Under the Name of Liberalism: Neo-Socialism-Part II
Gary Schneider
gschneider@americasvoices.org
July 18, 2003
"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened."
-- Norman Thomas, Socialist Party Presidential Candidate in 1940, 1944 and 1948, co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Whether through design or happenstance enabled by apathy, this country is increasingly becoming a nation created more in the vision of Karl Marx than that of Thomas Jefferson—and most of us have nary a clue. The principles of individual religious and economic freedom, protection, property ownership and laissez faire government have given way to religious oppression, government-forced redistribution of the wealth, deliberate promulgation of government dependence and a pronounced degradation in our cultural and political discourse. Indeed, from the creation of a newly-ordained proletariat (the anointed "oppressed groups" by the Left) to the systematic and efficient redistribution of wealth via the levying of a multitude of ("progressive") taxes, Socialism is alive and well in America.
The obvious corroboration to this perspective is our progressive tax system. Though originally unconstitutional, the levying of taxes has been a part of American national heritage starting with the Revenue Act of 1791; and upon the enactment of the 16th Amendment in 1913—which gave Congress the authority to lay and collect taxes on income—our fate was sealed. Though all developed countries require some form of taxation to sustain the functioning of their governments, the collective tax burden of Americans has now increased to a point where the average family now pays more in taxes than they do for food, clothing and shelter (Source: Americans for Tax Reform). And through a various mix of Income, Consumption and Payroll taxes, Americans can now look forward to working about 150 days a year just to cover Federal taxes alone. For some additional perspective, at the turn of the (20th) century Americans only worked about 20 days to cover their federal taxes (Source: Tax Foundation/CNN Lou Dobbs MoneyLine, "Bush signs tax cut into law" - Aired May 28, 2003).
But what is perhaps most disconcerting is not the dramatic and consistent increase in the amount taxes owed by Americans over the years, but rather the disproportionate application of the tax burden (the proportion of "regressive" to "progressive" taxation), for this is where the true economic battleground for the soul of America takes place. Socialist doctrine states that what is earned by any one individual should be dispersed as needed to others who have less until economic parity is achieved. Now logic (that somehow still seems to escape the Left) and history tell us that this theory in practice acts as a disincentive to innovation and productivity and, in turn, stifles economic growth and the improvements in standards of living and individual freedoms that necessarily follow.
Representative of how far down this path to perdition we are, recall that currently the top 50% of tax payers (Average Gross Income >$27,682/year) pay about 96% of Federal Personal Income Taxes; conversely, the bottom 50% are responsible for only about 4% of the Federal income tax burden. Broken down further, the top 25% pay around 84% and the top 5% account for well over half (56.4%) of Federal Personal Income Tax paid (Source: Tax Foundation, "Newest Data Show High-Income Taxpayers Earning and Paying More" – November, 2002). This gradual and sustained shift of the tax burden to a small minority of taxpayers is patent Socialist policy—and Liberals want to confiscate and redistribute more. If provided with the opportunity in the next election, you can expect they will push to further shift the cost of an already oversized government to those they choose to consider rich while offering more voter bribes, in the form of new government handouts to their constituencies.
"Rich" is typically defined as any individual or family with a net income that puts them in the top 20% of earners (an adjusted gross income of about $67,000/year); and of these, nearly one-third are small business owners reporting business income. Recall that small business owners are America's leading source of employment. (Source: Tax foundation, "Own a Business? You May be Rich", May 5, 2003).
It is fair to say that Liberals will not be satisfied until they have effectively bought a majority of their voters by relieving them of their tax responsibilities and garnishing them with more government handouts paid for by a small minority of Americans. If, or when this occurs, it will be nearly impossible to enact any tax cuts of consequence, while making it easier to raise them.
Nevertheless, in this (still) free American society, governmental policy requires the popular support or acquiescence of the people in order to be enacted or sustained—and support for most Liberal-Socialist policies can only be acquired and sustained through the exploitation of class envy, fear mongering, factual or historical revisionism and Constitutional subversion.
Constitutional subversion, though, is perhaps most critical to the Left because Socialism, almost by definition, is unconstitutional. Having recognized this strategic truth, Liberals have undertaken to manipulate and divide the hearts and minds of Americans.
On this point, it is worth noting the uncanny correlation between the key positions and constituencies of the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party USA as represented in their "Principles":
*
"Socialists struggle for the full freedom of women and men to control their own bodies and determine their own sexual orientation."
*
"People of color, lesbians and gays, and other oppressed groups need independent organization to fight oppression. Racism will not be eliminated merely by eliminating capitalism."
*
"The cleanup of the contaminated environment and the creation of a nuclear-free world are among the first tasks of a socialist society."
*
"No oppressed group has ever been liberated except by its own organized efforts to overthrow its oppressors…. They can grow only in the course of popular struggles, especially those of women, labor, and minority groups. The Socialist Party works to build these organizations democratically."
