Letters to the editor: Nov. 20, 2015

Socialism misunderstood

The recent Democratic presidential candidates forum at Winthrop University sparked some really important conversations, most notably about the pros and cons of “socialism.”

Yesterday, I was asked, “So you want to pay higher taxes so that people who don’t work hard can live better?” That misrepresents the position of Bernie Sanders (and of both democratic socialists and social democrats all over the world), but in a word, yeah.

I don’t want there to be hungry children in this country. I don’t want people to die because they can’t afford basic health care. I want the clerk at the 7-Eleven to give me the correct change back. I want to be able to check out a new book at the public library, and I want to be able to take my dog to the park to play.

If that means I have to pay slightly higher taxes, then so be it. I’ll be better off; we’ll all be better off. I’ll be able to look my neighbor in the eye, and I’ll sleep better at night.

It doesn’t actually mean higher tax rates for most of us, by the way. With the obvious economic stimulus and growth that must occur with such an approach, the amount of tax revenue yielded from a given tax rate increases dramatically – and if everybody paid their fair share of taxes, we could all actually pay less in taxes.

It’s ridiculous to suggest it doesn’t work. It works all over the world, in many countries where people have a higher quality of life and are happier. It only doesn’t make sense if you insist on trying to compete against everyone else and hoard wealth.

That sort of competition is a recipe for unhappiness.

Nik Bramblett

Rock Hill

Stop complaining, vote

South Carolina has been hacked, we are last in domestic violence, our teachers are the third-lowest paid in the nation, are roads are a joke – but we should stop complaining since we elect the same people over and over.

Ask the people in office what they have done for us. I know what they are against.

Local and cable news is so repetitive, and they all have their experts on and they tell the same stories over and over. I hardly watch the news any more. Everyone running for president doesn’t even mention seniors.

Enough complaining. I know I’m not the only one who thinks this way.

Carl Hendel

Rock Hill

This story was originally published November 19, 2015 at 11:34 AM with the headline "Letters to the editor: Nov. 20, 2015."