When I moved to the U.S.A., France was a socialist country. I have been asked countless times to describe what life was like there. The first time, I did not know what to say. I had to think about it. On the surface, I really could not see that much of a difference.
I was still new here. I did not know the American system yet. Thirty years down the road, I think I know.
One major difference, and maybe the only one that matters. There was no middle class in France. We were all poor together. The state was making sure of it. The only ones spared were the very, extremely, rich. These rich people did not become rich. They were born rich. No hope to get there for the rest of us.
Unless, of course, a cousin or a brother-in-law held a high-ranking government position and could syphon some very lucrative contract one’s way…
In a socialist country, you work, and most of what you earn goes back to the state in the form of taxes. In exchange, the state takes care of your college education if you are worthy of a college education and gives you medical coverage. For more details, I wrote about it in Democrats’ Agenda: On Free College and Medicare for All.
The state will also make sure that you can survive for a long time should you be without a job.
And, you will have retirement benefits.
But, in exchange for some security, you will stay just above the level of poverty all your life.
I read an article not long ago about the French being fond of campers. It is not so much that the French like campers. It is simply that it is a cheap form of vacation.
Socialist countries have too many highly educated people. It may be great in principle. In practice, the plumber makes more money than the doctor. The electrician makes more than the engineer. And I am not even mentioning the mechanic. He is golden!
Earning a salary is not that great. Most of is taxed. Now, if you have some cash in hand, you get what you need and what you want. Cash exchanges hands, and the tax man does not need to know about it. Cheating taxes is a national sport.
Corruption is everywhere. A good friend of mine is Chinese, another socialist country. When her father needed hospitalization, she flew back home with as many U.S. dollars as she could spare. When I asked why, she told me that cash was the only way to ensure that her father would receive better than mediocre care. When I left France, it was not that bad yet.
A socialist country will take care of its poorest. It is a noble sentiment. But I saw way too many people abusing that generosity.
A sister-in-law kept on making babies when her husband died with any guy she could find. So long as she had a child under five years of age, the government was providing her family with what could be considered by many as high-end lodging. As well as money for food, clothing for the kids, and a college education for these children even though they were not that bright. But they had priority over a working family with smarter kids. She was proud of her shrewdness. She knew she could never afford the apartment she was living in on her own. Not even if she remarried.
One of my best childhood friends was working just long enough to be entitled to unemployment benefits. Then, he was unemployed for as long as he could. Then was working again, then stopping again. The way he saw it, he would have been stupid to not take advantage of the system.
A socialist country is a country where you have no hope of doing better. You know you will not make more money. As soon as you do, it will go to taxes. So, what is the point of even trying?
A socialist government will look at what you make as a family. This government will decide that you need a certain amount of money to make it. Any extra above the set amount will be due in taxes. That is really all there is to a socialist country. Taxes, more taxes, and people tired and beat up.
Socialism is a great idea. I wish it worked. The ideas that you can always be somewhat protected, that you will never go hungry, that your health will be taken care of are appealing.
But people are not socialists at heart. We look for ourselves first. If we cannot be recompensed for working harder or smarter, we stop even trying. When we realize that scheming the system gives us a better life, we just do it if our morals allow.
And eventually, we live in a country where everyone is poor, where people only work if they need to, where there is no hope for anything better, where we start looking at how our neighbors live and will denounce them to the tax man just because we hate our life, we hate everyone, and we resent whatever more anyone could have.
Socialist countries are sad places to be. I am surprised that, as socialist countries are one after the other now voting for the equivalents of right to extreme right wing new governments and leaving socialism behind as an experiment that just does not work, America would embrace it.
But maybe socialism could be attractive to individuals that may not have much hope for their future. Individuals that believe that no matter what they do, they will never get better. Or individuals that do not want to do much and for them, just getting by is enough. Individuals that believe that they need help to just survive. Individuals that are maybe, just maybe, too scared to even stand on their feet and at least try to live a life worth living.
Katrin L.
Originally published September 9, 2020
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