I enjoy reading Larry Moore’s letters. He puts things in a way that makes me think, “Hey, he said that almost the way I would I have said that.” I hope he didn’t take that as an insult, but I must take issue with what he said (Sept. 27) about socialism/communism.
One of the chapters we studied in political science class at College of the Canyons was categorization of governments. We were taught, to our astonishment, that most western industrialized nations (the U.S. included), in addition to being democratically elected republics, are also “socialist” countries by virtue of the fact that their governments tax populations and use the revenue to provide “social” services, the only real difference being the degree to which people are taxed and what they get in return. So, we’re already there.
Places like China, North Korea, Iran, Cuba and the former Soviet Union are neither socialist nor communist. They are authoritarian dictatorships that operate by taking everything from the citizenry and demanding obedience to boot, under penalty of death.
All people like Zohran Mamdani, Bernie Sanders, Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez and Elizabeth Warren want is your hard-earned money. What they’ll give you in return is anyone’s guess.
Arthur Saginian
Santa Clarita
