The False Promise of Democratic Socialism
The promise of democratic socialism is a free and easy life; the reality is a painful one. That promise is based on the false narrative that democratic socialist governments reduce income inequality by raising the living standards of people at the lower end of the scale, at no cost to them; all costs are covered by increased taxes levied on the super wealthy, people who are deemed to have “more money than they need”.
But the reality is that there are never enough wealthy people to cover the costs of “free” healthcare, “free” college, or any other national give-away program. (It Is Arithmetically Impossible to Fund The Progessive Agenda by Taxing the Rich) Consequently, income inequality is reduced by raising taxes across the board, thereby making everyone poorer.
Yet another reality of democratic socialism is that income inequality typically isn’t reduced, wealth is simply shifted from those who earned financial success to those who gained political power. In these instances, the bureaucrat class becomes the dictator of income distribution while those who were the primary targets of increased taxation strive to relocate to a country with less burdensome taxation, or achieve the political power needed to reduce their tax burden.
In countries that have successfully reduced income inequality through the use of taxation to redistribute wealth, the robbing from the rich and giving to the poor paradigm has proven unsustainable. According to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, Sweden, often hailed as a paragon of democratic socialism, “still belongs to the group of most equal OECD countries, despite a rapid surge of income inequality since the early 1990s.”
Democratic Socialists also hail Denmark as a shining example of “tax the rich, feed the poor”. Yet, Denmark in fact taxes the poor to feed the poor. According to an article published by the Acton Institute, “The government confiscates more than half of virtually all incomes. Low-income Danes pay an effective marginal tax rate of 56 percent; the middle class pay 57 percent.” That’s in addition to a 25% Value Added Tax that is collected on every item sold, and an 8100 krone ( $1,200) per year) ownership tax on pickup trucks.
Like traditional socialism, democratic socialism is akin to a monarchy in that a group of elites (the king and his court) determine how wealth is redistributed, if at all. Burdensome taxation is the most commonly used mechanism in spite of the fact that it has been conclusively proven that you can’t make a poor man rich by making a rich man poor. As history demonstrates, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether monarchs or elected officials are confiscating their money, citizens revolt, either through violence, legislation, relocation or deception.
But the reality is that there are never enough wealthy people to cover the costs of “free” healthcare, “free” college, or any other national give-away program. (It Is Arithmetically Impossible to Fund The Progessive Agenda by Taxing the Rich) Consequently, income inequality is reduced by raising taxes across the board, thereby making everyone poorer.
Yet another reality of democratic socialism is that income inequality typically isn’t reduced, wealth is simply shifted from those who earned financial success to those who gained political power. In these instances, the bureaucrat class becomes the dictator of income distribution while those who were the primary targets of increased taxation strive to relocate to a country with less burdensome taxation, or achieve the political power needed to reduce their tax burden.
In countries that have successfully reduced income inequality through the use of taxation to redistribute wealth, the robbing from the rich and giving to the poor paradigm has proven unsustainable. According to an Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) report, Sweden, often hailed as a paragon of democratic socialism, “still belongs to the group of most equal OECD countries, despite a rapid surge of income inequality since the early 1990s.”
Democratic Socialists also hail Denmark as a shining example of “tax the rich, feed the poor”. Yet, Denmark in fact taxes the poor to feed the poor. According to an article published by the Acton Institute, “The government confiscates more than half of virtually all incomes. Low-income Danes pay an effective marginal tax rate of 56 percent; the middle class pay 57 percent.” That’s in addition to a 25% Value Added Tax that is collected on every item sold, and an 8100 krone ( $1,200) per year) ownership tax on pickup trucks.
Like traditional socialism, democratic socialism is akin to a monarchy in that a group of elites (the king and his court) determine how wealth is redistributed, if at all. Burdensome taxation is the most commonly used mechanism in spite of the fact that it has been conclusively proven that you can’t make a poor man rich by making a rich man poor. As history demonstrates, ultimately, it doesn’t matter whether monarchs or elected officials are confiscating their money, citizens revolt, either through violence, legislation, relocation or deception.
70-79, M
