New York Daily News | United, Cuba and the virtues of socialism New York Daily News In January 2016, I arrived at Kennedy Airport early in the morning, still sleepy and also a bit anxious. Anxiety, the pleasant sort, always hit me as I prepared to make my way to the land that sits musically in my soul, the island of Cuba. I walked ... |
See more here:
United, Cuba and the virtues of socialism - New York Daily News
Socialism.
There is nothing more feared and hated in America.
The word alone sends shivers down the spine of the American people.
Those three syllables conger up images of Big Brother Government ruling over us all, telling us what to eat, wear, buy, and think. Our children in national uniform being indoctrinated with propaganda in government education camps that use to be schools, turning them into little slaves. While their parents work twelve hour shifts in the concentration camp that slaughters rich successful billionaires, as the poor and needy get a million dollars a month in welfare. A murderous government waging a war against freedom and liberty to gain complete control over everyone and everything.
You know, the way things were under that socialist Bill Clinton. And the way things are now under that socialist Barack Obama.
They imagine the USSR and how Democrats are turning America into it because our government will give money to poor people so they don't starve to death. (Giving money to billion dollar corporations is NOT socialism somehow. You would be a communist and a hippie to think otherwise.)
This is scary stuff!
And it's about to get scarier, because I have some terrifying news for you....
Socialism is alive and well in America and it has been here for a very long time!
Oh, that's not all. it gets much worse! I hope your sitting down...
As it turns out, You love socialism and you use it everyday, and you may not even know it! It may have even saved your life. I know, this is bad...
Now relax and breath. It's going to be okay! We are going to get through this.
You see, we are still a capitalist nation. In America, you can still make a billion dollars, get a giant tax cut, and pay your employees barely enough to survive while you sail in your yacht to escape any guilt that might inconvenience you. So don't freak out just yet!
The thing is, socialism is all over America and people actually like it. Even you... Yes you!
I know, I know. You're a conservative that believes in freedom and the constitution. You hate handouts and believe in hard work and the individual. You think government should get out of the way and let you live your lives and allow you to prosper on your own. You know that all rich people must have worked hard and all poor people are lazy. There is no other reason why they could be poor considering life is completely fair and all people are born into situations and environments that allow them to have all the opportunities and blessings that you had. There is no fathomable way they could have 2 or 3 jobs they work very hard at but still can't make ends meet. You got it all figured out.
But still, even you get your kicks from a little socialism every now and then.
Don't think of this as an intervention, think of it as a coming out of the closet party. We know you are a closet socialist. It's okay, you are amongst friends and we support you. Besides, we always knew...
Socialism is taxpayer funds being used collectively to benefit society as a whole, despite income, contribution, or ability.
Sounds horrible, huh?
Well I hate to be the one to tell you, but Socialism, which you have been told to fear all your life, is responsible for all this...
1. The Military/Defense - The United States military is the largest and most funded socialist program in the world. It operates thanks to our taxpayer dollars and protects the country as a whole. From the richest citizens to the homeless who sleep under the bridge. We are all protected by our military whether we pay taxes or not. This is complete socialism.
2. Highways/Roads - Those roads and highways you drive on every single day are completely taxpayer funded. Your tax dollars are used to maintain, expand, and preserve our highways and roads for every one's use. President Eisenhower was inspired by Germany's autobahn and implemented the idea right here in America. That's right, a republican president created our taxpayer funded, national highway system. This was a different time, before the republican party came down with a vicious case of rabies that never went away.
3. Public Libraries - Yes. That place where you go to check out books from conservative authors telling you how horrible socialism is, is in fact socialism. Libraries are taxpayer funded. You pay a few bucks to get a library card and you can read books for free for the rest of your life.
4. Police - Ever had a situation where you had to call the police? Then you have used a taxpayer funded socialist program. Anyone can call the police whether they pay taxes or not. They are there to protect and serve the community, not individuals. This is complete socialism on a state level, but still socialism all the same. Would you rather have to swipe your credit card before the police will help you?
5. Fire Dept. - Hopefully you have never had a fire in your home. But if you have, you probably called your local taxpayer-funded fire department to put the fire out. Like police, this is state socialism. You tax dollars are used to rescue your entire community in case of a fire. It use to be set up where you would pay a fee every month to the fire dept. for their service. If you didn't pay, they let your house burn down. Sadly, a man from Tennessee had this exact situation happen to him in 2011 because he didn't pay his $75.00 fee. I guess that small town in Tennessee would rather let people's houses burn down that resort to evil socialism. So don't take for granted the fact that you have a 24/7 fire dept. to put out your burning home thanks to socialism.
6. Postal Service - Like having mail delivered directly to your front door and paying next to nothing to send mail anywhere you want? Well it's all made possible by socialism.
