The Real Cost of Socialism

Originally published by RealClearPolitics

Under President Trump, America has maintained the lowest unemployment rate in nearly 50 years, there are more jobs opportunities than there are people to fill them, wages are steadily rising, and American optimism has returned. Not to mention, he is bringing jobs back to America, ensuring free and fair trade by holding countries like China accountable for predatory practices, and renewing American strength with tough negotiating tactics and the promise to put America first.

According to Democrats, America is worse off than it has ever been. While President Trump does right by the American people in his pursuit of economic prosperity, immigration reform, affordable education  and so on, Democrats continue to run further left maintaining a “world is burning” ideology. Their proposed solution? Socialism.

Pro-growth, pro-jobs, and pro-American policies don’t work for Democrats. Instead, they aim to manipulate voters under the guise of progress with proposals like “Medicare for All, the Green New Deal, and free higher education without ever addressing the real cost beyond dollars and cents.

No one is going to argue that people should have access to education and health care, but when all of these institutions become government run, do you trust your government to make decisions for you?

Capitalism and the free-market system have allowed for a better life for all Americans with wage increases, better job opportunities, and record low unemployment, yet the embrace of socialism by leftist politicians and many in the media only continues to amplify.

Take the Green New Deal, a proposal backed by many on the left promising government-run health care, guaranteed jobs, and green housing. What they don’t tell you is that the implementation of the Green New Deal could cost as much as $93 trillion; that’s over $650,000 for the average household. To put these astronomical numbers in perspective, the deal would cost our government more in 10 years than it has spent in our nation’s history.

The transition to a low-carbon power grid under the Green New Deal would increase electricity costs by 22%. Its health care proposal would cost $260,000 per household.

Accepting and implementing socialist proposals like these would welcome the heavy hand of government into every American’s life and into every American’s wallet. The reality of the proposal is that America’s energy industry would be destroyed, our economy would be depleted, and jobs would be lost.

But Democrats’ quest for utopia does not stop there. Medicare for All is another proposal that many Democrats have voiced support for. It would eliminate any private insurance option, forcing over 150 million Americans onto a government run plan. The proposal allots a two-year time frame for this transformation in our health care system. Americans would shoulder the cost of this $32 trillion plan, which would lead to a $17,000 decrease in household income annually after taxes and health care costs. Democrats even acknowledge that Medicare for All would eliminate American jobs, forcing people into unemployment.

President Trump, however, understands that people should be in charge of their health care. A government-run system would decrease services and eliminate options. President Trump envisions health care reform as a fight to provide quality, affordable care to Americans while protecting those with pre-existing conditions.

He’s already taken many steps to get there; he’s lowered the cost of prescription drugs for the first time in 46 years, eliminated the individual mandate, expanded more affordable health insurance options for middle-class Americans and small businesses, and he’s vowed to ensure Americans get the best quality of care.

Socialism is not a representation of progress; rather it is creeping government takeover. Socialism is not about equal opportunity and lifting Americans out of poverty, it is about the liberal elites in Washington having the power to oversee everything from our methods of transportation and energy to our education and access to health care.

President Trump understands how to cultivate an economy that creates opportunities for prosperity for Americans from all walks of life through pro-growth, pro-jobs policies in a free-market capitalist society.  A massive government takeover would destroy these opportunities and eliminate American freedoms. So let me ask you once more: Do you trust your government to make these decisions for you?

-Cora Mandy is a spokeswoman for America First Action, an organization in support of the Trump administration.