Self-proclaimed “democratic socialist”Bernie Sanders is, as The New York Times latest poll found this week leading the pack nationwide for president. Another way you can tell that he is odds on favorite to win is when cable news is doing tutorials on “what is Democratic Socialism?”
Democratic socialism means that the decision to provide certain services publicly rather than privately is rendered democratically. The people’s elected representatives vote to use tax dollars and government resources to provide those services.
The truth is that Democratic social programs are by far the most popular thing that the US government does: public education, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid. Our tax dollars, at work in these programs keep millions of people alive and if people complain it is always that the programs need to have more funding, not less, more access not less, more benefits, not less.
It’s also worth remembering and a subject for another post, that every time social programs are expanded it provides an enormous boost to the economy. Trickle down economics has been aggressively tried since Reagan and his cronies made it up and it has never never work. The rich keep getting richer and the middle class is disappearing. Multiple studies show that Medicare for All alone would likely return an average of $10,000 a year to working families. Think of the massive difference that would make in their lives and also the massive cash infusion to groceries, clothing, automobiles or whatever they spend it on. It’s staggering to imagine.
If you’re on Twitter, you can watch MSNBC’s tutorial below. But I’ve basically explained the gist of it above.
What are Democratic Socialists? NOT COMMUNISM
