So the big S-word is making its unruly rounds again. The big C word – Communism - is now so retro only our president uses it.
But Socialism is back with a bang, though under a new brand, Democratic Socialism! Doesn’t the very sound of it send you scurrying under your bed at the thought of voting in the November midterms?
Having openly fraternized with hundreds of socialists over the years, I can testify that the vast majority are sterling citizens who merely harbor a desire to make rawboned capitalism fairer and more representative.
So, what’s different about these new democratic socialists? Well, for one thing they’re young, and feel they’re getting screwed by the cost of housing, healthcare and college.
They believe that the billionaire class rules the country, and they feel little security in their jobs. From the moment they claw their way to an unpaid internship, they know they’re merely tolerated by the captains of industry and finance who will lay them off at the drop of a hat to keep investors and stock-holders happy.
Many work the same hours as Gilded Age laborers, except that the latter had unions fighting for them; if current tech workers tried to unionize they’d be fired and labeled – you guessed it - democratic socialists.
Meanwhile, the vast majority of S&P companies continue to deliver strong profits, and financial markets are booming – a good thing, if you’ve got a piece of the action.
But recent college grads have no stake yet – except large-size debt that requires annual payments.
Nor, for the most part, do they have anyone near their own age representing them. In the 2024 presidential election, an elderly megalomaniacal Republican was duking it out with an even older, egotistical Democrat, until the latter gentleman fled the field after suffering a senior moment in their first debate.
Dude, can you imagine the rolled eyes in the techie bars of Bushwick, Hyde Park and Silicon Valley?
What do democratic socialists want anyway? Depends on who you’re talking to, but a major ask is a Medicare For All health system.
As anyone lucky enough to be on Medicare will swear, it’s generally a good system, not unlike the Nordic social democratic healthcare model. However, Medicare For All would be hugely expensive and would call for a complete reorganization of taxes, including a hefty surtax on billionaires and large successful companies. Forget about that!
But look at it another way, out of the 38 OECD countries, the U.S. pays at least double per capita every other country for healthcare; yet, we rate almost bottom of the barrel in life expectancy. That’s right – we pay more and live less! Can we afford not to introduce Medicare For All?
Another democratic socialist ask is to root out corruption in government. These young blades do not share our fatigued, and often admiring, tolerance of President Trump’s growth in wealth over the course of his current administration.
Democratic socialists also favor banning corporate and wealthy private donor contributions to political campaigns; OMG, they’d even prefer a return to the post-Watergate campaign reforms. How naive!
What about the occasional DSA candidate who supported “Defund the police” during the social unrest of 2020? Well, anyone who did speak so irrationally back then should do a Mamdani, hastily take back what was said, and like New York's pragmatic democratic socialist mayor, go to a precinct and apologize.
As for “Dissolve the Senate!” As compliant as the Senate is under the primary-threatening control of President Trump, with a gain of four or five Democratic seats, sparks would fly once again in that sleepy abode for aging yes-men.
So, forget about the S-word. The Democratic Party, for all its faults, has traditionally had a healthy left, right and center!
To more serious matters. Over the last ten years of geriatric rule our national debt has doubled to $40 trillion. While profligate spending is merrily bipartisan, the tax cuts and foreign wars of the current regime continue to add to the red-ink flood.
Yet, we must allow our youth to dream; and make no mistake, the November midterms will initiate a battle between young and old, old and new, that will continue through 2028.
Dare I predict? Senator Jon Ossoff will be the next Democratic presidential nominee, a relatively young man far removed from democratic socialism, but one who could inspire all Americans. We’ve had enough kings and geriatrics. America needs a youthful change.
