"The world has never had a good definition of the word liberty, and the American people, just now, are much in want of one. We all declare for liberty; but in using the same word we do not all mean the same thing. With some the word liberty may mean for each man to do as he pleases with himself, and the product of his labor; while with others the same word may mean for some men to do as they please with other men, and the product of other men's labor. Here are two, not only different, but incompatible things, called by the same name, liberty. And it follows that each of the things is, by the respective parties, called by two different and incompatible names, liberty and tyranny." — President Abraham Lincoln, April 18, 1864, Baltimore Sanitary Fair.
This quote from Abraham Lincoln is especially relevant to America today. Just as then, the first Republican president took on the Democrat Party and their delusional and contradictory definition of the word liberty. Our nation went to war to honor and preserve the true meaning of individual liberty. In America today, we are confronting the very same issue of the true definition of liberty, for which Lincoln delivered an accurate, concise exegesis that is relevant for today. It is vital that in this coming midterm election cycle, we clarify this delineation once again. The Marxist message is one of "free," but it is imperative to understand that free does not equal freedom.
I will give it to the American Marxists who, in the deep bowels of some basement, in their pajamas eating Cheerios, came up with the word "affordability." If there is something Marxists do well, it is developing themes, "Hope and Change" that capture the minds of lemmings and useful idiots. In this instance, it was the word affordability. Now, I do find it rather ironic that during the Biden administration, when the inflation rate rose to nearly 9.1 percent (remember, Jimmy Carter took it to 13.5 percent), leftists said nothing about "affordability." Now, when they are not in "power," their most desired objective, they are rambling about it. One would think that the whole "affordability" issue would hit home in New York and California, or, truthfully, any blue state, states that are also the home of the highest tax rates in the nation. The policies of Marxism, and its subsidiary ideals of socialism and communism, seek to make everything affordable for everyone. In essence, it only results in misery, shared for everyone.
This was what I witnessed as a young U.S. Army Second Lieutenant when I first crossed through Checkpoint Charlie, leaving the freedom of West Berlin and seeing the "affordability" of East Berlin. Yes, rent-controlled housing. I saw the tenements of East Berlin. I saw the disrepair of the road networks. Free transportation? Yeah, right. And government control of cars, thanks but no thanks. Sure, it was affordable, just like the concept of government-run grocery stores. I remember in 1989 when soon-to-be Russian President Boris Yeltsin visited the Randalls grocery store in Houston, Texas. It was there that he realized the strength of the free-market economic system. Sadly, here we are going backward and actually have Marxists, like Zohran Mamdani, advocating for government-owned grocery stores, which are backed by taxpayer dollars and have no concern for making a profit. Their profits will come from increased taxation.
Barry Soetoro, aka Barack Hussein Obama, was supposed to make healthcare more affordable. After all, his so-called signature policy, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, has done nothing to lower costs of healthcare. As a matter of fact, we have seen rises in the costs of healthcare, and Democrats are crowing about continuing to offer taxpayer-funded subsidies to insurance companies who are the real beneficiaries of Obamacare, not the American patient. So, what is the Marxist response? Medicare for All, which will further degrade the American healthcare system. Oh yeah, didn't Obama once say you can keep your doctor? Nope, you will be a slave to the tyranny of a complete government-run healthcare system.
The most recent example of the folly of Marxist "affordability" can be found in Venezuela. Once one of the most prosperous nations in our hemisphere, reduced to rubble and human deprivation because of the wealth redistribution, nationalization of economic production, and equity schemes of Hugo Chavez. What we always witness when Marxists reign is that there is a cut line for those who live in opulence, say, Bernie Sanders, and then everyone else, who have been forced into the insidious, deceptive lie of equity, "affordability."
When Marxists speak of "affordability," they are speaking of subjugation, not of freedom or liberty, but tyranny and control. It means that they, the Marxists, determine your station in life, the quality of your life, under the guise that they have made things affordable for you. Instead of creating the conditions by which the individual citizen can afford their desired lifestyle, they make the false promise of a utopia, at the expense of others, and eventually at your expense. Marxists restrict your ability to determine your means to attain a productive life by controlling our system of education, now indoctrination. They have never desired to equip our children with a quality education. Remember, Marx's 10th plank was state control of education. Now, our children are matriculating through a system that precludes them from reading and doing simple math at appropriate levels. The Marxists seek to relegate our children to failed school systems and even denigrate parents who want better for their children as domestic terrorists.
This is all intentional. They create worthless academic pursuits in our colleges and universities and saddle students with massive college student loan debt. Do not forget that part of Obamacare was the nationalizing of college student loans, as well as taxing 529 tax-advantaged savings account plans for college education expenses. Then these same young people, uneducated, graduating with worthless college degrees, now complain about "affordability" and the American dream.
The Marxists are following the metaphorical story from French economist Frédéric Bastiat's essay "What Is Seen and What Is Not Seen." Bastiat talked about how a shopkeeper's broken glass and associated "loss" was fine because it would stimulate the economy by putting money in the glazier's pocket. The logic fails to account for the cost of the shopkeeper restoring something he already had. Going around breaking things so money can be moved around the economy is a ridiculous strategy. Marxists intentionally break viable, working systems to elevate themselves into a position of power and control: the Cloward-Piven strategy. Obama and the Democrats gave us Obamacare in order to break our healthcare system with the goal of taking it over.
Marxists want economic enslavement, not individual empowerment. They want to confiscate private property and end property ownership. It is, after all, not affordable. They do not want to create opportunities for individual success and achievement. Remember, if you own a business, "you didn't build that." Marxists prefer controlling individual outcomes and promoting achievement envy.
Marxists want you to believe that you are an irredeemable victim with no possibility of being a victor.
If we want to make things more affordable, then it is critical that we advocate for the policies of equality of opportunity, not outcomes. We need to restore our system of education and make it relevant to prepare our children for our free market/free enterprise economic system. A doggone degree in women's studies, black studies, or the other mindless pursuits needs to be eradicated. Our federal government needs to move from the failed baseline budgeting system to a zero-based system and restore constitutional governance. When the American people have more of their resources in their pockets, they can determine affordability. And all across this nation, tyrannical tax policies such as estate and property taxes must be eliminated.
The word affordability has two different and incompatible meanings, based upon the two different political philosophies: Constitutional conservatism and Marxism. They use the same word but have different meanings: one is liberty, the other tyranny.
This November, the American people can decide which meaning they prefer.
Steadfast and Loyal.
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