I stole the idea for today’s humor column from a well-known cry over in Great Britain: “The King is Dead — Long Live the King!”
Whenever the King (or Queen) died, there was always a successor waiting in the wings to assume the throne. When Queen Elizabeth II passed away on September 8, 2022, her son, Charles III, stepped right up to put the crown on his head.
If I’d been a British subject, I could have cried out, “Long Live the King!” But of course, I’m not a British subject. The American patriots took care of that problem back in 1776. Our line of succession is slightly different here. If our President dies while in office — God forbid! — the Vice President assumes the mantle of the chief executive.
God forbid!
The Founding Fathers could have set things up differently, so that the President’s son was next in line. But they didn’t. Probably because George Washington never produced a son. Sure, he adopted Martha’s two kids, but that’s not really the same thing. So we got the Vice President instead.
I had coffee with an old friend the other day, and somehow we got on the subject of capitalism and socialism, and more specifically what a great job the Republicans have done with the economy.
To keep the conversation interesting, I argued that we would have had pretty much the same economy if the Democrats had been in power. I mean, considering the state of the economy at the moment. I think the Democrats could have messed things up just as badly.
But my friend — maybe just to keep the conversation interesting — protested that, if the Democrats win the upcoming midterm elections, our country will quickly devolve into Socialism.
Which made me stop and think. Does my friend mean the same thing, when he uses the word “Socialism”, as I mean when I use the word “Socialism”?
Like, for example, in a few years, I’m going to qualify for Social Security, and also Medicare. That means I’ll be getting a check every month from the government, and also government-subsidized medical care.
In fact, my friend admits that he’s already getting Social Security.
Is that “Socialism”? Because the word “Social” is right there, in “Social Security”.
I presume he’s also qualified for Medicare.
I mean, seriousl now… how much of the U.S. economy actually depends on “capitalism”? And how much depends on our governments taking money out of my pocket to pay for stuff I never wanted?
The conservative Cato Institute published a study last year and estimated that the federal government spends about $180 billion a year subsidizing so-called “capitalist” businesses. They refer to this practice as “corporate welfare.”
And that’s just the federal government. State governments and local governments have their own ways of funneling taxes and fees into the corporate welfare system.
Last year, our Daily Post editor wrote about the Pagosa Springs economy, and calculated that our community spends almost exactly twice as much on salaries for local government employees as we spend on all the local employees working in the tourism industry.
And that’s merely the employee salaries. When we think about the tax money spent by our local governments on “capital improvements”… well, we probably don’t even want to think about how much that is. But we still have potholes!
Please don’t think that I’m complaining about corporate welfare. I want the federal government to subsidize our oil and gas companies. Can you imagine how much gasoline would cost, if the government wasn’t kicking in? Heck, we’d probably be driving around in electric cars, like they do in China.
And on that subject — the People’s Republic of China. They tried that whole “public ownership of the means of production” scheme and were getting nowhere, until they loosened things up and allowed some capitalist ownership of key industries. Like, the companies that make electric cars.
According to Statista.com, 33% of China’s GDP (Gross Domestic Product) now comes from government expenditures. The rest comes from private industry.
According to Statista,com, 38% of the U.S. GDP now comes from government expenditures.
China: 33% socialist
U.S.: 38% socialist
Looks to me like we’re now more socialist than socialist China.
And as America’s federal debt climbs on and on… past $40 trillion… we’re becoming more socialist every day.
Socialism is Dead. Long Live Socialism!
Underrated writer Louis Cannon grew up in the vast American West, although his ex-wife, given the slightest opportunity, will deny that he ever grew up at all. You can read more stories on his Substack account.