Ironically, though, the very groups they claim to be advocating for are those that they are exploiting.
Foundational to Socialist doctrine is that oppressed groups ("proletariat") rise against their oppressors, as that is the key ingredient to inciting activism toward a Socialist system. Therefore, the promulgation of the perception of oppression (to pit one group of Americans against another) is critical—and we witness this during nearly every election cycle or major policy initiative.
I do not contend that there is some nefarious, smoke-filled back room conspiracy out there plotting to convert America to a Socialist state; rather, I contend that a conspiracy is not necessary. Socialist policy is now an institutionalized element of America's political structure and mindset. Many, if not most, Americans who subscribe to such Liberal policy are unwitting in their complicity to it; having fallen victim to the mind-numbing propagation of lies, revisionism and singular perspective with which they are inundated.
But imagine for a moment if Liberals were, without mitigation, allowed to be successful in implementing just a few of their pet policies, programs and perspectives:
*
The top producers (individual and corporate) would pick up nearly 100% of tax burden.
*
An entirely government-owned and -operated school system (no school choice).
*
Government-paid childcare.
*
Socialized medical coverage.
*
The eradication of religious perspective in public and political discourse (thus, our Founder's perspective).
*
The acceptance of the U.S. Constitution as a "living document" ("the transportation into the Constitution of the principles of a Liberal culture that cannot achieve those results democratically". Robert Bork, "The Tempting of America")
*
The repeal of the Second Amendment.
This translates to a (near) complete Socialist state, a neutered populace and the assured decline, as proved by history, of a once great nation.
By 1970, Norman Thomas and Gus Hall, the U.S. Communist Party Candidate, both quit American politics, agreeing that the Republican and Democratic parties had adopted every plank on the Communist/Socialist party platform and they no longer had an alternate one on which to run. (Source: telemanage.ca).
It remains up to us whether or not they turn out to be unquestionably and irreversibly prophetic.
Additional resources:
Communist Goals, by Chuck Morse, May 9, 2003, Newsmax.com.
The grand deception, by J.R. Nyquist, September 06, 2001, Worldnetdaily.com (see J.R.'s website here for his writings since September 2001).
Is national sovereignty history?, by Geoff Metcalf, October 1, 2000, Worldnetdaily.com
For your analysis, by Geoff Metcalf, October 25, 1999, Worldnetdaily.com.
A Decomposition of the Liberal Mind: Neo-Socialism-Part I
gschneider@americasvoices.org
July 18, 2003
"The American people will never knowingly adopt Socialism. But under the name of 'liberalism' they will adopt every fragment of the Socialist program, until one day America will be a Socialist nation, without knowing how it happened."
-- Norman Thomas, Socialist Party Presidential Candidate in 1940, 1944 and 1948, co-founder of the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU).
Whether through design or happenstance enabled by apathy, this country is increasingly becoming a nation created more in the vision of Karl Marx than that of Thomas Jefferson—and most of us have nary a clue. The principles of individual religious and economic freedom, protection, property ownership and laissez faire government have given way to religious oppression, government-forced redistribution of the wealth, deliberate promulgation of government dependence and a pronounced degradation in our cultural and political discourse. Indeed, from the creation of a newly-ordained proletariat (the anointed "oppressed groups" by the Left) to the systematic and efficient redistribution of wealth via the levying of a multitude of ("progressive") taxes, Socialism is alive and well in America.
The obvious corroboration to this perspective is our progressive tax system. Though originally unconstitutional, the levying of taxes has been a part of American national heritage starting with the Revenue Act of 1791; and upon the enactment of the 16th Amendment in 1913—which gave Congress the authority to lay and collect taxes on income—our fate was sealed. Though all developed countries require some form of taxation to sustain the functioning of their governments, the collective tax burden of Americans has now increased to a point where the average family now pays more in taxes than they do for food, clothing and shelter (Source: Americans for Tax Reform). And through a various mix of Income, Consumption and Payroll taxes, Americans can now look forward to working about 150 days a year just to cover Federal taxes alone. For some additional perspective, at the turn of the (20th) century Americans only worked about 20 days to cover their federal taxes (Source: Tax Foundation/CNN Lou Dobbs MoneyLine, "Bush signs tax cut into law" - Aired May 28, 2003).
But what is perhaps most disconcerting is not the dramatic and consistent increase in the amount taxes owed by Americans over the years, but rather the disproportionate application of the tax burden (the proportion of "regressive" to "progressive" taxation), for this is where the true economic battleground for the soul of America takes place. Socialist doctrine states that what is earned by any one individual should be dispersed as needed to others who have less until economic parity is achieved. Now logic (that somehow still seems to escape the Left) and history tell us that this theory in practice acts as a disincentive to innovation and productivity and, in turn, stifles economic growth and the improvements in standards of living and individual freedoms that necessarily follow.