7. Student Loans and Grants - Did you go to College? If you did, you family might not have been rich enough to pay your way through. So you got your education anyway through student loans and grants from the federal government at taxpayer expense. Of course you have to pay back the loans, but if not the government, did you know anyone else who was going to lend you tens of thousands of dollars? Probably not. So the taxpayers lent you the money and you paid it back with slight interest. The government grants you accepted were gifts from the taxpayer and the federal government that you did not have to pay back. Socialism got you through school.
8. Bridges - Along with our highways, our government used your taxpayer dollars to build bridges. This allows the public to travel across rivers without having to sail or swim.
9. Garbage Collection - Like having your garbage collected once a week instead of having to drive it to the landfill yourself? Thank socialism.
10. Public Landfills - Taxpayer dollars are used to have places to dump all of our garbage that is collected by taxpayer funded garbage men.
11. War - That's right! War would not be possible without socialism. Your tax dollars are used to fight wars for your country. This is Big Government at it's biggest. Private companies don't attack other countries, at least not yet. Government is the only entity in America that can defend us from foreign enemies and our tax dollars are used for every second of it. Socialism has brought down Adolf Hitler, Saddam Hussein, and Bin Laden. War may very well be the most socialist thing on this list.
12. Farm Subsidies - Our government uses taxpayer funds to pay farmers and businesses to provide their income and keep them growing food for the public.
13. CIA - The Central Intelligence Agency is vital to America's security. The CIA is completely taxpayer funded to protect the public from enemies.
14. FBI - The Federal bureau of investigations is a taxpayer funded government agency.
15. Congressional Health Care - As Republicans in congress warn us of the evils of government-run health care, most of them are covered by taxpayer-funded government-run health care. You literally pay for their health care while they tell you that paying for your neighbors health care through a public option or single-payer system is socialism. They are 100% correct, it is socialism. They're just not telling you that they like their socialist health care, they just don't think you should have it. They are afraid you might like it better than the private insurance you have now that funds their campaigns and gives them money to push what is best for them and not for you. Members of congress are free to opt out of their evil government health care, but most of them don't because deep down, they like socialism too.
16. Polio Vaccine - In the 1950's polio ravaged the United States. Until Dr. Jonas Salk invented a cure, finally ridding America of this terrible disease. Dr. Salk could have sold his vaccine in the free market and made millions and millions of dollars. Instead he gave it to the federal government to begin eradicating polio. He said that he made plenty of money as a scientist and felt it was too important to try and profit from or create a business around.
17. EPA - Republicans hate this taxpayer-funded government program because they have the nerve to tell corporations that they may have to follow environmental rules ad regulations for the greater good of the earth and the people who live on it. But if you don't like breathing mercury, drinking dirty water, and breathing in chemicals, you should like this example of socialism working for the people.
18. Social Security - You pay a tax to help ensure that our grandparents and senior citizens of America have money to live off of when they are retired or too elderly to work. I love hearing rich people bitch about this one because the truth is that they do not pay a social security tax, like most payroll taxes. This little piece of socialism helps prevent our senior citizens from sinking into poverty and starving to death.
19. Museums - Many museums are privately owned by organizations and groups, but many are also taxpayer-funded state, national, and federal museums.
20. Public Schools - Can't afford to send your children to an expensive private school? Thanks to socialism and government, you child can still get an education. Public education has been under attack for decades in this country by the radical right because public schools don't teach Christianity to your children and it enables people like Barack Obama to work hard, gain scholarships, and eventually become President of the United States.
21. Jail/Prison System - Many murders and criminals are behind bars right now and not out on the streets because of our taxpayer-funded, federal and state run jails and prisons. Taxpayer money is collected and used to help protect all of society from murders, molesters, rapist, etc. I know there's a lot of disagreement and controversy about how to handle our prison system, but I think we can all agree that serial killers should not be freed into society. There are also many private prisons in the United States. However, they have a higher escape rate than their socialist counterpart. Besides, don't you see the bad incentives in having a private prison system that profits from having people in prison? Since a business's top goal is to make more money than the year before, the only feasible agenda would be to get everyone in prison.
22. Corporate/Business Subsidies - This is the type of socialism that is acceptable in the Republican party. You tax dollars are given to big corporations to do things they should be doing anyway out of morals and ethics. Like not sending jobs overseas and hiring people. Wouldn't you like a nice big check just for not breaking the law? To be fair though, many businesses do earn their subsidies by advancing green technology and practice, donating to charity, helping communities, etc. They aren't all bad. People just get mad when big billionaire oil companies get billions of their taxpayer dollars while they're paying $4 at the pump. For the corporations that don't earn their subsidies other than donating to their very own political party, it's merely welfare. Though however you look at it, it is socialism.
