Wannabe Millionaires

The biggest fear the GOP and Trump have are Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, financial and climate regulations, and social changes opening the door to people of color. Sanders and Warren will push an anti-corruption and anti-inequality programs and Medicare for All with a $15 an hour minimum wage. They should also be looking at a UBI (universal basic income). Rising the minimum wage to $15 an hour will not stop the inequality, but I UBI would help. The GOP will counter by accusing Sanders and Warren of being scary Democratic Socialists, which Sanders and Warren should wear the title as a badge of honor and point out the obvious—all the socialist-type programs the U.S, already has in place, such as Social Security (which we pay into), Medicare, Medicaid/MediCal, law enforcement, fire and rescue services, and schools. The GOP and its followers will deliberately conflate socialism with communism, which is a misnomer. Communism and socialism may have some similarities, sharing of the countries wealth (think Commons), but that’s where the similarities end, just look at brutal governments of Russia, China and Cuba, and then see the ridiculousness of the GOP’s claims. These scare tactics won’t work with most of the younger generation, the ones who haven’t drunk Trump’s Kool-aide. They want to be able to go to school without going deep into debt and be able to get a decent paying job with healthcare. Most young people do not want to go war or want to see our country enter a war with Iran and think Sanders and Warren will stop the endless war and bring our troops home and ensure they are cared for properly. These young people recognize that if we stopped the wars and industrial war machine, this country would save a lot of money to pay for the social programs and UBI. The old people on Social Security would get a good raise also, which would not be eaten up by the Medicare costs and taxation. It was Ronald Reagan, who started taxing Social Security as a way to make up for the tax cut he gave the 1 percent during his presidency. Now, to the people who vote for the GOP, these are the people who believes they are next in line to receive untold riches, so with this logic it is perfectly reasonable to not tax the wealthy and make them pay their fair share because one day, the imaginary wealthy, may be rich, too. As author Ronald Wright famously observed, “Socialism never took root in America because the poor sees themselves not as an exploited proletariat but as temporary embarrassed millionaires.” Is this why the working class poor consistently vote GOP? It’s not working out for the wannabe rich. Or is it what Lyndon B. Johnson pointed out back in the 1960s, when he said the GOP was doing when he said, “If you can convince the lowest white man he’s better than the best colored man, he won’t notice you’re picking his pocket. Hell, give him somebody to look down on, and he’ll empty his pockets for you.” We need to stay focused on what is best for us as a whole, even those who can’t see the obvious right now. We need more social programs, the rich the pay their fair share, an end to war, a UBI, charging rent for our Commons. The money is there, you might not be a millionaire, but you will be able to feed your family, have a roof over your head and healthcare for you and your family.