Keep an eye on the Big Apple

We have been listening to Bernie Sanders and Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez yammer that their ideas are the right way for government to operate. So now they will have their 15 minutes. Their favorite word is “free” as in free transportation, free education, free child care, etc. The correct term is taxpayer subsidized and their solution to everything is tax the rich. All this is very enticing to young voters since it is not their wallet being emptied. The truth is the rich pay a lot of taxes. In New York City, the top 2% of earners account for 40%-50% of tax revenue. They are mobile and can relocate.

This is important to us because we have some of these Social Democrats among our city representatives. We need to watch crime rates and property values in the Big Apple. History tells us this is not going to end well.

If you are old enough to remember the Berlin wall, it was the ultimate social experiment. Take a homogeneous population, separate them by a wall, place half under a democratic, free-market system, and the other half under communist rule. Go forward a couple of generations, take down the wall, and compare results. There were significant economic disparities with East Germans having lower incomes, higher unemployment and an overall lower standard of living. So before you vote locally keep an eye on the Apple.

Steven Howard

Redwood City