Democrats’ government ‘shutdown’ explained
A purely political actThe partial government “shutdown” is a pure political act. It has nothing to do with the amount of money the government takes from taxpayers, though it does have something to do with how much it irresponsibly spends. Democrats are holding the country hostage over Obama-era health insurance subsidies that don’t expire until Dec. 31.
At the heart of it is a narrative created by the Democratic Party that extends at least to the administration of President Franklin D. Roosevelt: Rich people make too much money, and people who don’t make as much are entitled to some of it.
Barack Obama promoted this narrative when he ran for president. Mr. Obama promised to “spread the wealth around,” which is socialism. Many young people have been indoctrinated with socialism in their public schools and universities. Democratic socialist Zohran Mamdani is the leading candidate for mayor of New York City.
Roosevelt’s expansion of big government created dependency among the lower and middle classes. Roosevelt criticized wealthy people, whom he called “economic royalists,” for hoarding their money (translation: not willing to give more to the government) and stunting economic recovery during the Great Depression. He declared the rich guilty of “economic tyranny.”
In 1935, FDR signed “the wealth tax,” which dramatically raised federal income taxes on high earners. It also created a liberal income structure that garnished as much as 75% of those making more than $1 million and raised estate taxes to 70%, all to support his New Deal programs.
According to his son, Elliott Roosevelt, FDR weaponized the IRS to go after his political enemies. Sound familiar? All this and more won him four terms, so it worked in a cynical way. Modern Democrats continue to embrace his beliefs.
President Truman continued his predecessor’s criticism of the rich. In a speech at the Democratic National Convention in 1948, Truman said the election that year was a choice between the common people and “the citadel of special privilege and greed.” Again, does this sound familiar? Truman echoed many of the phrases we hear from today’s Democrats, including “fairness” and “progressivism.”