23. Veteran's (VA) Health Care - Our soldiers bravely go to foreign countries and risk their lives at the request of their government and the American people. For those who survive, we as a country feel committed and obligated to ensure that they have everything they need for the rest of their lives for their service to us in which we could never fully repay. So we the taxpayers fund their health care in a government-run single-payer system for veterans. Many soldiers return with mental and/or physical health issues that would cost them thousands in a private health care plan. Socialism funds the military, the overall war, and also takes care of our troops when they return home.
24. Public Parks - Like going to the park on a sunny day? Just being able to walk right in, or at the worse pay a small fee? This is once again the work of socialism. If it were private, it wouldn't be a park, it would be someones back yard. That small or non-existent fee will turn into a $15 fee faster than you can say "No Trespassing".
25. All Elected Government Officials - From the Supreme Court, to the President of the United States and all the way down to the County Dog Catcher, taxpayers pay their salary and provide the funding for them to do their job. We pay for every aspect of their job. So in a sense, I guess you could say our whole country is run on socialism.
26.Food Stamps - Republicans fill with bitter contempt knowing that our government at the expense of the taxpayer is giving poor people money to buy food they couldn't otherwise afford. This, like welfare, is what the right thinks socialism is all about, along with mass murder. However, just like corporate welfare, welfare is socialism. I'll just end this one with a quick story. I have been down and out in periods of my life and sought assistance via food stamps. Even though I was what anyone would consider poor, I was not poor enough to get food stamps. Which means people who do get them, must really, really need them. As far as my personal experience, they weren't thrown around like candy the way the right would have you believe.
27. Sewer System - Do you like having a sewer system to remove waste and prevent pollution and disease from seeping into our environment? Thank the taxpayers of America and the socialist system it operates in.
28. Medicare - Medicare is one of the most liked socialist programs in America. Most of us don't mind paying taxes to provide our senior citizens with health care and hope the next generation will do the same for us. If you don't believe me, just look at almost any poll. Most seniors would not be able to afford private health care. So this form of socialism is a life saver for this nation's grandparents and senior citizens.
29. Court System - Whether it's the murder trial of the century or a case in a small claims court, the taxpayers of America fully fund our courts and legal process. You may pay for your own lawyer, but the courtroom, judge, and jury is paid for through socialist means.
30. Bird Flu Vaccine - You don't have bird flu right now and probably aren't worried about it because our federal government used taxpayer funds to pump vaccines all over America.
31. G.I. Bill - The G.I. bill allows veterans to pursue an education by using taxpayer dollars to help them pay for most of their schooling. It also helps them with loans, savings, and unemployment benefits.
32. Hoover Dam - Remember when our country use to build things? Our government built the Hoover Dam using taxpayer funds. It is now a vital source of power for the west coast.
33. State/City Zoos - American families have been going to the zoo for generations. A place where kids and adults can have fun seeing creatures and animals from all over the world and learn at the same time. Many zoos are ran by the state and/or city, using taxpayer funds to operate and even bring the animals to the zoo.
34. IRS - I know, the IRS is about as popular and well liked in America as a hemorrhoid, but think about it. The IRS is the reason that we have anything. The IRS collects taxpayer funds for the federal government. The government then dispenses these funds to our military, states, and social programs. If there is no one collecting taxes, no one will pay them. If no one pays taxes, our country shuts down. Without money to operate, nothing operates. This may sound like a good thing to some radical republicans, but for those of us with sense, we know this means anarchy in the USA. The IRS gets a bad rap because if you don't pay your taxes or owe them money, they can be ruthless. Like everything else, the IRS is not perfect, but without them we literally have no country or no means to run it.
35. Free Lunch Program - Some children are living in poverty by no fault of their own. I'm not saying it is even their parents fault, but you surely cannot blame a child for the situation they are born into. In most if not all states, there are programs where children who live in poor households can receive school lunch for free. The taxpayers of the state pay for this. Sounds like socialism to me, and also the moral and Christian thing to do.
36. The Pentagon - Our defense system in America is a socialist system from top to bottom. We as taxpayers fund the pentagon completely.
37. Medicaid - Our government uses taxpayer funds to provide health care for low-income people. Republicans, the compassionate Christians that they are, absolutely hate this program. What they fail to understand is that when people can't afford to pay their outrageous medical bills, they don't. This bill does not disappear. The loss that the insurance company, doctor's office, or hospital takes gets passed down to everyone else. So covering people and giving them a low-income option reduces costs for them and everyone else. This is the main argument behind a health care mandate. It's not to force you to buy health care out of cruelty. If everyone is covered, costs drop for everyone. If you have no compassion for the uninsured, you can at least understand the rational in a selfish sense.
