With @AOC 's rabble rousing stupidity on full display this past week, it's time for a Saturday morning rant: Our nation is doomed unless young people wake up and start thinking for themselves... It doesn't take much brainpower to realize that "Do Nothing" politicians seek power by tapping into the primal emotion of JEALOUSY. They use the age old tactic of SCAPEGOATING a group, (usually the rich, the Jews or both) by BLAMING them for the circumstances that people find themselves in. As the brilliant @ThomasSowell says “There are few talents more richly rewarded with both wealth and power, in countries around the world, than the ability to convince backward people that their problems are caused by other people who are more advanced.” At the core of their argument, however, is a central LIE: Wealth exists naturally, and can be divided by those in power, however they see fit. It is almost unfathomable how WRONG that concept is. Wealth does not exist in a vacuum, but is created by the EFFORT of people. That effort can be aided by access to natural resources, for sure, BUT, without ideas, effort, and risk taking by entrepreneurs, it would not exist. Once one understands that, and further understand that when politicians can gain power by blaming the successful people that actually create wealth, society will start to unravel. The ultimate irony is the world has just seen multiple examples of this. Whether it is the comparison of North and South Korea, the 100 million people KILLED by Socialist forced redistribution last century, or the adoption of free market principals by the Nordic countries to re-invigorate their economies after their socialist experiments, it is clear that free markets perform MUCH BETTER than planned ones. YET, on college campuses, 57% of STUDENTS favor Socialism... That is a crushing indictment of our educational system for sure, but it brings to mind another Sowell quote: “Socialism is a wonderful idea. It is only as a reality that it has been disastrous. Among people of every race, color, and creed, all around the world, socialism has led to hunger in countries that used to have surplus food to export…. Nevertheless, for many of those who deal primarily in ideas, socialism remains an attractive idea — in fact, seductive. Its every failure is explained away as due to the inadequacies of particular leaders.” This brings me back to my central point: Young people NEED to start thinking critically. Rather than accepting platitudes like "embracing the warmth of collectivism", to grant power to leaders that will lead the country to ruin, OR lining up behind jingoistic leaders that BLAME OTHERS for their problems, it is past time to remember what DID make America great. FREEDOM. While America has NEVER been perfect, it was always THE country where "opportunity" was more than a buzzword. This means LESS state control over the economy, not more. This will ultimately mean severing the link between MONEY and STATE, but, before that can be accomplished, it requires LESS REGULATION & LESS SPENDING on bureaucracy. The country can not succeed when the RICHEST area in America is filled with the POLITICAL CLASS, as it is today. The country can not succeed when "public servants" become wealthy from their "service", particularly when they do so by accepting donations from the largest corporations lobbyists and "non profits" who are used as a weapon to stop competition. The CRONYISM in D.C. and various state capitals has suffocated much of America's entrepreneurial spirit and is a major reason for the "K shaped economy" where the rich get richer and wage earners cant keep up. SO, what is needed? MONEY, must be removed from Politics. Donations should STRICTLY be for "speech" not "piggy banks" for politicians. "Non Profits" must be REMOVED from politics and paying politicians entirely. Political Power must be cut. TERM LIMITS and ETHICS rules for ALL investing are essential. REGULATION, particularly rules that create government sponsored MONOPOLIES must be cut. (The largest companies in Insurance, Healthcare, Pharma, Agriculture, Food processing, Banking and other industries ALL benefit from these rules) PUBLIC WELFARE must be prioritized, to ensure OPPORTUNITY is expanded. Education and Healthcare costs must be brought down by competition, accountability and those who NEED help should get it. The FOOD SUPPLY must be cleaned of the POISONS we let in and medical innovation must be re-invigorated. BUT, ALL of these things require LESS political power over our economy, not more. Cronyism must be eliminated and the government should get back to first principles: - Stop monopolies & corporate abuses (instead of creating them) - Ensure equality of opportunity for ALL (instead of picking winners and losers) - Protect Americans from lawlessness and threats foreign and domestic (instead of nation building abroad or sanctuary state policies domestically)