Capitalism Greeds Itself to Death

The symbol of the Democratic Socialists of America

Tobin Smith on Fox News' The Cost of Freedom today, pointed out that every 20-50 years, Capitalism "greeds itself to death," and the Government has to step in and fix the problem. I can't find a transcript from today's show, but his point seemed to be that, based on past experience, today's current financial state will pass and Capitalism will thrive again - that Socialism and Communism should not be feared in America.

I believe Toby has underestimated the mindset of today's Democrat party, which is in all ways vastly different from the Democrat party of fifteen years ago or more. Here's a look at just four slips and slivers down the slippery slope of socialism: 1) Rep. Maxine Waters (D-CA) May 2008 tells Shell Oil :

"And guess what this liberal would be all about. This liberal will be about socializing … uh, um. …Would be about, basically, taking over, and the government running all of your companies. …"

Rep. Waters wasn't dishing with the girls over a Cosmo. She was speaking officially in a House hearing. We ignore crazy Maxine at our own peril. 2) The U.S. House has a majority comprising 49 Democrats and 2 Independents, one of which is the self-avowed Socialist, Bernie Sanders (I-VT).

Because the Democrat alliance with a socialist controls only 51 out of 100 seats in the Senate, Sanders is an integral and necessary member of the governing union of the left and the far left. Another way to look at a senator's [Sanders] support is to review who co-sponsors his bills. Two bills are particularly revealing in their support -- the creation of a nationalized health care system and the strengthening of the Environmental Protection Agency to regulate and reform the national economy in the name of global-warming prevention. Co-sponsors of that bill include Biden, Boxer, Brown, Cardin, Clinton, Kerry, Kennedy and Obama.

Read more about who in the House gets an "A" in Socialism 101. 3) Remember the failed HillaryCare. Failed perhaps, but it still has a legacy: ...liberal strategists realized that the march toward socialized medicine might be a slow and halting one. Thus, they devised several alternate routes to the promised land of a universal, government-run system.... The blowback of no HillaryCare was the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), designed to provide health coverage for families making "twice the poverty level" described in 2007 as $40,000.00 for a family of four:

...one decade and some $40 billion later, profligate states have exploited loopholes and transformed SCHIP into a far more expansive program, one that now covers children in families with annual incomes as high as $82,000, their parents, and even some childless adults.

4) And then there's the Socialism we've seen recently at the willing hands of both Democrats and Republicans. Speaking of the current "Bailout" Bill, Ernest Istook, Distinguished Fellow at The Heritage Foundation ponders Can American socialism ever be reversed?:

No matter how necessary it might have been, the situation is a signal that demands an appraisal of how far our government has gone away from free markets and personal responsibility. You don't have to look hard for signs of creeping socialism in today's America. You'll find them wherever government writes big checks from the federal treasury to "help" struggling businesses and individuals. Of course, the more government "helps" them, the more government can control their lives. Barack Obama's campaign platform is packed with giveaways that he disguises with the label "refundable tax credits," but which have a following in both political parties. That means government writes checks to people who don't even pay taxes. So now he and others propose new "refundable tax credits" that include checks to make mortgage payments, pay college expenses and buy "green" automobiles.

View a list of the 2007 Most Liberal Senators sorted by issues: Economic, Social and Foreign. Istook's question: can Socialism ever be reversed, is worth considering. Do you believe we can change the direction of Congress through elections? In theory, we can but in reality, I don't think it's possible without term limits - and we don't have those.