38. FDA - The Food and Drug Administration is far from perfect. It is infested with corporate corruption and they have been wrong many, many times. Countless times they have approved things that they later have to apologize for and have banned things that would have helped people. However, they have also stopped many harmful foods and products from being sold to the public and protect us everyday from poisons being disguised as products. While not perfect, they are needed to prevent harmful food and drugs from being sold to you and you family. Without them, corporations can send whatever they want to your supermarkets and drug stores without any testing or evaluation. I don't mind my taxes going towards a middle man to inspect the safety of the products we are being sold everyday.
39. Health Care for 9/11 Rescue Workers - After beating back GOP obstruction, Democrats finally passed a bill last year to allow government to help 9/11 rescue worker's with their health care after many came down with horrible lung diseases from the toxins they breathed in rescuing people from smoldering buildings. These brave citizens risked their lives and health to help complete strangers. They deserve more, but covering their health care is a good start.
40. Swine Flu Vaccine - Do you have swine flu right now? Then thank government and the socialist structure.
41. Disability Insurance (SSDI) - For those who are disabled and cannot work, our government provides an income for them via taxpayer dollars as opposed to the other option of letting them starve to death.
42. Town/State Run Beaches - Like going to the beach? Like it when the beach is clean and safe? Like having lifeguards on staff in case of an emergency? Then once again, thank the taxpayers and the socialist structure that makes it all possible.
43. Corporate Bailouts/Welfare - The whole point of this post is to prove that we ALL use, benefit from, and like socialism. This example is a form of socialism that the republicans not only like, but fight tooth and nail for. They don't like it when socialism is used for working/poor people, but when it's for millionaires and their corporate donors, socialism becomes as American as apple pie. The middle/working class who are the majority of taxpayers pay for welfare for corporations and people who have more money than all of us combined. When our government bails out a bank or gives a subsidy to a billion dollar corporation, you are paying for it.
44. State Construction - Ever see those construction workers in your town fixing potholes, erecting buildings, repaving highways and roads, and fixing things all over town? They themselves and the work they do is taxpayer-funded state socialism.
45. Unemployment Insurance - All your working life, you pay payroll taxes. Some of these taxes go toward a program that temporarily provides for people who lost their jobs until they can find another one. You pay for others, others pay for you. Especially these days, you never know when you might lose your job. You may need temporary assistance until you get back on your feet. The government recognizes this. UI also keeps the economy moving in times of recession because people still have some money in their pockets to buy goods and promote demand.
47. WIC - WIC is a federally funded program to assist women, infants, and children. WIC helps low-income families by providing funding for nutrition, education, and health care for children.
48. State Snow Removal - Even though sometimes it may take them longer than you like to get to your street, do you like having snow plow service to clear our roads and highways in the winter? This is a state socialist taxpayer-funded service.
49. PBS (Public Broadcasting Service) - PBS operates on donations and government funding. The provide non-partisan news and information to the public. They are the home of Sesame Street, Masterpiece Theater, and The Antiques Roadshow. Surveys show that they are literally the most trusted name in news. I wonder how Fox feels about that?
50. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) - The CDC helps promote and enact the health and safety of the public along with helping to prevent and control illness and disease. The CDC is a government program that operates on taxpayer funding.
51. Welfare - Is there anything the republicans hate more? Of course I'm talking about the welfare that goes to poor people. Corporate welfare is not only accepted in the republican Kabul, but it's mandatory that we give our tax dollars to billionaires and not question the logic of it. Though if you look at it realistically and not through the red scare glasses in which the right sees the world, welfare helps the economy. As I've said many times, when poor people have money in their pocket, they buy things made and sold by companies. This creates a demand. To keep up with demand, businesses must hire to keep up. If you yanked everyone who is on welfare off of it tomorrow, the economy would take a blow and lose jobs due to the down tick in consumer demand because we just took what little money they had away.
52. Public Street Lighting - Like being able to see at night when you walk or drive? Thank Socialism.
53. FEMA - If Disaster strikes, FEMA is there to help pick up the pieces. As a part of homeland security and an agency of the federal government, they use taxpayer dollars to help cities, states, and towns recover and rebuild. I don't know to many private companies that could assist in disaster relief and ask nothing in return. Thank God for socialism.
54. Public Defenders - Ever been in trouble and couldn't afford a lawyer? Well the taxpayers and the government make sure you still get representation.
55. S-CHIP (State Children's Health Insurance Program) - S-CHIP is a program that matches funds to states for health insurance for children in families that cannot afford insurance but make too much to qualify for Medicaid. Your tax dollars go towards covering uninsured children, is that so wrong?
56. Amtrak - Amtrak transports tens of millions of passengers a year in 46 states and three Canadian Providences. It is owned by the federal government and your tax dollars are used to fund it. All aboard!!
57. NPR - National Public Radio operates on private and federal funding along with public donations. NPR has been one of the most trusted news sources in America for over 40 years.
