In the July 8 Review-Journal, a letter from Ron Mitchell (“Benign socialism”) sang the praises of Social Democrats and how a socialist government would provide Americans with free social programs. But Mr. Mitchell was writing his letter using rose-colored glasses.
He itemized all of the so-called benefits that a socialist government can provide. But he ignored the fact that each and every program carries a cost that would impact every American. From several different sources, I saw where Medicare-for-All would cost each American family an additional $12,500 annually. Likewise, if the average tax burden for the middle class is compared between the United States and Sweden, the former is much lower, coming in at 27 percent compared to 43.3 percent in Sweden.
It seems that people love a socialism if other people pay for it and the cost of the programs doesn’t come out of their own pockets. Be careful what you wish for.
