Progressives have made life better for everyone

Progressives! Liberals! Leftists! They’re Socialists, destroying our country! At least, that’s what I’m told by “conservative” writers’ Op Eds and Reporter’s Notebook entries in these pages.

Republicans label every measure to enhance social welfare or regulate corporate power as socialism, so when I hear them sound the alarm that Democrats are leading us to socialism, I’m reminded of what President Harry S Truman once said: “Socialism is their name for almost anything that helps all the people…Socialism is a scare word they have hurled at every advance people have made [since FDR’s New Deal]. Socialism is what they called Social Security. Socialism is what they called farm price supports.”

Socialists and Progressives have fought for every advance in American society, almost always against bitter, even hysterical, conservative resistance: child labor laws, the eight-hour day, the minimum wage, the graduated income tax, direct election of senators, women’s suffrage, pure food and drug laws, the Securities and Exchange Commission, insured savings at banks, rural electrification, labor’s right to organize, bargain, and strike, Medicare, Medicaid, Head Start, Teach for America, the AmeriCorps, food stamps, federal aid to education, legal services for the poor, and clean air and water laws – the list goes on and on.

Conservatives proclaim the wonders of the free market. What “free market” do they have in mind? Name an important industry in the United States that isn’t dominated by a small number of companies. Take a look at the tax code and see the tax breaks the companies – and their shareholders – have been granted. Then take a look at how much these industries and companies spend on lobbying and political campaigns in order to preserve their advantages. Could there be a connection?

But when it comes to issues such as protecting the right of workers to unionize, mandating a living wage, providing health care and affordable education for all, reining in the giant financial institutions, or mitigating climate change, conservatives would have us believe that we’re on the brink of a disaster: socialism. Perhaps that’s why Republicans have won the presidential popular vote only once since 1988.

I’ve submitted the following before, but it’s just as timely now

He awakens at 6 AM and fills his coffeepot with water; he knows the water is clean and safe because the EPA ensures water quality. He has eggs and bacon for breakfast; the bacon is safe because the Department of Agriculture inspects meat processors. When showering, he reaches for the shampoo; the ingredients are on the label because the Federal Trade Commission requires that consumers know what they put on – and in – their bodies.

He takes his medications, also safe because the Food and Drug Administration evaluated their safety; all but $10 of their cost is covered by his employer’s health plan, which was negotiated by a union he doesn’t belong to. He considered changing jobs, but he would be dropped from his employer’s health plan, and six years ago he was diagnosed with a chronic illness; because of this pre-existing condition, his monthly premium would have increased from $400 to about $3,000. But then he found a health plan available on the ACA marketplace. He was able to purchase a plan he could afford from the same insurer he has now.

When he leaves his house – bought with an FHA-insured mortgage – he breathes fresh air because the government imposed air-quality standards on the nearby industries and got lead out of gasoline. He drives his car to work. His car is safer (air bags, seat belts, etc.) because the Department of Transportation requires it. He travels on highways built and maintained by the government because they cost much more than vehicle owners like him pay in gasoline taxes. He transfers to public transit which is also supported by the government. If he gets hurt on the job or laid off, he can count on mandated workers compensation or unemployment benefits.

At noon, he makes a deposit at a federally-insured and supervised bank, so he knows his money is safe. His children live in an area served by the federally-owned Tennessee Valley Authority, so they don’t pay as much as most people for electricity. He makes a payment on his federally-subsidized student loan; he also had a Pell Grant to help pay for his education at a state-supported university.

After work, he visits his parents’ house, which was originally financed by the Farmers’ Home Administration (banks didn’t make many loans in rural areas), and didn’t have electricity until the federal Rural Electrocution Administration sponsored rural electrification. His parents are retired, but they receive Social Security benefits and a pension negotiated on their behalf by the unions they belonged to, and are covered by Medicare. They have discounted telephone service (a/k/a/ an Obama phone) through the federal Lifeline program, and receive help paying their utility bills from the federal Low Income Home Energy Assistance Program.

On his way home, he turns on his car radio to listen to a talk show host rail against the intrusion of “big government” into our lives. “Yes,” our protagonist agrees, “we don’t need those tax-and-spend liberals. I’m a self-made man, and I take care of myself. Everyone should.”

Mark Berg is a community activist in Adams County and a proud Liberal. His email address is MABerg175@Comcast.net.