58. The Department of Homeland Security - Created after the terrorist attacks on 9/11, this heavily federally funded department of the U.S. government helps protect us from future terrorist attacks. This is the third largest department within the United States government.
59. OSHA - Do you have a safe and healthy workplace that provides training, outreach, education, and assistance? Thank OSHA! Brought to you by the taxpayers of America and socialism.
60. State and National Monuments - The Lincoln Memorial. Mount Rushmore. The D.C. National Mall. All brought to you and maintained with your tax dollars. Socialism is patriotic?
61. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) - The USDA enforces regulations on the farming, agriculture, and food industries to ensure food safety, natural resources, and hunger worldwide and in the United States. Your tax dollars are used to help keep what you are eating safe and even feed those who are not eating.
62. Government Scholarships - if you work hard in school and show true potential, our government will give you a scholarship towards college so you can advance your education. Your tax dollars have been used to send future doctors, lawyers, scientists, and even presidents of the United States to college.
64. Census Bureau - Every ten years, our government collects data about our people and economy, to better serve and represent us. From the forms that are sent to your home for you to fill out and send back in and to the census worker who shows up and kindly asks you to fill out the form if you don't send it in, all taxpayer funded socialism. The information collected is used to better understand the economic situation and population in your area. Not to enslave you in a FEMA camp.
65. Department of Energy - This taxpayer funded cabinet of the federal government oversees nuclear weapons, nuclear reactors, energy conservation, radioactive waste disposal, and energy production. To those of you who care about our environment and would rather not witness a nuclear holocaust might consider this money well spent.
66. Customs and Border Protection - the CBP is the largest law enforcement agency in America. This is big government that republicans actually do like because they don't like Mexicans immigrating to our country like our ancestors did. However, this taxpayer funded, socialist agency of the federal government regulates trade, imports, and immigration.
67. Department of Education - This cabinet of the federal government is actually the smallest. They administer and oversee federal assistance to education. They also collect data and enforce federal laws and regulations involving education. Even though the right thinks that this department is indoctrinating your children, they actually have no control over curriculum or standards.
68. Secret Service - Your tax dollars are used to provide highly-trained, skilled professional bodyguards to protect the President of the United States.
69. Peace Corps - The Peace Corps is a volunteer program run by the government that helps people outside of the US to understand our culture as well as helping us learn about other cultures. However they are more well known for their work with economic and social development in less-fortunate countries. Sounds very Christian for being a socialist program, huh?
70. Department of Justice - The DOJ is responsible for enforcing the law. Socialism keeps our civilization intact.
71. National Weather Service - Like knowing when a storm, tornado, earthquake, or snow is coming? Socialism makes this possible and available to everyone.
72. The White House - Our taxpayer dollars through a socialist means pays for the house that the president and his family live in during a presidents time in office.
73. Government - Like it or not, our country would not be a country without a government. Every single day, government on state and local levels serve us in ways we simply take for granted. Government as an entity operates and functions on our tax dollars through a socialist structured funding system. From the military down to the county dog catcher, socialism turns the wheels that make our society function.
74. Law - Laws and rules make our democracy possible. Remove these laws and you have sheer anarchy. Laws do not appear out of thin air. To have law, you need a government. You need elected lawmakers to make the laws and a government to implement and enforce them. Socialism is responsible for every law in this country. Without our government and lawmakers which exist thanks to socialism, there would be no laws. So the laws themselves, are enforced and implemented thanks to socialism.
75. Civilization - As an American citizen, you enjoy freedoms that many in other countries do not. Like anything else in this world, our government is not perfect, but you should be thankful everyday that your country has a government that feels an obligation to serve the people and protect their rights and freedoms. This is completely possible because of government, taxes, and socialism. Do you think the private sector would do a better job of governing our country? Do you think corporations would enact laws to help protect and serve you and your family or them and their profits? The reason you can read this blog and the reason I can write it whether you agree with it or not is because of the freedoms we have here in America enforced and protected through socialist means. Our entire civilization depends on us being a people united. Socialism is a glue that binds us together and makes possible the things that we could not accomplish as individuals working against each other.
I don't care who you are.
Rich or poor. Teaparty Republican or Liberal Socialist.
You benefit from at least one or more of these 75 American Government-Run, Taxpayer funded Socialist programs, agencies, and laws.
My overall argument is not for a completely socialist nation. This would not work. A completely capitalist nation would not work either.
I'm just simply saying that I, as a Democratic Socialist, feel that the two can co-exist. I know this because they always have. Socialism and capitalism have always co-existed in America.
I also believe in freedom. I believe options are a form of freedom.
Right now in the United States of America, I can send mail through the public postal service or I can choose a private option like FedEx. I can send my kids to public school or private school.
