Socialism was once a dirty word in America. If a politician was branded a "socialist," the scarlet label spelled disgrace and defeat. Today in the Democratic Party presidential primary an avowed proponent of socialism has risen in the polls as his views have received increasing popular support.
How far has capitalism fallen out of favor? In the recent Democratic Party presidential debate, no candidate rushed to defend capitalism, including Hillary Clinton, whose tepid support for free enterprise seemed at odds with the views of most in the audience.
The Gallup polling firm has shed some light on the rise of socialism in a 2010 report. The results of its opinion research showed that 53 percent of Democrats have a positive image of socialism. By comparison, only 17 percent of Republicans hold a flattering view of socialism.
Among all Americans, about one-third (36%) have a positive impression of socialism. What the research makes clear is that socialism has found a home in the Democratic Party. It helps explain the improbable candidacy of unabashed socialist Bernie Sanders.
A more recent Gallup poll, conducted in June, found that 47 percent of Americans would consider voting for a socialist candidate for president. Democrats (52%) were more favorable toward a socialist campaigner than independents (49%) and Republicans (26%).
This may be shocking news to many Americans who associate socialism with Communist China or the former Soviet Union or Fidel Castro's Cuban regime. Do Americans really want a society controlled by a totalitarian government that dictates economic winners and losers?
The answer to that question can be found in the Gallup research. In the firm's poll, 86 percent of Americans favorably rated the term "free enterprise," including a majority of Democrats. Yet in the minds of many economists, capitalism and free enterprise are synonymous.
A 2014 report by the Pew Research Center on Global Attitudes and Trends found that Americans are more likely than their counterparts in other industrialized countries to believe their own efforts will determine success. That is another one of the hallmarks of a capitalist society.
This suggests the term "capitalism" has become anathema for many Americans. Democrats, especially the party's liberal wing, have demonized capitalism for years. Their propaganda campaign has been abetted by the media's portrayal of the current system as patently unfair and corrupt.
The steady drumbeat of disinformation has included false narratives about capitalism. The economic system has exacerbated income inequality, increased poverty, gutted the middle class, fueled job losses and made health care unaffordable. Capitalism is now a four-letter word: e-v-i-l.
All society's problems cannot be laid at the feet of capitalism. Capitalism does not guarantee equal outcomes in life. No economic system does, not even the socialism preached by Mr. Sanders. Yet Democrats keep insisting income equality demands equal prosperity.
Capitalism allows each person the right to their property, to invest as they see fit, to work for the benefit of themselves or their family, to buy and sell goods and services with little or no interference from the government. This economic freedom unleashes the God-given potential of each individual.
Under capitalism, Americans have grown more prosperous. More people own homes. Ingenuity is rewarded. Democracy is strengthened. Billions of dollars are spent each year on safety nets for those less fortunate. America has led the way in innovation and the reduction of poverty.
For all this evidence of success, there is little public recognition of why America enjoys such abundance. The education system no longer celebrates capitalism. You can find weighty tomes written by college professors bemoaning the human misery caused by capitalism.
Where are capitalism's defenders today? Business leaders should be at the forefront of extolling the virtues of a system that benefits job creation, investment, entrepreneurship and growth. But most cower, scared the political correctness crowd will attack anyone who touts capitalism.
Americans are allowing their economic model to be trashed without a peep. Too many people take free enterprise for granted and assume it will always be the nation's economic engine. However, a socialist president could change the current model in ways that would bring lasting economic ruin.
Rise up Americans. Once capitalism disappears, it will be too late for its proponents to recapture the prosperity that our nation has enjoyed. Raise your voices in support of capitalism, the economic system that is responsible for America's greatness.
Monday, October 26, 2015
Monday, October 19, 2015
How To Cut the Federal Budget By Billions
Liberals usually dredge up images of starving children, the bedraggled homeless and the penniless elderly to justify fatter federal budgets. More government spending is the remedy for every social injustice. They mock advocates of fiscal responsibility, branding them heartless monsters.
In the mind of a liberal, Washington's budgets cannot be trimmed. There is no waste, no fraud, no inefficiency, no pork in the budget. Every penny in spending can be justified. Liberals never let the facts become an obstacle to their quest to spend, spend, spend.
No one can contest the fact the liberals, often with the support of wishy washy conservatives, have won the battle of the budget most years. The result has been record-busting spending. Just consider what has happened in the last 28 years.
In 1987, the federal budget burst through the $1 trillion ceiling for the first time. Since then, it has tripled to $3.8 trillion for the current 2015 fiscal year. That is nearly $300 billion more than the previous year. Next year's budget will likely be the first one to crack $4 trillion.
