The Problem With Free Gifts

Something I’ve noticed the socialists do when trying to win votes is redefine the words they use without disclosing it to their audience.

They present a package wrapped with beautiful paper and fancy bows, but what’s inside is trouble.

It’s easy to forget a pig is only a pig no matter how much lipstick you put on it. (No offense to pigs intended).

Here are some of the words and phrases the current crop of socialist candidates for president use to mislead voters.

MEDICARE-FOR-ALL:

Medicare is a very popular program so the left grabs the name and suggests we extend it to everyone. What they don’t tell you is their plan for medicare is drastically different than what we know of it today. Their “new and improved” Medicare really means the government is going to assume all responsibilities for administration, certifications, approvals, and levels of care. If you like your insurance plan, forget about it. In most cases, their proposals ban private insurance and allow only government controlled health care.

The socialists put government bureaucrats in charge of deciding what treatments you get, how much your medicine costs, and even whether you’re “too far gone” to qualify for treatment.

Remember when the government used the IRS to punish conservative groups so they couldn’t support candidates who opposed Obama and the leftists in Congress? Imagine how they’ll be able to use a new health care administration to hurt you if you disagree or fail to tow their politically correct line.

And that’s important to remember. It’s not that the socialists want the administrative nightmare and enormous expense associated with socialist healthcare in order to help those “oppressed” by the best health care system currently available in the world (despite its shortcomings.) What they do want is absolute control over the things in your life that are critical to your well being. Your income, your healthcare, your guns and your ability to fight back. Once they control those things, they control everything. And it will be damn near impossible to get it back.

INCOME FOR ALL:

This one is especially tricky. Who doesn’t want a guaranteed income? But that’s not what this really means. What it really means is taking from one group (whoever they choose) and giving to another group (starting first with themselves.) Income-for-all means doing away with the time-honored free market system of reward for labor, innovation, and investment; and replacing it with a system of punishments and rewards. The rewards will go to those who help them maintain power … do what they tell you … don’t fight back. And the punishments will be meted out to those who disagree with their agenda … prefer freedom … and desire to pursue something better.

INVESTMENT:

To them, the word “investment” doesn’t mean deferring part of what you have to make your future or the future of your family better. It doesn’t even mean government spending on things like schools, bridges, and sewer systems that promise a better quality of life for our people.

Nope. When used by the socialists running for president, investment is how they fund the rewards and deliver the punishments discussed above. It’s exactly the opposite of what you and I might mean by investment. Under the socialist definition, investment always means taking from the productive, giving to the non-productive, and driving down the quality of life for everyone.

Everyone, that is, except them. History proves that the widest disparities in income always exist in socialist societies because the elites always take care of themselves, and everyone else is always poor.

FREE EDUCATION:

Here’s another one that sounds great. Who doesn’t think education is necessary for a free, modern, and competitive society?

That’s why public schools — from kindergarten through 12th grade — are “free.” It’s why the first two years of college at a community college are virtually “free.”

But of course, free doesn’t really mean free. Someone has to pay for the buildings, the teachers, the administrators, the books, the furniture, and all those very generous pensions educators receive.

What free really means, is someone else pays — usually taxpayers. So when the socialists say, “invest in our kids with free college,” it’s just code for raise taxes.

But does anyone think we’re getting our money’s worth from all those education taxes we already pay? Most of our students don’t know much about history, or culture, or the reasons America is exceptional.

Generally, they don’t know the first thing about economics. It’s no wonder the socialists count on people under the age of 30 as their primary base of support. Most have been taught that socialism is preferable to free markets despite the history of destruction socialism has caused everywhere in the world it’s ever been tried.

I say if you believe college will lead to a bigger pay day; great, pay your own way. And start learning what it really means to invest in yourself and your future. For many, it may be their first encounter with the reality that nothing is really free.

These are just a few of the biggest redefinitions being touted by the socialist candidates for president. And if you don’t know what they really mean, they may sound pretty good — free money almost always does. The problem is there’s no such thing, no matter how much they want you to believe otherwise. For them it’s about control — pure and simple. The package might look nice on the outside, but inside there’s nothing but the corpse of a society rotting with corruption and despair. That’s the promise they’re making, no matter what words they use or what meaning they give them.