View post:
75 Ways Socialism Has Improved America - Daily Kos
How do we know if any of these income schemes even work? Guy Standing, economist, author and co-founder of the Basic Income Earth Network, looked at basic-income pilots in the US and Canada going back to the 1970s. He says they led to improved school attendance among poorer families, and also had mental-health benefits while decreasing crime, behavioural disorders and substance misuse. So, UBI is as much about experimenting on people, in essence; as much about managing their lifestyles as about providing a decent standard of income for all.
On the surface, the discussion of incomes seems to be driven by an egalitarian sentiment. We cannot have a CEO paying less tax than the cleaner, says Corbyn. [W]e dont want [to] turn Britain into a bargain-basement economy on the shores of Europe where we continuously reduce corporation taxation [and] encourage a low-wage economy. But it is Corbyns bargain-basement egalitarianism, rather than corporate pay, that is the real problem. Despite the stagnation of wages and rising prices over the past decade or so, it seems that, according to Corbyn, the best we can hope for is putting a cap on what the richest earn. Its hardly inspiring.
At less than five per cent, unemployment today is at its lowest since the 1970s. But wages are growing slowly less than two per cent in the past year and this rise is more than cancelled out by rising inflation. Consequently, living standards are stagnant, if not falling. Much of the new work created over the past decade has been through self-employment. Self-employment levels increased from 3.8million in 2008 to 4.6million in 2015. While this in part reflects a rise in insecure work, and a reluctance among employers to put people on contracts, it also suggests that some are choosing to use their initiative and strike out on their own.
Corbyn, and many on the left, fail to recognise this ambition. This is not about limiting aspiration or penalising success, Corbyn insisted on the day he announced (and then shelved) his maximum-income policy. But it really is. Instead of seeking to impose a ceiling on the pay of the wealthy few, he should be calling for higher pay for all, and much higher than the measly 10 an hour hes now pledging. Corbyns plans reveal the dearth of aspiration in the income debate. The left has given up on dramatically improving living standards and instead just indulges its paternalistic, regulating impulse. Left-wingers today would rather hold back enterprise than unleash it.
These various income schemes are always put forward by academics. But why should they decide what working people get paid? This never used to be an academic question. It was a point of political contestation occasionally even violent confrontation between employers and workers. The defeat of the trade-union and labour movements in the 1980s put an end to that. Today, there is a tendency to look to the state or expert committees to decide what working people should earn. The minimum wage is worked out by the supposedly independent Low Pay Commission and set by government. Dont workers get a look-in?
Today, being a lefty seems to mean defending the tax system and waxing lyrical about fat cats. It is surely time we challenged the assumptions of these supposed champions of people on low incomes. If we are to go beyond the basics and maximise our earnings, then we need to get to grips with the underlying cause of stalled living standards and insecure working lives. We need to be much bolder, and more ambitious, than those coming up with low-horizon schemes. Any new ideas to improve peoples standard of living should be encouraged, but if the British economy cant generate enough well-paid work to go around, it really will just be another academic exercise.
Dave Clements is a writer, public servant and convenor of the Institute of Ideas Social Policy Forum
Picture by: Getty Images.
For permission to republish spiked articles, please contact Viv Regan.
See original here:
Living wage? This is bargain-basement socialism - Spiked
You have to feel for Jeremy Corbyn.
In a week in which Theresa May continued to build her axis of evil including meetings with Saudi Arabias human rights-abusing autocracy and the Philippines President Rodrigo the Punisher Duterte Jeremy Corbyn was making headlines for his angry outburst during an ITV News interview, and for allowing the spectre of antisemitism to continue to haunt the Labour Party through Ken Livingstones continued bout of Hitler Tourettes. Another open goal spectacularly missed.
Is it with an increasing inevitability that the shenanigans of this Government are met with radio silence, or worse, a Shadow Cabinet reshuffle, from Labour.
Is it not time for those still rallying around Corbyn face up to the fact that perhaps he is not the leader many on the left had hoped for?
Jeremy Corbyns leadership win was politics Guy Goma moment - a rabbit in the headlights stare of a man realising that, through a series of spectacular coincidences and accidents of fate, he had suddenly found himself thrust into the limelight. From the moment he was elected, there has been a siege mentality to his leadership.
Supporters have sought to blame the media and the Parliamentary Labour Party for poor poll numbers. Just this weekend, Shadow Chancellor John McDonnell was asking, Whats interesting is when you poll the issues and our policies, they are extremely popular, so whats preventing people translating that into strength in the polls?
Well John, it could be the infighting of the Parliamentary Labour Party, or the swath of media who have had it in for Corbyn from the start, or the briefings against him, or the leadership challenges. Its probably all of those things. But are thoseon the left unable to take even a cursory glance in the mirror?
