Democrat Promises - "Free Ice Cream For Everyone!"

Beware the promises of politicians! Please be aware of the deceit going on in an election year!

When I see a political ad on the tv, my daughter has come to expect my yelling at the lobotomy box - "FREE ICE CREAM FOR EVERYONE!" It would be far more affordable than most of the promises that I actually hear.

What promises do we hear from politicians? What do we get from politicians? There seem to be no legal limits to what political candidates can promise to potential voters.

Here are some of the more expensive promises by some of this year's candidates running for the presidency. Just for reference, the entire national budget for 2019 was $4.45 Trillion, and the national debt currently is roughly $24 Trillion (2020, estimated). (1)

Bernie Sanders: The obvious human "right" of full, free health care coverage for everyone. (2) and (3) - $3.3 Trillion per year, give or take??)

Again, Sanders, as well as Elizabeth Warren: Everyone has the "right" of education, so full free college education for everyone, including canceling student debt for some 45 Million Americans who owe around $1.6 Trillion in college debts. With some 19.9 million students in college in fall of 2019 (4) that would come to around $10,000 per year per student (5) - and that is the average. I know it would be much higher in many cases, and that is just the tuition! So, that total for the first year alone would be roughly $199 Billion, and added to the student debt forgiveness it comes to $1.8 Trillion. Just take it out of the petty cash!

Bernie Sanders' total spending of YOUR/OUR money for his promises "would cost more than $50 trillion over 10 years, more than the plans of any other Democratic candidate." (6) That is roughly $5 trillion per year! Most of that would be in addition to the current amount it takes to run our country. Take a wild guess on how he plans to pay for all this!

Unfortunately, politics includes many promises, but nowhere near as high a level of action or results. Apply a little research of your own, along with some common sense about the potential cost of political promises. Listen carefully to the actual words and concepts of these politicians, not relying just on the good feelings they want you to have about them.

Reality is a rude ruler, curbing many wild and crazy ideas with the limitations of finances or the restrictions of time. The wealthy, or those who are "wealthy" with other people's money, think that more money will solve everything. And if there are virtually no penalties for making deeply flawed decisions with that money then let the spending begin!

What in the world is "affordable health care"???? Who determines that?
Keep in mind that health insurance coverage does not necessarily equate with "affordable health care." And "affordable health care" does not necessarily mean "good health care." The whole system needs to be overhauled from the FDA and the AMA on down. There needs to be a lot more care, and a lot less greed!

How much is "healthcare" actually?
Average cost per American per month for healthcare in 2017 - $895 ($10,739 per year) (7)
Average cost per person per month for health insurance - $477 ($5,724 per year) (8)
Cost of housing per person, average per month - $570 ($6,844 per year) (9)

Let's expand the concept of rights, and what the government should provide for us all, while we are considering the lunacy of this fairy tale world of unicorns and rainbows, where there is an endless supply of money. How much would the following items cost?

Free housing for everyone? As shown above, let's say $7,000 per year per person - another $2.3 trillion per year. That should work out fine - just borrow a little bit more while we're at it.

How about new cars for everyone?  Let's say a one-time cost of $35,000 - not a luxury car, but better than many people now have. Good for 5-10 years, that would come to around $6.8 trillion, so only about $683 billion a year. Not bad, and that would cover the "right" of transportation.

Why not free guns for everyone? How about a new gun or two for every household? It is more of a delineated right in the constitution than health care! For about $1,000, they could provide a gun, ammunition, and training for an entirely new level of self-defense for the citizens of our country. That would be cheap in comparison to some of these other promises, at only around $129 billion. And it is shown time and again that locations with more guns are entirely safer than the "safe" so-called "gun-free zones" that were introduced by law into our country back in 1990 by Joe Biden. (10)

Just for comparison, the highly contested border structure between the U.S. and Mexico was said by most of these Democratic candidates to be not only inhumane and immoral, but would cost far too much to consider it. But a high estimate for the cost of the border structure might be $100 billion (11), far less than some of these other promises ("lures")! And this could certainly be a help in securing our borders and keeping our country safe.

I think you should be getting the picture. Nothing is free. Especially if it is provided by the government. All of these are empty promises, with the promisers having virtually no resources for paying for them. The promises are made spuriously by someone (or a group) wishing to gain your favor and your vote in an election year.

The most serious penalty for a politician being frivolous, wasteful, or even criminal with the wealth of our country is for them to be voted out of office! They vote on their own pay raises, they vote on their own health and pension plans, which are far superior to the vast majority of those they supposedly represent. We need term limits and severe restrictions on the get rich wealth program of politics in the U.S. We need the Constitution to be upheld in a Biblical fashion with godly morality, honesty, and compassion!

We need to get "mad as hell, and not take this anymore!" (h/t to the movie "Network")

Drain the swamp, and get rid of the alligators!


NOTES:

1. www.thebalance.com/national-debt-by-year-compared-to-gdp-and-major-events-3306287

2. berniesanders.com/issues/

3. www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2019/04/25/the_free-stuff_primary_what_democrats_promises_will_cost_140155.html

4. nces.ed.gov/fastfacts/display.asp?id=372

5. www.valuepenguin.com/student-loans/average-cost-of-college

6. www.washingtonpost.com/politics/we-have-the-resources-democratic-presidential-candidates-propose-trillions-in-spending-amid-debate-over-whats-doable/2019/12/28/1d8a74e0-28c6-11ea-a14c-412f7b9e2717_story.html

7. www.cms.gov/Research-Statistics-Data-and-Systems/Statistics-Trends-and-Reports/NationalHealthExpendData/Downloads/highlights.pdf

8. www.ehealthinsurance.com/resources/affordable-care-act/much-health-insurance-cost-without-subsidy

9. wiki.opensourceecology.org/wiki/Cost_of_Living

10. en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Gun-Free_School_Zones_Act_of_1990

11. https://www.brookings.edu/essay/the-wall-the-real-costs-of-a-barrier-between-the-united-states-and-mexico/