In his State of the State address on Jan. 30, Gov. Gary Herbert abruptly broke his continuity of thought to warn us against evil socialism (example provided: Venezuela). It was a strange non sequitur.
How fascinating that just six days later, President Trump did the same thing in his State of the Union address, using exactly the same example.
Coincidence? Highly unlikely.
We probably just witnessed the launching of a new GOP fear campaign, the goal of which is to scare the bejesus out of anyone leaning towards an idea whose time has come: universal health care, and/or Medicare expansion. Usually, the GOP is adept at this kind of thing (remember Benghazi, death panels, and drill baby drill?), but for such a “coincidence” to occur so conspicuously, someone must have been asleep at the wheel.
Of course, in pursuing this rhetoric, the GOP is doing what it’s paid by corporations and lobbyists to do ― coddling greedy campaign donors such as health care insurance companies. It is a shame, considering that two of the most sweeping social programs, Social Security and Medicare, have been unqualified successes. Medicare has consistently covered health care at a far lower cost than the private sector. In 14 years on Medicare, I have never known it to make a mistake, deliberately delay a payment or use the bait-and-switch tactics so common among private insurance companies.
We should be even more offended by these ideologues’ insulting our intelligence. Either they are woefully ignorant or they are deliberately trying to mislead us. Who seriously believes that Venezuela’s failure is due to socialism, as opposed to authoritarian rule, oppression, an undiversified economy much too dependent upon oil revenues, rampant corruption and embezzlement, the power of military strongmen and a long history of political instability? Moreover, “socialism” covers such a broad range of models, policies and implementations that discussion on a meaningful level requires that one define what they are talking about.
It is more useful to look at other countries where universal health care has been in effect for some time. Canada and the United Kingdom, for example, have successful, no-copay health care systems and are hardly failed states. Germany does not have “free” health care, but heavily regulates the health care insurance sectors to protect consumers. Most health care costs are covered by its federal government through a federal insurance program.
As for socialism in general, the Scandinavian countries, with their “Nordic models” of socialism, have some of the most successful economies of the world. More to the point, these countries excel in their individual self-assessments of happiness according to several criteria. According to the United Nations’ annual World Happiness Report for 2018, Finland tops the list, followed by Norway, Denmark and Iceland. Canada ranks seventh. The USA is way down the list at 16th place. The GOP doesn’t want us to hear these figures. It’s hard to argue with such success.
Herbert asserts that our schools should emphasize the study of “free-market capitalism.” That is exactly the wrong approach. It would tend to perpetuate an ailing system badly in need of reform. And it is counter to the principles of a thorough, open education, in which all knowledge is up for discussion and debate.
Our students should study all economic systems, and our schools must instill in our students the ability to think independently. Only then will they be equipped to improve on the existing socially unfair, wildly unregulated, volatile system that encourages widespread subsidies of special interests, and is anything but “free-market capitalism.”
William Kneedler, Herriman, was born in Thailand and is a retired information systems manager. He has lived in two countries, visited 20, and has lived in six states on the East Coast and in the Intermountain West. This exposure resulted in a realization that although our nation’s geographical isolation has protected us militarily, it has isolated us from other ideas, customs and systems that could be invaluable to our growth and vitality.
