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Bernie Sanders' Troubling Agenda. Don't believe those who tell you that Sanders is some sort of centrist.
Reason ^ | February 20, 2020 | Veronique de Rugy

Posted on 02/20/2020 7:49:13 AM PST by karpov

...

History suggests that Sanders' plans for a system of "free" education, "free" health care, a federal paid leave program, government control of energy production, the Green New Deal, nationwide rent control, and a federal guaranteed-jobs program are only the beginning.

These plans rest on massive government interventions into people's lives, intense redistribution, and a level of coercion that Americans have never before endured. When people resist, the government's grip becomes firmer and more oppressive. If you think I'm exaggerating, think about it is this way: The people of Venezuela asked for their current crisis state when they voted for a regime that promised "free" health care and "free" education.

When Sanders talks about socialism, he isn't likely talking about the massive expropriation of property rights, nationalizing all businesses, or eliminating all but one—the state's—television channel. Nor is he really talking about Denmark's socialism. But even if one assumes that Sanders would not ramp up government intervention beyond what he now promises, what he already has on the table is much more than run-of-the-mill Democratic programs.

Leaving aside the fact that Denmark is a nation of 5.6 million people with the GDP of Wisconsin, by most measures, it's much more economically free than it is socialist. In fact, Denmark has recently scaled back its welfare state and set limits on Danes' fiscal burdens. The country is more open to trade than the United States is.

Yes, Denmark's government is still too big, but it has cut spending, lowered taxes on capital, and allowed for more flexibility in hiring and firing workers. It has also allowed more competition in public schools and health care. In these aspects, Denmark is very different from what Sanders aspires to implement in the United States.

(Excerpt) Read more at reason.com ...


TOPICS: Politics/Elections
KEYWORDS: sanders; venezuela
Freepers don't need to be told that Sanders is not a centrist, but I think the article makes a good point that Sanders' plans would make us Venezuela, not Denmark.
1 posted on 02/20/2020 7:49:13 AM PST by karpov
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To: karpov

If Sanders is a centrist then I’m the King of Spain.


2 posted on 02/20/2020 7:55:57 AM PST by Buckeye McFrog (Patrick Henry would have been an anti-vaxxer)
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To: karpov

Well, he is right there in the center of the spectrum between Lenin and Trotsky


3 posted on 02/20/2020 8:01:24 AM PST by AzSteven ("War is less costly than servitude, the choice is always between Verdun and Dachau." Jean Dutourd)
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To: karpov

From Reason?....................


4 posted on 02/20/2020 8:08:18 AM PST by Red Badger (CWII is coming. It won't be nice like the last one....................)
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To: karpov

I disagree. Sanders is a centrist - somewhere between Hugo Chavez and Josef Stalin (minus the KGB - for now).


5 posted on 02/20/2020 8:18:04 AM PST by Zhang Fei (My dad had a Delta 88. That was a car. It was like driving your living room.)
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To: Buckeye McFrog

Kings of Spain get a bad rap.


6 posted on 02/20/2020 9:23:52 AM PST by skinndogNN
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To: karpov

Why can’t we be more like Denmark? Because we’re not Denmark. Like it or not, we’re the alpha dog on the planet. We police the globe. Denmark wouldn’t even be able to quell a Black Friday shopper’s riot.


7 posted on 02/20/2020 9:49:50 AM PST by The_Harlequin
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To: karpov

Bernie will have all of his enemies killed.
Communists do this.
Socialists do the mass killing by denying medical care.


8 posted on 02/20/2020 10:29:09 AM PST by minnesota_bound (homeless guy. He just has more money....He the master will plant more cotton for the democrat party)
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To: karpov
I just can't imagine this 80 yr. old socialist geezer in a debate with Trump without keeling over with a another heart attack......let alone handling the weight of running the country......he'd never survive it as frail as he already is.
9 posted on 02/20/2020 10:35:27 AM PST by caww
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To: karpov

Bernie Sanders is a Communist.

You can have “free stuff” or you can be a free people. Not both.

TANSTAAFL


10 posted on 02/20/2020 10:45:43 AM PST by TBP (Progressives lack compassion and tolerance. Their self-aggrandizement is all that matters.)
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To: karpov

Central planning....Central Committee....yeah I can see he might be a centrist.


11 posted on 02/20/2020 10:51:23 AM PST by xp38
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