Those budget increases have been built on the backs of higher levels of debt. In President Obama's first four years in office, budget deficits surpassed $1 trillion annually for the first time in U.S. history. During this spending binge, America's debt has mushroomed to $18 trillion.
For most of the 20th century, federal government spending was about three per cent of the country's economic output or Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But today your government's spending amounts to more than 20 percent of the GDP.
As the federal government has gobbled up taxpayer funds, it has become more unwieldy, inefficient and susceptible to fraud. If you need evidence, look no further than the annual U.S. government audit released this month by Gene L. Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States.
In a report that attracted scant media coverage, Dodaro said the government's own records documented that various federal agencies doled out improper payments totaling $124.7 billion in 2014. That represents a $19 billion hike from the previous fiscal year, suggesting fraud is rampant.
For the record, the government classifies "improper payments" as fraudulent spending. However, not all of these payments are the result of fraud. Some improper payments are a by-product of lax government controls, non-existent safeguards or administrative bungling.
Over the years, the situation has grown worse. Since fiscal year 2003, improper payments have cumulatively totaled almost $1 trillion. That contributes to the growth in government spending that no politician or government official ever mentions. It is Washington's dirty little secret.
In 2014, the largest share of over payments occurred in three programs: Medicare, Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Those plans accounted for 75 percent of the estimate of improper payments, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
One of the most popular frauds is the earned income tax credit claimed by those filing with the Internal Revenue Service. The government handed out $17.7 billion in improper payments to taxpayers for this credit last year. It accounted for 14.2 percent of the total improper payments.
During 2014, Medicare financed health services for about 54 million elderly and disabled persons at a cost of $603 billion. Nearly 10 percent of that amount ($60 billion) was labeled improper spending. Most but not all of those payments can be attributed to fraudulent claims paid to Medicare providers.
The waste wasn't just confined to entitlements. Improper payments during last year were found in 22 government agencies and across 124 federal programs. That is the definition of pervasive waste. The government-wide payment error rate increased form four percent to 4.5 percent in 2014.
Error rates were even higher for some popular government programs. For example, the school breakfast program recorded 25.6 percent of its expenditures as improper payments. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act had a 23.1 percent fraudulent payment rate, reports the GAO.
No private or public corporation could operate with those error rates. But the federal government gets away with it because elected representatives do not hold them accountable. The bureaucracy thumbs its noses at scrutiny because mismanagement won't get you fired.
That's why Dodaro is not optimistic about the federal government addressing this critical issue. In his report, he wrote that "the federal government is unable to determine the full extent to which improper payments occur and reasonably assure that appropriate actions are taken."
This disclosure should sound alarm bells in the halls of Congress. But sadly it won't. Washington has become jaded to the waste, fraud and bureaucratic bungling. That is an indictment of the cozy inside the Beltway cabal that talks austerity but always votes for more spending.
Until Congress gets serious about budget reform, the situation will never improve. Spending will continue unabated. Wake up Americans. Start demanding a zero increase in spending until the bureaucrats clean up their act.
In the mind of a liberal, Washington's budgets cannot be trimmed. There is no waste, no fraud, no inefficiency, no pork in the budget. Every penny in spending can be justified. Liberals never let the facts become an obstacle to their quest to spend, spend, spend.
No one can contest the fact the liberals, often with the support of wishy washy conservatives, have won the battle of the budget most years. The result has been record-busting spending. Just consider what has happened in the last 28 years.
In 1987, the federal budget burst through the $1 trillion ceiling for the first time. Since then, it has tripled to $3.8 trillion for the current 2015 fiscal year. That is nearly $300 billion more than the previous year. Next year's budget will likely be the first one to crack $4 trillion.
Those budget increases have been built on the backs of higher levels of debt. In President Obama's first four years in office, budget deficits surpassed $1 trillion annually for the first time in U.S. history. During this spending binge, America's debt has mushroomed to $18 trillion.
For most of the 20th century, federal government spending was about three per cent of the country's economic output or Gross Domestic Product (GDP). But today your government's spending amounts to more than 20 percent of the GDP.
As the federal government has gobbled up taxpayer funds, it has become more unwieldy, inefficient and susceptible to fraud. If you need evidence, look no further than the annual U.S. government audit released this month by Gene L. Dodaro, comptroller general of the United States.
In a report that attracted scant media coverage, Dodaro said the government's own records documented that various federal agencies doled out improper payments totaling $124.7 billion in 2014. That represents a $19 billion hike from the previous fiscal year, suggesting fraud is rampant.
