THE GRIFT
Are Groceries and Housing More Expensive?
Yes, but that’s the downside of capitalism running over the people
While writing an article entitled “Amazing Biden Grace,” highlighting the grace and restraint of Joe Biden, I wrote the title and subtitle of this piece, addressing questions commonly heard from died-in-the-orange supporters of the Republican front-runner.
Here’s the full quote:
Are groceries and housing more expensive?
Yes, but that’s the downside of capitalism running over the people. We could solve that problem if y’all were open to social support, but for some reason, you keep voting to give your money to those who use it to oppress you.
In the original version, instead of “social support” I had written “socialism”. However, before I clicked on the final m, something in my brain said, “Hey man, don’t use that word.”
“What are you talking about?” I asked.
“‘Socialism’, idiot. Don’t use that word.”
“But… why? That’s what I want to say.”
“Listen, the moment you include that word, any conversation with a Republican is over. They love their actual socialism, but damn, they get triggered hard when they hear the word.”
Could it be true? Could it be that Republicans love the benefits of socialism but are terrified of the actual word?
It would definitely seem that way. Watching interviews of the MAGA faithful heading to another victim church rally, there seems to be a good number of retired folks who are happy to receive social security from the government. They appear to be completely unaware they drove there on roads constructed and maintained using socially contributed tax monies. Most also support “backing the blue” (supporting police) even though police and fire services are supported through taxes, making them inherently socialistic.
Yet, when asked about government-supported medical care, this crowd is almost universally opposed because — and I quote — “that’s socialism.” They then go on to list all of the country’s present social ills and how the present (Democratic) administration isn’t addressing these problems, completely unaware that what they’re asking for is more government support.
Yes, they’re asking for more socialism. But we can’t have that, of course, because “that’s socialism!”
Republicans seem to hold fast to the belief that the solution is always found in the economics of capitalism. The overarching thinking is “I earned it, so it’s mine.” Hence the rise of Bill Gates, Elon Musk, Jeff Bezos, Warren Buffet, and more. Now, I’m not one to disparage these folks over their successes. However, consider this: If these folks have thousands of times more money than the rest of the country combined, and they wield this money to influence policies that impact us all, how is that fair to the people who don’t have billions of dollars to set on fire with a phallic rocket?
This is why prices always go up when there’s a Democrat in the Big Chair. Big Business doesn’t want anything slowing down profits. They’re against climate action. They’re against consumer protections. They’re against taxes. They’re vehemently against sharing profits, even with their employees. Instead, they invest in “ethically malleable” politicians to control policy. It just so happens that Republican congress members have historically been a very good investment for high-value campaign contributors.
When a Republican gets into the Big Chair, even if it’s the glue-eating kid we had between 2016–2020, Big Business gets the breaks they’ve paid for, and prices go down. However, this inevitably leads to inflation and the country turns to a Democrat to get things back under control which they do. And the cycle repeats.
The problem impacting so many Americans is not the party that sits in the Big Chair. The problem is Big Business and its use of market manipulation to inappropriately influence an ill-informed electorate. Exacerbated by a one-sided media machine hell-bent on delivering the highest-quality angertainment possible, the country is left smoldering while folks like the Murdochs cash mountains of donor checks and funnel that money back into their congressional investments.
The bullies get richer while the people get screwed.
Since the establishment of social security in 1935, the United States has shown that there is a way for socialism and capitalism to work together. Yes, things can also get off the rails when public money is used for private gain, such as bailouts of corporations or tax breaks for billionaires. But that doesn’t mean that all social programs are flawed, it just means some programs have been inappropriately mismanaged by self-serving political forces without regard to the nation at large.
In other words, don’t blame socialism. Blame the grifters who rob the social programs to “give back” to their campaign contributors. And for the love of God, we need to get big money out of politics. As long as the modus operandi of Congress is “money CAN buy you love,” we will always be under the oppression of selfish grifters disguised as “business leaders.” When the rich are allowed to brazenly influence policy that makes them richer and the poor poorer, something has to change. We can start this change by helping voters understand how strategic social programs could benefit everyone . . . even if it is “socialism.”
