Larry Page. Mark Zuckerberg created Facebook.Phil
Knight created Nike. And so on.
Last time I looked, there is no gun pointing at any one’s head forcing
them to buy from Amazon. No one requires you to use Facebook or to wear
Nike sneakers. And no one has to use the Google search engine. All of
these people got rich by meeting our needs better than other people could
meet our needs.
Almost all American billionaires are philanthropists. At last count, 141
of them have pledged to give half their wealth away. Warren Buffett is
giving 95% away. Bill Gates is giving 99%. I’m sure it will be much
better spent than if it were in the hands of bureaucrats in Washington,
D.C.
Bernie Sanders hates the idea of competition and the profit motive. He
would like to remove the private sector entirely from the health care
system, for example. Social democrats in northern Europe have a different
view. One reason Denmark is so successful economically, despite its high
taxes, is that it freely endorses deregulation, privatization and letting
markets do what only they can do well – allocate resources.
There are, however, places in the world where the Sanders’ rhetoric
accurately describes reality. These are places where the people at the
top really have stolen everything they have from those at the bottom.
They are places where the luxurious lifestyle of those at the top really
is oppressing those below them.
Ironically the very worst examples are Marxist countries, where leaders
came to power using the very same rhetoric Bernie Sanders uses.
Fidel Castro’s former bodyguard Juan Reinaldo Sánchez says that the
communist leader “lived like a king” and “ran country like a cross
between medieval overlord and Louis XV.” While ordinary Cubans stood in
breadlines and suffered the effects of a declining economy, Castro had
his own private yacht and his own private island -- a luxury Caribbean
getaway, complete with dolphins and a turtle farm. In Havana, he lived in
an immense estate with a rooftop bowling alley, a basketball court and
fully equipped medical center.
While his fellow countrymen are starving to death, North Korean communist
leader Kim Jong-un has managed to slip by international sanctions and
import $2.09 billion in luxury goods from China between 2012 and 2014,
according to The New York Times. The items include Mercedes-Benz S-Class
cars and a luxury yacht worth as much as $6 million. More recently, he
imported the materials needed to construct a world class ski resort. As
far as I can tell, the only skier who will use it is Kim Jong-un himself.
According to Hong Kong-based historian, Frank Dikötter, Chinese communist
leader Mao Tse-tung was the greatest mass murderer in world history. “At
least 45 million people were worked, starved or beaten to death,” he
writes. “It was like [the Cambodian communist dictator] Pol Pot's
genocide multiplied 20 times over."
In a book written by Mao’sown personal physician, Dr. Li Zhisui writes:
Despite his populist pretensions, Mao lived like a traditional emperor
with all the material comforts that China could afford. His physical
needs were taken care of by attendants recruited from young, uneducated
peasants, who bathed and clothed him and combed his hair …. [He] indulged
in young women--sometimes more than one at the same time -- and … even
had a special bed made for his sexual activity…
The world’s second greatest mass murderer, Josef Stalin killed 20
million, many by forced starvation. Stalin himself had no fear of
starvation, however. Upon his death, he was worth an estimated $75
million.
On his death, Mao Tse-tung was worth an estimated $1 billion. Mao’s
granddaughter has been named to China’s rich list, with a fortune of
nearly £530 million.
During the reign of avowed Marxist, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela drowned in a
sea of corruption involving “some of the most senior figures in Mr.
Chávez’s “Bolivarian revolution,’” according to The Economist. The
country is ranked as the eighth most graft ridden country in the world.
Even places like Haiti and Zimbabwe rank higher.
Although Chavez is now dead, according to Venezuelan media sources his
daughter, María Gabriela Chávez, has bank accounts in the U.S. and
Andorra with assets totaling nearly $4.2 billion – making her the richest
individual in Venezuela.
And what about ordinary Venezuelans? In a New York Times report, Nicholas
Casey writes:
In the capital, water is so expensive and scarce that residents wait for
hours with bottles at the side of a mountain where it trickles out onto
the highway.
In the countryside, sugar cane fields rot, and milk factories stand idle,
even as people carry bags of money around to buy food on the black market
in every city and town…
Inflation is expected to hit 720 percent this year, the highest in the
world.
R.J. Rummel estimates that almost 170 million people were killed in the
20th century by their own governments. These are not deaths in war. They
are the victims of genocide by the government in the country where they
lived.
It is amazing how many of the people responsible for this carnage used
the exact same language Bernie Sanders is now using in coming to power.
They promised to redistribute wealth. And they did. A lot of it to
themselves.
Source: http://bit.ly/1TfiatF
--
Obama Nine Hours Before Paris Terror Attack: "We've Contained ISIS."