For the record, the government classifies "improper payments" as fraudulent spending. However, not all of these payments are the result of fraud. Some improper payments are a by-product of lax government controls, non-existent safeguards or administrative bungling.
Over the years, the situation has grown worse. Since fiscal year 2003, improper payments have cumulatively totaled almost $1 trillion. That contributes to the growth in government spending that no politician or government official ever mentions. It is Washington's dirty little secret.
In 2014, the largest share of over payments occurred in three programs: Medicare, Medicaid and the Earned Income Tax Credit. Those plans accounted for 75 percent of the estimate of improper payments, according to a recent Government Accountability Office (GAO) report.
One of the most popular frauds is the earned income tax credit claimed by those filing with the Internal Revenue Service. The government handed out $17.7 billion in improper payments to taxpayers for this credit last year. It accounted for 14.2 percent of the total improper payments.
During 2014, Medicare financed health services for about 54 million elderly and disabled persons at a cost of $603 billion. Nearly 10 percent of that amount ($60 billion) was labeled improper spending. Most but not all of those payments can be attributed to fraudulent claims paid to Medicare providers.
The waste wasn't just confined to entitlements. Improper payments during last year were found in 22 government agencies and across 124 federal programs. That is the definition of pervasive waste. The government-wide payment error rate increased form four percent to 4.5 percent in 2014.
Error rates were even higher for some popular government programs. For example, the school breakfast program recorded 25.6 percent of its expenditures as improper payments. The Farm Security and Rural Investment Act had a 23.1 percent fraudulent payment rate, reports the GAO.
No private or public corporation could operate with those error rates. But the federal government gets away with it because elected representatives do not hold them accountable. The bureaucracy thumbs its noses at scrutiny because mismanagement won't get you fired.
That's why Dodaro is not optimistic about the federal government addressing this critical issue. In his report, he wrote that "the federal government is unable to determine the full extent to which improper payments occur and reasonably assure that appropriate actions are taken."
This disclosure should sound alarm bells in the halls of Congress. But sadly it won't. Washington has become jaded to the waste, fraud and bureaucratic bungling. That is an indictment of the cozy inside the Beltway cabal that talks austerity but always votes for more spending.
Until Congress gets serious about budget reform, the situation will never improve. Spending will continue unabated. Wake up Americans. Start demanding a zero increase in spending until the bureaucrats clean up their act.
Monday, October 5, 2015
America's Crisis of Corruption
America has a corruption epidemic. From the White House to the state house to the school house, it exists at every level of government. This breach of public trust helps explain why Americans are fed up with the culture of corruption fostered by Washington's establishment political class.
In a recent survey by the polling firm Gallup, three out of four Americans (75%) said they were convinced that corruption in their government is pervasive. This is a watershed figure and eclipses the 66 percent who felt the same way in 2009 when President Obama took office.
Other research has found that 60 percent of Americans believe that corruption has increased in the last two years. Only 10 percent think the level of dishonesty has decreased. Those polled included a representative sample of Americans from all income, political and ethnic groups.
Perhaps, there are some Americans who think this is more about perception than reality. But a cursory glance through the FBI's public corruption files confirms the widespread impropriety that has touched every branch of government. Here is a sample of headlines from the files:
Former Texas Judge Sentenced on Racketeering Charges. Indiana City Councilman Sentenced for Failure to File Tax Returns. Former Congressman and Wife Convicted of campaign fraud. Ex-law Enforcement Officials Sentenced on Conspiracy, Tax and Money Laundering Charges.
The list of dishonesty extends for pages and pages. New Jersey School Administrator Sentenced for Bribery. Pennsylvania State Senator Convicted of Mail Fraud and Tax Charges. Former Wichita City Clerk Sentenced for Embezzling Funds. DEA Agents Charged With Stealing $1 Million in Currency.
The White House has not been immune from the disease of dishonesty. Controversies have included the the IRS targeting of conservative groups, the Justice Department's collection of phone data on reporters, Secret Service agents hiring of prostitutes and the Veterans Administration scandal.
The crookedness has created a stench that no amount of political stump speeches will erase. Every day brings a new headline and a new arrest warrant. It is a never ending march of corruption that taints American democracy and turns off voters who view every office holder as amoral.
Indiana University and City University in Hong Kong documented the level of corruption in a 2014 landmark study. Their research uncovered more than 25,000 convictions for violations of federal anti-corruption laws by U.S. government employees and officials in a 32-year period ending in 2008.
The research, which appeared in Public Administration Review, concluded that reducing corruption in government would help restrain spending for many states struggling to balance their budget. In other words, government dishonesty ends up costing taxpayers more money.
