The trouble for Vermont’s most famous Marxist began when Univision’s Jorge Ramos wisely questioned Mr. Sanders on his strange reluctance to condemn the socialist regime in Venezuela:
Mr. Ramos: ...A recent U.N. fact-finding mission found that thousands have been disappeared, tortured and killed by government forces in Venezuela. You admit that Venezuela does not have free elections, but still you refuse to call Nicolas Maduro un dictador — a dictator. Can you explain why? And what are the main differences between your kind of socialism and the one being imposed in Venezuela, Cuba and Nicaragua?
Mr. Sanders: Well, first of all, let me be very clear. Anybody who does what Maduro does is a vicious tyrant. What we need now is international and regional cooperation for free elections in Venezuela so that the people of that country can make — can create their own future. In terms of democratic socialism, to equate what goes on in Venezuela with what I believe is extremely unfair. I’ll tell you what I believe in terms of democratic socialism. I agree with what goes on in Canada and in Scandinavia, guaranteeing health care to all people as a human right.
In fact the Venezuelan regime did make such a guarantee, and describes its miserable health care system in language that is strikingly similar to the way Mr. Sanders describes the system he intends for the United States.
Last night Mr. Sanders went on to describe various other areas where he sees a need for heavy government intervention. But Canada and Scandinavia are hardly following the Sanders agenda.
Mr. Sanders rails against the Trump cuts in business tax rates, but the Canadians and Scandinavians have gone even further. Even after the 2017 Trump reforms, the combined state and federal corporate income tax rate in the United States is still higher than the rates in Canada, Denmark, Norway and Sweden.
The Heritage Foundation’s Index of Economic Freedom ranks Canada as the eighth freest economy in the world—with more economic liberty than the United States, which ranks twelfth. The Scandinavian countries are all in the top 30. Whatever social services they are able to provide are possible because they rejected the Sanders anti-market agenda and allowed businesses to grow.
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