The True Cost of Free

Off in the distance in the chilly night air, the sounds of a calliope rolls up the midway while at the same time, people crowd up to a rickety little wooden stage framed by cheap, threadbare curtains, and a sign lit with bare bulbs - a few burned out - that flash "Free! Free! Free!" In front of the stage, excited whispers and murmurs fill the air, building slowly until their palpable, fevered anticipation turns to frenzied applause as a carnival barker, dressed in a bargain-basement suit and sporting a handle-bar mustache, strides jauntily on stage, a fake smile smeared on his weathered face. He moves to center stage and immediately begins his well-practiced patter...

"Step right up, ladies and gentlemen!  Come and hear about the amazing, stupendous, maaag-nificent world of free!  That's right, little lady, you come right on over here -let her through boys, let-the-little la-dy through - and let me show you the newest, the best, the most incredible collection of complimentary, un-recompensed and completely free stuff you've ever seen!  You Sir!  You, ma'am!  You in the dungarees, and you in the Bernie hat, you in the work boots, and you with the children, we've got it all for you! And it's all free!  Yessirreebob!  The best of everything, and it's handed to you on a sil-ver platter!  Healthcare?  Free!  Education?  Free! Childcare?  Free!  Maternity leave for men? Paid for!  And the Climate?!  Oh my, ladies and gentlemen!  Have we got some great free stuff for the climate!  That's right... And it's all free!  Paid for by your caring government!  Yes, sir!  Yes, ma'am!  A free ride!  All free, gratuitous, on-the-arm, on-the-cuff, and On-The-House!  And why shouldn't it be?  Why shouldn't you good folks, you deserving, hard-working people get a taste of the rainbow?  Why should those gluttonous, rapacious, money-grubbing wolves of Wall street get all the good stuff?!  They owe you!  Why should you have to pay for your education choices?  Why should you have to take responsibility for your personal decisions!  It ain't right!  All those fat cats sitting up on their golden thrones!  Why shouldn't they give you some of what they have? After all... you are the victim! You are a casualty of circumstances! Now is the time, ladies and gentlemen! Now. Is. The. Time. Okay... okay... Go easy, folks!  No need to crowd up on the stage!  Just step over here to the side and get all the free stuff you want!  And all-you-have-to-do is put your checkmark in the box that says 'Democrat'... that's it... that's all there is to it! Simple! Come on over, yep, right there... yes sir!  Yes, ma'am!  Put your checkmark in the box, and your life will never be the same again!  Take as much as you want!  It's all free!  And it's all brought to you by your friendly, helpful, caring, moral compass... Democrats!"

Yep, it's pretty much just like that.  You see, the Dems learned it's easier to give people an excuse for their life's choices than to demand personal responsibility from them. Why should people have to pay for their own choices? Why should they be culpable, when so many others have so much money!  It's easier to give them the gift of victimhood, affording them a moral justification to rise up and fight against those avaricious one-percenters who owe the victims of their greed a life beyond their means.  So to win the Presidency in 2020 and fulfill their Grand Socialist Dream, the Democrat's platform for the 2020 elections breaks down into two planks...

1. Stop President Trump at any cost - legal or illegal.
2. "Free" stuff for everyone.

That's it. Nothing else.

So, what exactly is the cost of 'free' and how does the government pay for it?

First, you must commit this to memory...

The government has no money of its own.  The only money it receives is from the taxation of its citizens - and that means you. 

According to Peter Roff, contributing editor in the June 28th, 2019 issue of Newsweek the cost of "Healthcare for all,"  would be $3.8 trillion per year. The cost of "The New Green Deal" would be $9.3 trillion per year, while the cost of "Free College" would be $129 billion per year.

Total cost? $13.29 trillion per year! Keep in mind, this country brings in just $3 trillion per year in taxes while spending $4 trillion, which is why we are $22 trillion in debt... and climbing. So now, our budget would look like this - $3 trillion per year in taxes and $17.9 trillion in outgoing costs. So where does the other $13.9 trillion come from to cover the madness, to cover the Wonderful World of Free?

According to lifelong socialist, Bernie Sanders, heritage-stealing Elizabeth Warren, and the rest of the crowded dais of whack-job Democratic Presidential hopefuls, the dreaded One-Percent will pay for it! Why The One-Percent? Because, apparently, the Democrats believe The Rich are evil. The Rich are greedy! The Rich are the ones holding back the huddled masses from enjoying life beyond their victimized, miserable, impoverished, and beggarly daily existence.

Well, I have news for you. 203 members of Congress are One-Percenters. And who are some of those greedy, evil, elitist rich people running for the Democratic nod for President?

Bernie Sanders? √
Elizabeth Warren? √
Joe Biden?  √
Tom Steyer? √
John Delany √
Corey Booker? √
Amy Klobuchar? √
Marianne Williamson? √
Beto O'Rourke? √
Michael Bennet? √

Honestly, it's just beyond belief.

The Tax Foundation's (taxfoundation.org) summary of the 2018 tax data said this -

The data demonstrates that the U.S. individual income tax continues to be very progressive, borne primarily by the highest income earners.

• In 2016, 140.9 million taxpayers reported earning $10.0 trillion in adjusted gross income and paid $1.4 trillion in individual income taxes.
• In 2016, the top 50 percent of all taxpayers paid 97 percent of all individual income taxes, while the bottom 50 percent paid the remaining 3 percent.
• The top 1 percent paid a greater share of individual income taxes (37.3 percent) than the bottom 90 percent combined (30.5 percent).
• The top 1 percent of taxpayers paid a 26.9 percent individual income tax rate, which is more than seven times higher than taxpayers in the bottom 50 percent (3.7 percent).

Now, let's do some simple, elementary-school math (if you are in college earning a degree in Syrian Art History, I'll go slow).

• We would need $17.9 trillion per year in taxes to pay for all of our projected commitments. 
• Total earnings by all individuals in the U.S. amounts to just $10 trillion.

Do you see the problem yet?  Read the two bullet points again.  We need $17.9 trillion in taxes, but we only earn $10 trillion.  So even if we taxed every working individual in this country at a 100% rate, we would still fall $7.9 trillion short.

Per year.

No, the math is not wrong.  Even if you forced all U.S. companies to turn over their profits each year, according to Axios, that would only account for an additional $2.3 trillion, which would still leave a $5.6 trillion dollar shortfall, each and every year.

No, there is no other way to get it done.  Nope.  No, not that either.  Alright, look, maybe you Syrian Art History majors should just leave now. Go on... go sit with the Gender Studies people.. And quit crying.

And the next time one of these Democrat Carnies comes to town to peddle their wares, remember... if it seems too good to be true, it probably is.

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