Trump and many other Republicans argue that a vote for a Democrat will lead to Socialism in the US. As Joe Biden says, “Are you kidding me?” Nothing could be further from the truth. Respected journalists have said that the United States-like every other country with an advanced economy, such as the U.K., Germany, France, and Japan-is already a partly socialist country, with a mixed economy and many government programs that serve the public good. A democratic socialist believes that government should provide essential public services for free or at a significant discount, such as health care and education. Social Security is a “socialist” program. It’s a government-run pension system that cuts out private money managers. Medicare – a single-payer, government-run health insurance program for those over 65 – is too. Here’s some other examples of ‘socialism’ in the US: guaranteed public education, public transportation, Police and Fire departments, public libraries, every branch of the US military, roads & highways, the Veterans Affairs Administration, public universities, parks, toilets, and on and on.

Trump and other Republicans are simply trying to scare you with false statements, as is their want. What’s really scary is Trump winning another 4 years in office. He’s already corrupted many parts of the US Government and seems intent on creating an autocratic regime if we give him, God help us, 4 more years. He’s already worked to discredit our free press, has installed his cronies well into the State and Justice departments to do his bidding, has severely limited public access to information that was formerly broadly available, and on and on.

Don’t believe false scare tactics about the evils of socialism in this country. What you really ought to be scared of is Trump’s moves towards an autocratic regime. Let’s not let him and his Republican enablers do that – vote Democratic on November 3.

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