Representative of how far down this path to perdition we are, recall that currently the top 50% of tax payers (Average Gross Income >$27,682/year) pay about 96% of Federal Personal Income Taxes; conversely, the bottom 50% are responsible for only about 4% of the Federal income tax burden. Broken down further, the top 25% pay around 84% and the top 5% account for well over half (56.4%) of Federal Personal Income Tax paid (Source: Tax Foundation, "Newest Data Show High-Income Taxpayers Earning and Paying More" – November, 2002). This gradual and sustained shift of the tax burden to a small minority of taxpayers is patent Socialist policy—and Liberals want to confiscate and redistribute more. If provided with the opportunity in the next election, you can expect they will push to further shift the cost of an already oversized government to those they choose to consider rich while offering more voter bribes, in the form of new government handouts to their constituencies.
"Rich" is typically defined as any individual or family with a net income that puts them in the top 20% of earners (an adjusted gross income of about $67,000/year); and of these, nearly one-third are small business owners reporting business income. Recall that small business owners are America's leading source of employment. (Source: Tax foundation, "Own a Business? You May be Rich", May 5, 2003).
It is fair to say that Liberals will not be satisfied until they have effectively bought a majority of their voters by relieving them of their tax responsibilities and garnishing them with more government handouts paid for by a small minority of Americans. If, or when this occurs, it will be nearly impossible to enact any tax cuts of consequence, while making it easier to raise them.
Nevertheless, in this (still) free American society, governmental policy requires the popular support or acquiescence of the people in order to be enacted or sustained—and support for most Liberal-Socialist policies can only be acquired and sustained through the exploitation of class envy, fear mongering, factual or historical revisionism and Constitutional subversion.
Constitutional subversion, though, is perhaps most critical to the Left because Socialism, almost by definition, is unconstitutional. Having recognized this strategic truth, Liberals have undertaken to manipulate and divide the hearts and minds of Americans.
On this point, it is worth noting the uncanny correlation between the key positions and constituencies of the Democratic Party and the Socialist Party USA as represented in their "Principles":
*
"Socialists struggle for the full freedom of women and men to control their own bodies and determine their own sexual orientation."
*
"People of color, lesbians and gays, and other oppressed groups need independent organization to fight oppression. Racism will not be eliminated merely by eliminating capitalism."
*
"The cleanup of the contaminated environment and the creation of a nuclear-free world are among the first tasks of a socialist society."
*
"No oppressed group has ever been liberated except by its own organized efforts to overthrow its oppressors…. They can grow only in the course of popular struggles, especially those of women, labor, and minority groups. The Socialist Party works to build these organizations democratically."
Ironically, though, the very groups they claim to be advocating for are those that they are exploiting.
Foundational to Socialist doctrine is that oppressed groups ("proletariat") rise against their oppressors, as that is the key ingredient to inciting activism toward a Socialist system. Therefore, the promulgation of the perception of oppression (to pit one group of Americans against another) is critical—and we witness this during nearly every election cycle or major policy initiative.
I do not contend that there is some nefarious, smoke-filled back room conspiracy out there plotting to convert America to a Socialist state; rather, I contend that a conspiracy is not necessary. Socialist policy is now an institutionalized element of America's political structure and mindset. Many, if not most, Americans who subscribe to such Liberal policy are unwitting in their complicity to it; having fallen victim to the mind-numbing propagation of lies, revisionism and singular perspective with which they are inundated.
But imagine for a moment if Liberals were, without mitigation, allowed to be successful in implementing just a few of their pet policies, programs and perspectives:
*
The top producers (individual and corporate) would pick up nearly 100% of tax burden.
*
An entirely government-owned and -operated school system (no school choice).
*
Government-paid childcare.
*
Socialized medical coverage.
*
The eradication of religious perspective in public and political discourse (thus, our Founder's perspective).
*
The acceptance of the U.S. Constitution as a "living document" ("the transportation into the Constitution of the principles of a Liberal culture that cannot achieve those results democratically". Robert Bork, "The Tempting of America")
*
The repeal of the Second Amendment.
This translates to a (near) complete Socialist state, a neutered populace and the assured decline, as proved by history, of a once great nation.
By 1970, Norman Thomas and Gus Hall, the U.S. Communist Party Candidate, both quit American politics, agreeing that the Republican and Democratic parties had adopted every plank on the Communist/Socialist party platform and they no longer had an alternate one on which to run. (Source: telemanage.ca).
It remains up to us whether or not they turn out to be unquestionably and irreversibly prophetic.
Additional resources:
Communist Goals, by Chuck Morse, May 9, 2003, Newsmax.com.
The grand deception, by J.R. Nyquist, September 06, 2001, Worldnetdaily.com (see J.R.'s website here for his writings since September 2001).
Is national sovereignty history?, by Geoff Metcalf, October 1, 2000, Worldnetdaily.com
For your analysis, by Geoff Metcalf, October 25, 1999, Worldnetdaily.com.
A Decomposition of the Liberal Mind: Neo-Socialism-Part I
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