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Bernie's commonsense ideas of Medicare-for-All and free college education, for example, are hysterically decried as totalitarian designs from China and the USSR. (Photo: Shutterstuck)
White House Economists Are Obsessed with Socialism
A new White House report links the idea of Medicare for All with Mao. Really?
Nov 07, 2018
Trump's White House seems to be both spooked... and spooky.
Check out a 72-page "spookonomics" report issued right before Halloween by his Council of Economic Advisors. It reads like an endless Trump tweet, focused on his perceived political enemies and riddled with fantasies, lies, and paranoia about the policies of progressives.
A la Joe McCarthy, Trump's economic advisors spew conspiracy theories about the proposals of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and other democratic populists, frantically linking them with "Failed Socialist Policies" of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and other communist dictators.
Bernie's commonsense ideas of Medicare-for-All and free college education, for example, are hysterically decried as totalitarian designs from China and the USSR. Likewise, the report compares Warren's assertion that corporate giants are dodging their tax obligations to Lenin's demonization and killing of yeoman farmers.
In this ludicrous, right-ring political screed -- paid for by us taxpayers -- the fraidy-cat Trump scaremongers toss in the supposedly spooky word "socialism" 144 times. That's an average of twice per page!
Among the horrors that the Trumpistas cite is that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have stated that "large corporations... exploit human misery and insecurity, and turn them into huge profits," and "giant corporations... exploit workers just to boost their own profits."
Excuse me, learned scholars, but all of that happens to be true, as the great majority of Americans know from experience. Trump's economists also inform us that if the U.S. adopted Venezuelan policies, our economy would shrink by 40 percent. Well, perhaps, but here's the thing: No one is proposing we do that.
What's really spooky is that these know-nothing ideologues are actually advisers to a president of the United States.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, The U.S. is on a fast track to authoritarianism like nothing I've ever seen. Meanwhile, corporate news outlets are utterly capitulating to Trump, twisting their coverage to avoid drawing his ire while lining up to stuff cash in his pockets. That's why I believe that Common Dreams is doing the best and most consequential reporting that we've ever done. Our small but mighty team is a progressive reporting powerhouse, covering the news every day that the corporate media never will. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. And to ignite change for the common good. Now here's the key piece that I want all our readers to understand: None of this would be possible without your financial support. That's not just some fundraising cliche. It's the absolute and literal truth. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. Will you donate now to help power the nonprofit, independent reporting of Common Dreams? Thank you for being a vital member of our community. Together, we can keep independent journalism alive when it’s needed most. - Craig Brown, Co-founder |
This column was distributed by OtherWords.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
bernie sanderselizabeth warrenjim hightowermedicaremedicare for allsingle-payersocialismtotalitarianismtrumpism
Trump's White House seems to be both spooked... and spooky.
Check out a 72-page "spookonomics" report issued right before Halloween by his Council of Economic Advisors. It reads like an endless Trump tweet, focused on his perceived political enemies and riddled with fantasies, lies, and paranoia about the policies of progressives.
A la Joe McCarthy, Trump's economic advisors spew conspiracy theories about the proposals of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and other democratic populists, frantically linking them with "Failed Socialist Policies" of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and other communist dictators.
Bernie's commonsense ideas of Medicare-for-All and free college education, for example, are hysterically decried as totalitarian designs from China and the USSR. Likewise, the report compares Warren's assertion that corporate giants are dodging their tax obligations to Lenin's demonization and killing of yeoman farmers.
In this ludicrous, right-ring political screed -- paid for by us taxpayers -- the fraidy-cat Trump scaremongers toss in the supposedly spooky word "socialism" 144 times. That's an average of twice per page!
Among the horrors that the Trumpistas cite is that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have stated that "large corporations... exploit human misery and insecurity, and turn them into huge profits," and "giant corporations... exploit workers just to boost their own profits."
Excuse me, learned scholars, but all of that happens to be true, as the great majority of Americans know from experience. Trump's economists also inform us that if the U.S. adopted Venezuelan policies, our economy would shrink by 40 percent. Well, perhaps, but here's the thing: No one is proposing we do that.
What's really spooky is that these know-nothing ideologues are actually advisers to a president of the United States.
Jim Hightower
Jim Hightower is a national radio commentator, writer, public speaker, and author of the books "Swim Against The Current: Even A Dead Fish Can Go With The Flow" (2008) and "There's Nothing in the Middle of the Road But Yellow Stripes and Dead Armadillos: A Work of Political Subversion" (1998). Hightower has spent three decades battling the Powers That Be on behalf of the Powers That Ought To Be - consumers, working families, environmentalists, small businesses, and just-plain-folks.
Trump's White House seems to be both spooked... and spooky.
Check out a 72-page "spookonomics" report issued right before Halloween by his Council of Economic Advisors. It reads like an endless Trump tweet, focused on his perceived political enemies and riddled with fantasies, lies, and paranoia about the policies of progressives.
A la Joe McCarthy, Trump's economic advisors spew conspiracy theories about the proposals of Elizabeth Warren, Bernie Sanders, and other democratic populists, frantically linking them with "Failed Socialist Policies" of Lenin, Stalin, Mao, and other communist dictators.
Bernie's commonsense ideas of Medicare-for-All and free college education, for example, are hysterically decried as totalitarian designs from China and the USSR. Likewise, the report compares Warren's assertion that corporate giants are dodging their tax obligations to Lenin's demonization and killing of yeoman farmers.
In this ludicrous, right-ring political screed -- paid for by us taxpayers -- the fraidy-cat Trump scaremongers toss in the supposedly spooky word "socialism" 144 times. That's an average of twice per page!
Among the horrors that the Trumpistas cite is that Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren have stated that "large corporations... exploit human misery and insecurity, and turn them into huge profits," and "giant corporations... exploit workers just to boost their own profits."
Excuse me, learned scholars, but all of that happens to be true, as the great majority of Americans know from experience. Trump's economists also inform us that if the U.S. adopted Venezuelan policies, our economy would shrink by 40 percent. Well, perhaps, but here's the thing: No one is proposing we do that.
What's really spooky is that these know-nothing ideologues are actually advisers to a president of the United States.
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