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Socialism kills pets as well as people

By Mark Luedtke

I have little sympathy for people who advocate for socialism then get what they asked for, good and hard. Socialism invariably produces mass poverty, shortages, starvation, etc., while a handful of rulers live like kingsthere are no exceptions because there can be no exceptionsso the people who promote socialism are either stupid or evil. But I have great sympathy for the victims who resist, the children who have no say, and the pets.

Even the leftist media cant ignore the tragedy socialism inflicts on pets in Venezuela. USA Today reports, Every day on her way to work, Angela Exposito sees more abandoned dogs along the road, discarded by owners who can no longer afford to take care of them.

Exposito, who heads Fundanimalia, a nonprofit animal rescue organization, said abandoned pets have skyrocketed over the last three months as the countrys economy descends into ever-worsening chaos. Until recently, most stray dogs she saw were mutts or mixed breeds. Now she sees more purebreds, such as golden retrievers, left to forage for garbage along the Pan American Highway that passes by this industrial city of 150,000, about 50 miles west of the capital, Caracas.

This shows socialism affects not only the poor. It impoverishes the middle class, and then the rich the longer it lasts. If not stopped, even rulers will starve. Socialism collapses at a tipping point when the military realizes rulers wont be able to feed and supply them.

USA Today continues, The food shortage is so bad that the government on Sunday opened its border with neighboring Colombia for 12 hours, and thousands of Venezuelans quickly crossed into the city of Cucuta to buy rice, cornmeal, pasta, and other basic items. Venezuela has had the border closed since August as part of a crackdown on crime.

This illustrates how socialism manages to survive for a short time by relying on capitalists. Soviet rulers begged for food from capitalist countries to feed their starving masses. Socialist rulers imitate the structure of production in capitalist countries. Compassionate capitalists enable socialism to limp along, destroying lives and the environment. Environmentalists might want to note how filthy socialist countries are compared to capitalist ones.

But socialism creates more horrors for pets than being abandoned, struck by cars, starved, or killed by other feral pets. The mayor of one Caracas district told USA Today, People are hunting dogs and cats in the streets, and pigeons in the plazas to eat.

The article continues, The unrest mounts as the country faces continuing shortages of essential food, medicine, and toiletries. All the bakeries here in La Victoria, 55 miles southwest of Caracas, stopped producing bread last week because there is no flour.

People who cant feed themselves cant feed their pets.

You dont have to have a Ph.D. in international cultures to recognize rich, capitalist countries tend to treat pets, animals, and the environment better than poor, socialist countries. Venezuela provides an excellent, yet terrible, case study because it shows a before and after picture of the same culture. When Venezuela was more capitalist, pets thrived. Now that socialism reigns, theyre hunted for food.

Whats lost in todays economic conversation is a discussion of wealth creation. Our rulers and their propagandists have a socialist obsession with jobs, but economies arent about producing jobs. Theyre about producing wealth. That means meeting the demands of consumers. In a capitalist society, consumers are king. Capitalism empowered billions of people to rise above poverty by creating wealth. Jobs are a byproduct of wealth creation, not a cause of it.

Pet ownership is another byproduct of wealth creation. Even in China, where eating dogs has long been culturally acceptable, that tradition is going away as capitalists create wealth there.

Because socialism destroys wealth, it also destroys pet ownership.

And since were at the height of the bubble, Michigan just set a pet adoption record. Im sure the same is true across the country, but when the crash hits, people will abandon their pets here like in Venezuela.

Every time you see that gut-wrenching Sarah McLachlan commercial, you can blame government for interfering in our economy. If we had a free economy, because we would be wealthier, few would abandon their pets, and those would be quickly adopted.

If youre a pet lover, you have to be against socialism.

Tags: headline, opinion

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