How, then, can we explain this disconnect between popular policies and an increasingly unpopular leader? It has been clear to many for some time that Corbyn is unable or unwilling to translate even the more popular policies into vote-winning ones.
His muted EU referendum campaign, and subsequent failure to make the case either way for where Labour stands on Brexit, has allowed the Liberal Democrats the Liberal Democrats FFS - to manoeuvre themselves into the position of speaking for the 48% who voted to Remain, whilst picking up approximately zero potential voters from the Leave side.
Labour, as it happens, are on something of a roll. Last weeks announcement that a Corbyn government would provide universal free school meals, funded by VAT on private school fees was broadly well-received, popular with the public, and pissed off exactly the right kind of people (Im looking at you, privately-educated The Sun journalists). Then, this week, a proposed rise in the minimum wage to 10 by 2020.
But it all comes back to this: Jeremy Corbyn is not capable of winning a General Election. He isnt even the figurehead of a socialist movement. Hes an arbitrary avatar, chosen almost by default from Labours current group of socialist MPs to stand in the 2015 leadership election. If hes not capable of winning a General Election, then all this is for nought.
And the real danger for socialists is that, by continuing as leader and allowing his leadership to become synonymous with the socialist cause, he pushes socialism off the agenda for the foreseeable future. Opponents from all political sides will be able to point to Corbyns leadership as an example of socialisms failures.
If youre a socialist, you neednt support a political leader just because they are too. If theyre incompetent, theyre harming the cause.
Continue reading here:
Is the Cult of Corbyn doing more damage than good for socialism and the Labour Party? - JOE.co.uk
In Yuriys story, Stalin plays the defining role in the creation of the winery, a narrative that has likely changed little since the autocrat was alive. Creating the winery in a massive former alabaster mine is just another of his mythic, Herculean labors. Here, Stalin created a five-year plan for champagne just as he created one for coal and steel production that also transformed eastern Ukraine.
As a Georgian, Stalin came from a part of the Russian Empire with a real wine culture, where wine is carefully cultivated and sipped rather than used as substitute for vodka. Here, Stalin took that tradition and recreated it on monstrous scale.
Yuriy rattles off more statistics. Within its first four years of opening, the factory produced 1.3 million bottles of what they labelled champagne, ignoring the French requirement that the term champagne only be applied to sparking wine from the Champagne region of France. In 1959, that number doubled to 2.7 million bottles and continued to grow. Stalins aim was to provide Soviet citizensafter years of wartime rationingwith a desirable consumer good that everyone could afford. That could only be achieved with production on a massive scale.
This abandoned alabaster mine was chosen because its huge size allowed it to accommodate wine making of the scale Stalin envisioned. But there were also clear drawbacks, as the steppe winters were far too cold for grapevines. As a result, grapes had to be brought in from the south: from Georgia, Crimea, Odessa, and Moldova. That tradition carries on today in many of the winerys reds, which still use Georgian saperavi grapes.
Yuriy tells me more stories as we drive deeper and deeper into the caverns. Every so often, we stop so I can take pictures of one of the surreal Soviet murals on the walls. There are smiling young women in folk costumes collecting grapes, birds getting drunk on red wine and starting fights, and bears smoking while enjoying a bottle of Soviet brut.
Mural of woman in folk costume collecting grapes.
The unimaginatively named Soviet Champagne was the winerys first wine and flagship brand. With its iconic black and silver logo, it was instantly recognizable and the champagne in the Soviet Union. Thats not to say its particularly good. Soviet Champagne is saccarine, too sweet for most Westerners; it is said it mirrors Stalins own tastes. But for people who grew up behind the Iron Curtain, it is the taste of youth, inextricably intertwined with memories of school graduations, holiday celebrations, and the best kind of long nights. Artwinery has worked hard to hold onto this nostalgia market. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, they changed the name of the wine to Artemovsk, after the Soviet name of the city where the winery is located, to keep the Soviet association.
But in 2015, de-communization laws, found in weaker forms in many post-communist states but absent in Ukraine until after the most recent hostilities began, forced the winery to re-brand once again, as the townnamed after a Russian Bolshevik in 1924re-adopted its pre-revolutionary name, Bakhmut. The winery has compromised, changing its name from the Artemovsk Factory of Champagne Wines to Artwinery, but they are fighting to keep the valuable Artemovsk brand for the wine itself.
There are ways of getting around such rules, of course, and some find it worthwhile for the uniquely associations of grandeur. At a recent communist functionary themed party I attended, twenty-something Ukrainians and ex-pats mixed on the top floor of one of Kievs elite Stalinist high rises in an apartment that has passed from the old Soviet elite to the new capitalist one. That night, as people looked down on the bright lights of Kievs main drag, there was no shortage of Soviet Champagne. Closer inspection, however, revealed that instead of the Russian Sovetsky or Soviet, they instead bore the nonsensical name Sovetovskoe, which, owing to its complete lack of meaning, skirts the new regulations.