ISIS: "We've contained Obama."
"Never underestimate the willingness of white progressives to be offended
on behalf of people who aren’t and to impose their will on those who
didn’t ask for it." (Derek Hunter)
"No doubt Hillary would like to call [Paula] Jones a liar, but Bill paid
Jones $850,000 to settle her sexual harassment suit. Can you imagine the
fun Donald Trump, for one, would have with that? Plus, it was Bill
Clinton, not Paula Jones, who was found by the presiding federal judge to
have committed perjury."--John Hinderaker
Matt
Feb 13, 2016, 1:41:36 PM2/13/16
to
Joe Cooper <drag...@removeunseen.is> wrote in
news:XnsA5AD6A186C2...@213.239.209.88:
> When is the last time you were in Denmark? Or Norway? Or Sweden?
>
> If you have had the pleasure of visiting these lovely places you may
> have noticed something really odd. Nobody there talks the way Bernie
> Sanders talks.
Yah think?
Wow, that's because they don't speak ENGLISH there, moron.
This is your Republican party, folks.
Matt
news:XnsA5AD6A186C2...@213.239.209.88:
> When is the last time you were in Denmark? Or Norway? Or Sweden?
>
> If you have had the pleasure of visiting these lovely places you may
> have noticed something really odd. Nobody there talks the way Bernie
> Sanders talks.
Wow, that's because they don't speak ENGLISH there, moron.
This is your Republican party, folks.
Matt
Governor Swill
Feb 13, 2016, 6:53:35 PM2/13/16
to
On Sat, 13 Feb 2016 18:22:57 -0000 (UTC), Joe Cooper
<drag...@removeunseen.is> wrote:
>One reason Denmark is so successful economically, despite its high
>taxes, is that it freely endorses deregulation, privatization and letting
>markets do what only they can do well – allocate resources.
You're going to have a tough time selling that to rank and file blue
<drag...@removeunseen.is> wrote:
>One reason Denmark is so successful economically, despite its high
>taxes, is that it freely endorses deregulation, privatization and letting
>markets do what only they can do well – allocate resources.
collar Republicans.
Swill
--
Hillary can't campaign. In 2008, she lost to a black guy
with a muslim name. Now she's losing to a 74 year old
Jewish Socialist. Hillary, we're making this as easy as
we can, but you have to help a little - Bill Mahr
Siri Cruz
Feb 13, 2016, 8:45:46 PM2/13/16
to
In article <XnsA5AD6A186C2...@213.239.209.88>,
Joe Cooper <drag...@removeunseen.is> wrote:
Okay, he's a marxist. Now what? Do we still burn marxists at the stake? I say,
BURN THE COMMIE!!
--
:-<> Siri Seal of Disavowal #000-001. Disavowed. Denied. Deleted.
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
God exists since mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists since we
cannot prove the consistency. ~~ Morris Kline
Joe Cooper <drag...@removeunseen.is> wrote:
Okay, he's a marxist. Now what? Do we still burn marxists at the stake? I say,
BURN THE COMMIE!!
--
:-<> Siri Seal of Disavowal #000-001. Disavowed. Denied. Deleted.
'I desire mercy, not sacrifice.'
God exists since mathematics is consistent, and the devil exists since we
cannot prove the consistency. ~~ Morris Kline
plainolamerican
Feb 16, 2016, 3:43:31 PM2/16/16
to
On Saturday, February 13, 2016 at 12:25:53 PM UTC-6, Joe Cooper wrote:
> When is the last time you were in Denmark? Or Norway? Or Sweden?
>
> If you have had the pleasure of visiting these lovely places you may have
> noticed something really odd. Nobody there talks the way Bernie Sanders
> talks.
>
> Sanders frequently points to northern European countries, especially
> Denmark, as examples of how he would like to remake the United States
> economy - by which he mainly means higher taxes and more social services.
> When is the last time you were in Denmark? Or Norway? Or Sweden?
>
> If you have had the pleasure of visiting these lovely places you may have
> noticed something really odd. Nobody there talks the way Bernie Sanders
> talks.
>
> Sanders frequently points to northern European countries, especially
> Denmark, as examples of how he would like to remake the United States
> in young women--sometimes more than one at the same time -- and ... even
> had a special bed made for his sexual activity...
>
> The world's second greatest mass murderer, Josef Stalin killed 20
> million, many by forced starvation. Stalin himself had no fear of
> starvation, however. Upon his death, he was worth an estimated $75
> million.
>
> On his death, Mao Tse-tung was worth an estimated $1 billion. Mao's
> granddaughter has been named to China's rich list, with a fortune of
> nearly £530 million.
