The Sudden Popularity of Socialism

The Sudden Popularity of Socialism - Todd Strandberg -

http://www.raptureready.com/category/nearing-midnight/

 

There is no other system of government that is a bigger failure than Socialism. For every nation that has implemented a pure form of Socialism, the end result has always been financial disaster.

 

Leftists love to point to the European healthcare agencies as an example of how Socialism can work. Everyone in Norway has guaranteed healthcare coverage, but it is paid for by a market-based economy.

 

The current biggest example of why Socialism fails is the nation of Venezuela. It is the nation with the world's largest oil supply. When Hugo Chávez kicked out all the Western Oil companies in 2007, Venezuela had seemed to have discovered the secret to prosperity. Chávez gave out cheap food, education, housing, and jobs. He neglected to reinvest in the nationalized oil company, and things quickly headed south.

 

When oil dropped below $30 in 2013, it became very difficult for the Venezuelan government to continue to hand out free goodies. Oil has recovered above $70; there has still been no relief for the Venezuelan people. That nation's production of oil has gone from 3 million barrels per day to 1.5 million barrels per day, and it will likely drop to 1 million by the end of this year.

 

Inflation in Venezuela is now at 43,000 percent. Two years ago, the cost of a cup of coffee was 450 bolivars. It now costs 1 million for that same cup of coffee. The government keeps raising the minimum wage, but it doesn't come anywhere close to matching inflation. Back in April, for instance, President Nicolas Maduro hiked the country's minimum wage by 155%. Last week, he increased the minimum wage by 300%, but it only means that people would make the equivalent of $1 per month.

 

America is nowhere close to Venezuela, economically or politically. But much of the left today is headed in that direction, looking to "socialize" medicine, housing, education, you name it. They plan to pay for all these programs by making the "rich pay their fair share."

 

In 2016, Bernie Sanders was successfully pushing the party to the left. He called for things like "Medicare for All," free college tuition, and whopping hikes in the minimum-wage.

 

The surprise prime win by Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez shows that Democratic voters are signing on to hard-left candidates. DNC Chair Tom Perez has declared Ocasio-Cortez to be "The Future of Our Party." She is a member of the Democratic Socialists of America, which has some very radical ideas:

 

Abolish business profits

 

Abolish prisons

 

Abolish cash bail

 

Abolish national borders

 

Abolish U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) agency

 

It is very hard to run against someone who wants to play the role of Santa Claus to the voters. Ocasio-Cortez wants the federal government to pay off all student loans, and liberal media praise her like this is a brilliant suggestion. They should be asking her who is going to pick up the tab.

 

I think the biggest threat America faces from Socialism is the debt it naturally creates. In 1958, the US national debt was $276 billion. Today it is at $21.2 trillion, which is a 76.8-fold increase. According to the government's CPI inflation calculator, something that cost $1 in 1958 should now cost $8.80. The massive increase in the money supply means that we should be paying $100 for a basic meal at a McDonalds' restaurant.

 

I've written before that the problem with socialism, as the late British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher put it, is that "you eventually run out of other people's money." Since we've already spent the income of the next generation, there is no "other people's money" left. Faith in the dollar itself is the only thing that keeps the economy rolling.

 

With high deficit spending being a major problem of most nations, Satan is likely planning to crash the global economy so he can implement a one-world financial system. It is my hope that the rapture is what triggers this mess. Having warned the world of the consequence of reckless spending, I'll have no regrets about missing the calamity.

 

"He causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: And that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark, or the name of the beast, or the number of his name" (Rev 13:16-17).