Is US Headed for Socialism?
“Democracy is the road to socialism and socialism leads to communism.” – Karl Marx
At the height of the Cold War in 1978, Simon Mikhailovich’s family made a bold decision to leave the Soviet Union and start a new life in the United States.
To do so, they would have to give up their careers, a good home, most of their other possessions, and the place their family called home for generations. For much of Simon’s life thus far, it was not a completely miserable life in the Soviet Union. However, as prices began to spike, goods became scarce and corruption turned into normal business practice, his family decided to capitalize on a slim window of opportunity to leave.
One year later, the border closed, and conditions continued to deteriorate in their home country.
For many others, life in the Soviet Union or under Soviet influence was much grimmer. It is estimated that the communist regime was responsible for the killing of almost 100 million people.
Horrors by these numbers are almost unthinkable in modern America. But folks like Mikhailovich, with the first-hand experience of the early signs, warn that socialism is a lot closer than many like to admit.
Signs of Socialism
According to Mikhailovich, the signs of socialism are consistent every time this evil ideology begins to infiltrate society. And these signs are frighteningly similar to events taking place in present-day America.
One of the initial signs of socialism is the diversion between political rhetoric and the reality of people’s experiences in the real world.
We see this today with the price of goods and services going up much higher than the government and media would leave you to believe. When you read about inflation numbers in the news, most of the time you are being told the Consumer Price Index.
This government calculated rate tracks the change in prices of goods and services and has recently printed its highest numbers in over a decade. The problem with this number is that it is easily manipulated by the government. By leaving out “volatile” prices from food and energy, geometric weighting, product substitution, and hedonic adjustments, the government can essentially publish whatever number they want.
With an ever-growing asset bubble, historically low-interest rates, major private and public debts, and zombie companies weighing down the economy, the government is incentivized to keep this number low.
A lack of honesty from the politicians goes hand in hand with the next sign of socialism which is the collapse of ethical and moral standards when conducting business.
Before the Great Financial Crisis of 2007-08, one of the catalysts to the housing market collapse was the rating agencies falsely giving AAA ratings to junk bonds and mortgages so that the investment banks would continue to do business with them. This shady business practice trickled down to local mortgage brokers and decimated an entire financial system with aftershocks still being felt today.
More recently, it has become obvious that government officials use non-public knowledge to make extremely lucrative trades in the stock market via family members. Actions like this have led to the rise of “meme” stocks and small retail investors banning together on online forums to short squeeze stocks. Actions to which a feud erupted continue to this day.
When people witness the corruption of the political and establishment classes with impunity, they begin to believe they can get away with things too. So follows the disrespect of authority and the law as well as the rise of shady business practices like the Soviet Union witnessed and the United States has begun to experience.
How Socialism Takes Root
Free stuff and distrust in the economic system are largely to blame for the recent rise in sentiment for socialist policies. In 2021, the meaning behind the word “free” has devolved from the freedom to choose, to the government giving away free things.
A slew of socialist politicians has graced the halls of Washington D.C. in recent elections with big promises of free health care, free public college, and free universal basic income. With zero knowledge or regard for the economics of these proposed policies, millions of young Americans have taken interest in these hefty promises.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the spectrum, all of those opposed to this agenda are welcomed with a denial of free speech, free press, and free assembly thanks to the big tech oligarchs and local power-hungry school boards.
What nobody in this new socialist movement seems to comprehend is that socialism has been tried. Many times. And each time it was as unsuccessful as the first while being equally as bad for human rights, human lives, and economies.
Where Do You Go in Socialist America?
When Simon Mikhailovich left the Soviet Union with his family in 1978, they knew where they were going. The United State of America, where free-market capitalism, sound money, private property rights, and the rule of law laid the groundwork for the freest and most prosperous nation the world has ever seen.
These pillars not only made the United States and western democracies the financial centers of the world, but they also fostered the community, culture, and common bonds that make life in the US so special.
In 1978, the question of “where do we go?” was easy for Simon and his family. Today, that question gets harder to answer as the United States drifts farther in the direction of socialism and away from the ideas that made it so great.