Politicians and government employees aren't the only culpable individuals.
Transparency International, a global coalition against corruption, surveyed Americans and found that a surprising seven percent admitted paying a bribe to a government official in the last 12 months. In the study, Americans named political parties as the most corrupt institutions in the country.
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. Corruption has seeped into both parties and throughout the government bureaucracy they have constructed. Too many politicians and government workers view kickbacks, bribes, misconduct and fraud as just part of the benefits that go with the office.
Sadly, the future portends the specter of more not less corruption in government. Today there is at least one sitting congressman who has evaded payment of federal taxes. A long-term senator has been charged with accepting bribes, yet still occupies a seat in the nation's legislative chamber.
The current political class looks the other way while its members commit all sorts of iniquities. They wink and nod and pretend to care. But they don't enforce their own rules. No wonder the public mood is to throw out all the bums, even the "good" ones.
Washington, state legislatures, cities and schools need to start policing their elected officials. There should be zero tolerance for any infraction of the code of conduct. Prosecutions need to more vigorous. Jail terms need to be stiffened. The guilty should not be allowed to ever hold office.
Americans are demanding more of their government and elected officials. They have every right to do so. Honesty, integrity and morality are not suggestions for the governing elite. Those characteristics are what should be required to occupy any office of public trust.
In a recent survey by the polling firm Gallup, three out of four Americans (75%) said they were convinced that corruption in their government is pervasive. This is a watershed figure and eclipses the 66 percent who felt the same way in 2009 when President Obama took office.
Other research has found that 60 percent of Americans believe that corruption has increased in the last two years. Only 10 percent think the level of dishonesty has decreased. Those polled included a representative sample of Americans from all income, political and ethnic groups.
Perhaps, there are some Americans who think this is more about perception than reality. But a cursory glance through the FBI's public corruption files confirms the widespread impropriety that has touched every branch of government. Here is a sample of headlines from the files:
Former Texas Judge Sentenced on Racketeering Charges. Indiana City Councilman Sentenced for Failure to File Tax Returns. Former Congressman and Wife Convicted of campaign fraud. Ex-law Enforcement Officials Sentenced on Conspiracy, Tax and Money Laundering Charges.
The list of dishonesty extends for pages and pages. New Jersey School Administrator Sentenced for Bribery. Pennsylvania State Senator Convicted of Mail Fraud and Tax Charges. Former Wichita City Clerk Sentenced for Embezzling Funds. DEA Agents Charged With Stealing $1 Million in Currency.
The White House has not been immune from the disease of dishonesty. Controversies have included the the IRS targeting of conservative groups, the Justice Department's collection of phone data on reporters, Secret Service agents hiring of prostitutes and the Veterans Administration scandal.
The crookedness has created a stench that no amount of political stump speeches will erase. Every day brings a new headline and a new arrest warrant. It is a never ending march of corruption that taints American democracy and turns off voters who view every office holder as amoral.
Indiana University and City University in Hong Kong documented the level of corruption in a 2014 landmark study. Their research uncovered more than 25,000 convictions for violations of federal anti-corruption laws by U.S. government employees and officials in a 32-year period ending in 2008.
The research, which appeared in Public Administration Review, concluded that reducing corruption in government would help restrain spending for many states struggling to balance their budget. In other words, government dishonesty ends up costing taxpayers more money.
Politicians and government employees aren't the only culpable individuals.
Transparency International, a global coalition against corruption, surveyed Americans and found that a surprising seven percent admitted paying a bribe to a government official in the last 12 months. In the study, Americans named political parties as the most corrupt institutions in the country.
This is not a Democrat or Republican issue. Corruption has seeped into both parties and throughout the government bureaucracy they have constructed. Too many politicians and government workers view kickbacks, bribes, misconduct and fraud as just part of the benefits that go with the office.
Sadly, the future portends the specter of more not less corruption in government. Today there is at least one sitting congressman who has evaded payment of federal taxes. A long-term senator has been charged with accepting bribes, yet still occupies a seat in the nation's legislative chamber.
The current political class looks the other way while its members commit all sorts of iniquities. They wink and nod and pretend to care. But they don't enforce their own rules. No wonder the public mood is to throw out all the bums, even the "good" ones.
Washington, state legislatures, cities and schools need to start policing their elected officials. There should be zero tolerance for any infraction of the code of conduct. Prosecutions need to more vigorous. Jail terms need to be stiffened. The guilty should not be allowed to ever hold office.
Americans are demanding more of their government and elected officials. They have every right to do so. Honesty, integrity and morality are not suggestions for the governing elite. Those characteristics are what should be required to occupy any office of public trust.