>
> During the reign of avowed Marxist, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela drowned in a
> sea of corruption involving "some of the most senior figures in Mr.
> Chávez's "Bolivarian revolution,'" according to The Economist. The
> country is ranked as the eighth most graft ridden country in the world.
> Even places like Haiti and Zimbabwe rank higher.
>
> Although Chavez is now dead, according to Venezuelan media sources his
> daughter, María Gabriela Chávez, has bank accounts in the U.S. and
> Andorra with assets totaling nearly $4.2 billion - making her the richest
> The world's second greatest mass murderer, Josef Stalin killed 20
> million, many by forced starvation. Stalin himself had no fear of
> starvation, however. Upon his death, he was worth an estimated $75
> million.
>
> On his death, Mao Tse-tung was worth an estimated $1 billion. Mao's
> granddaughter has been named to China's rich list, with a fortune of
> nearly £530 million.
>
> During the reign of avowed Marxist, Hugo Chavez, Venezuela drowned in a
> sea of corruption involving "some of the most senior figures in Mr.
> Chávez's "Bolivarian revolution,'" according to The Economist. The
> country is ranked as the eighth most graft ridden country in the world.
> Even places like Haiti and Zimbabwe rank higher.
>
> Although Chavez is now dead, according to Venezuelan media sources his
> daughter, María Gabriela Chávez, has bank accounts in the U.S. and
> individual in Venezuela.
>
> And what about ordinary Venezuelans? In a New York Times report, Nicholas
> Casey writes:
>
> In the capital, water is so expensive and scarce that residents wait for
> hours with bottles at the side of a mountain where it trickles out onto
> the highway.
>
> In the countryside, sugar cane fields rot, and milk factories stand idle,
> even as people carry bags of money around to buy food on the black market
> in every city and town...
>
> And what about ordinary Venezuelans? In a New York Times report, Nicholas
> Casey writes:
>
> In the capital, water is so expensive and scarce that residents wait for
> hours with bottles at the side of a mountain where it trickles out onto
> the highway.
>
> In the countryside, sugar cane fields rot, and milk factories stand idle,
> even as people carry bags of money around to buy food on the black market
>
> Inflation is expected to hit 720 percent this year, the highest in the
> world.
>
> R.J. Rummel estimates that almost 170 million people were killed in the
> 20th century by their own governments. These are not deaths in war. They
> are the victims of genocide by the government in the country where they
> lived.
>
> It is amazing how many of the people responsible for this carnage used
> the exact same language Bernie Sanders is now using in coming to power.
> They promised to redistribute wealth. And they did. A lot of it to
> themselves.
>
> Source: http://bit.ly/1TfiatF
>
> --
> Obama Nine Hours Before Paris Terror Attack: "We've Contained ISIS."
> ISIS: "We've contained Obama."
>
> "Never underestimate the willingness of white progressives to be offended
> on behalf of people who aren't and to impose their will on those who
> didn't ask for it." (Derek Hunter)
>
> "No doubt Hillary would like to call [Paula] Jones a liar, but Bill paid
> Jones $850,000 to settle her sexual harassment suit. Can you imagine the
> fun Donald Trump, for one, would have with that? Plus, it was Bill
> Clinton, not Paula Jones, who was found by the presiding federal judge to
> have committed perjury."--John Hinderaker
Bernie Sanders is Not a Social Democrat; He's a Marxist
> Inflation is expected to hit 720 percent this year, the highest in the
> world.
>
> R.J. Rummel estimates that almost 170 million people were killed in the
> 20th century by their own governments. These are not deaths in war. They
> are the victims of genocide by the government in the country where they
> lived.
>
> It is amazing how many of the people responsible for this carnage used
> the exact same language Bernie Sanders is now using in coming to power.
> They promised to redistribute wealth. And they did. A lot of it to
> themselves.
>
> Source: http://bit.ly/1TfiatF
>
> --
> Obama Nine Hours Before Paris Terror Attack: "We've Contained ISIS."
> ISIS: "We've contained Obama."
>
> "Never underestimate the willingness of white progressives to be offended
> on behalf of people who aren't and to impose their will on those who
> didn't ask for it." (Derek Hunter)
>
> "No doubt Hillary would like to call [Paula] Jones a liar, but Bill paid
> Jones $850,000 to settle her sexual harassment suit. Can you imagine the
> fun Donald Trump, for one, would have with that? Plus, it was Bill
> Clinton, not Paula Jones, who was found by the presiding federal judge to
> have committed perjury."--John Hinderaker
---
possibly ... but for certain he's a zionist jew who will sacrifice American interests for israel.
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