I follow Yuriy past a giant bust of the the Roman god of wine, Bacchus, carved into the alabaster wall. Yuriy brings me a to a map of Artwinerys exports. In 2003, they produced over 12 million bottles of champagne, 58 percent of which was exported. Before the war, Russia was the largest foreign market, but now Russian-imposed trade restrictions have cut them off entirely. Now Germany, home to the largest Russian-speaking community in Europe outside the former Soviet Union, is the largest market. There, a bottle of one of Artwinerys wines goes for about 10 euro, far more than the $3 is usually costs in Ukraine.
Artemovsk, however, was not the only major brand. After Russian annexed Crimea in February 2014, many Ukrainians were surprised to still be able to find Crimea Champagne on store shelves, even as Crimean restaurants suddenly found themselves cut off from their supplies of Crimean wines. Not so for the Crimea Champagne, the grapes of which came from Crimea, but which was made deep within these caverns.
The loss of a vital market is not the only way in which the war has affected the winery. In 2014, separatists briefly took control of the town of Artemovsk. There was a shoot out with one of the security guards at the winery, but the rebels didnt enter the caverns. But it is the economic impact that has been most lasting. With most bottles taking three years to produce, the winery has drastically cut back production and is instead hoping to sell some of the millions of bottles still sitting, unsold, in the caverns.
Passing rows of bottles, Yuriy takes me to see how the bubbles are formed in the champagne. Row after row of wooden stands contain bottles full of wine that must have their elevation increased at pre-determined intervals to ensure proper development. It is the sort of time consuming work requiring huge supplies of laborers that was only possible in the Soviet Union. Since 2003, much of the work has been automatized with the staff of the winery reduced to some 500, who now screen bottles for impurities on conveyor belts and use French-made tilting machines rather than doing the work by hand.
Amidst the kitschy murals and whirling modern technology, however, the the caverns also have a darker side. In 1942, Nazis took control of the area. After a building caught fire in Artemovsk, they blamed the citys Jewish community. Nazi forces rounded up the local Jews and kept them in a basement for two days without food or water. Then they took them to these same mines and sealed all 3,000 of them in tunnel behind a fresh new brick wall. In their report, Sonderkommando 4b stated with this action, the district of Artemovsk was also freed of Jews.
When the Soviet army retook the city and opened the tunnel, they found only a few of the victims had gunshot wounds, presumably to force them into the tunnel. The rest were left to die. When the Soviet officers discovered the bodies, they were well preserved due to the same factors that later led Stalin to choose this site for his winery: dry air and even, low temperatures. The bodies were then brought out for relatives to identify.
We come up to the site of the tunnel in our golf cart. It is another regular stop on the wine tour. The Soviet monument denies these victims their religious identity, referring to them only as Soviet citizens who lost their lives. In the Soviet worldview, identity was determined by class, leaving no room for religious or ethnic minority identities. A newer plaque from the local Jewish community calls for God to remember the souls of Artemovsks Jews, and there are memorial sculptures and candles built into the wall.
After the memorial, Yuriy brings me to a tile area set against a pink cavern wall with 70s-style display cases, each holding one of their signature bottles of wine. Yuriy again talks about their famous brands, and it dawns on me that his spiel was designed to impress high ranking-party functionaries rather than tourists.
Yuriy leading the wine tasting.
Yuriy then takes me into a cavern with a long circular table and heavy, throne-like wooden chairs. This was where the real high-level functionaries came to party. Luminaries from First Secretary of the Communist Party of Ukraine Petro Shelest to Ukraines second president Leonid Kuchma all made visits. Noticeably absent, however, has been current Ukrainian President Petro Poroshenko. With the winery partially owned by political opponents like oligarch Rinat Akhmetov, he is not expected to make a visit any time soon.
From the throne room, Yuriy takes me past a formal dinning area bedecked with statues of Poseidon and Athena to a private tasting room. Here, he puts on his white lab coat and begins to instruct me in the carefully scientific process of wine tasting. Each glass must be lifted to the light, carefully tasted, and described. Yuriy briefly remarks with sadness how after the Soviet Union collapsed, the French made them drop the word champagne from their bottles, but soon moves on.
I try a mixture of their sparkling wines: white, ros, and red. Most are too sweet for me, but there is one clear standout: the Krimart brut. It has a rich, dark-red color and smells of raspberries. Rather than the sweetness overpowering the red wine, the red wine gives substance to the effervescence.
From there, it is back into the golf cart and into the dark evening. The workers are leaving the premises of the winery as they would any other factory job. I walk with them, stepping out from Stalins subterranean technicolor winery, and back into the real world.
Excerpt from:
of Champagne Socialism - Roads and Kingdoms