Capitalism, the economic system that led to the creation of the middle class, as well as unsurpassed innovation and wealth, is under attack by far-left progressives.
The left’s latest attempt to destroy capitalism is a New York state proposal called the “Good Cause Eviction,” bill, which would “effectively bring some 2 million apartments in the city alone under a new statewide rent-control regime” according to the New York Post.
The bill’s primary sponsor is state Sen. Julia Salazar, a self-described Democratic Socialist representing Brooklyn and Queens. She makes no attempt to hide her goal of eliminating private property ownership.
“But unless you advocate for universal rent control and frankly, eventually, the abolition of private property . . . what you’re actually doing is just kicking the can down the road,” she said in 2018.
Salazar suggested doing exactly that — seizing private property — in response to New York City landlords keeping more than 61,000 rent stabilized units off the market, in order to upgrade the units and legally charge enough additional rent to make them profitable.
“Expropriate them and allow community land trusts to acquire the properties to actually house people,” she suggested in October.
She’s not alone in this endeavor. New York City’s socialist comptroller Brad Lander is all in on public ownership of housing.
“Instead of letting distressed properties be auctioned off when owners default on mortgages and taxes, the city should step in,” Lander said.
“We could acquire and hold these properties temporarily through a city-controlled land bank, based on legislation I’ve introduced, and then transfer them to a growing network of community land trusts, nonprofit entities that hold land in perpetuity for publicly beneficial uses,” he continued.
This is all part of the plan, according to the World Economic Forum. In 2016 it asked a number of hand-picked “experts” from the Global Future Councils what the year 2030 will ideally look like.
Its No. 1 prediction was that “You’ll own nothing. And you’ll be happy.”
So pride of ownership will be a thing of the past?
Sen. Bernie Sanders is probably the most visible Democratic Socialist at the national level. Last week the Vermont Independent locked horns with former Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz over unionizing the coffee chain.
During Wednesday’s Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee hearing, Sanders repeatedly used the term “billionaire” to describe Schultz, as though it was something to be ashamed of, until the former CEO had had enough.
“This moniker of billionaire, let’s just get at that,” Schultz, a presidential hopeful said.
“I grew up in federally subsidized housing. My parents never owned a home. I came from nothing. I thought my entire life was based on the achievement of the American dream.”
Before being cut off by Sanders, Schultz added, “Yes, I have billions of dollars; I earned it. No one gave it to me, and I’ve shared it constantly with the people of Starbucks.”
Ironically, Sanders revealed last August that his beginnings were similar to Schultz’s.
“I grew up in a 3-and-a-half-room, rent-controlled apartment,” he said. “I’ll be damned if I’m going to let a handful of billionaires control this country.”
In yet another note of irony, Sanders was arguably the second-most successful capitalist in the hearing room after Schultz, despite calling himself a socialist.
He’s a multimillionaire with three luxury homes and he attained that status primarily as a capitalist — by selling books.
Sanders kicked off the release of his latest book on March 1 with an event at The Anthem in Washington, D.C., an auditorium with a seating capacity of at least 2,300.
Ticket prices ranged from $35 to $95.
Now for the final irony. The name of the new book he’s peddling is “It’s Okay to Be Angry About Capitalism.”
So for nearly a C-note you can watch Sanders rant about capitalism — while he gets wealthier from capitalism.
But seriously, you can watch him rant about capitalism all day long on C-SPAN for free if that’s your thing.
Capitalism is based on the adage “build a better mousetrap, and the world will beat a path to your door.”
And wealth has been created by developing new products, improving upon existing ones, and making them cheaper.
Politicians are changing that adage to “build a better mousetrap, and envious politicians will regulate you out of business.”
Then they’ll take it over and make a mess of it.
Michael Dorstewitz is a retired lawyer and has been a frequent contributor to Newsmax. He is also a former U.S. Merchant Marine officer and an enthusiastic Second Amendment supporter. Read Michael Dorstewitz’s Reports — More Here.
© 2023 Newsmax. All rights reserved.
