The American Mind

Return of the Black Death

William Hillman

(10/2019) The clown show known as the Democratic Presidential debates has given us a sneak preview of our future government. There are a few things all the candidates agree on, open borders with mass immigration, an insanely increased welfare state, massive tax increases on the middle class, and an omnipotent government. All are fighting for the support of the socialist extreme of their party.

This endorsement of socialism and extreme progressivism will either be devastating for the Democratic Party or our Republic.

Never has generous welfare and open borders succeeded. In years past, I would point to the European countries as examples, but now we can look inside our own borders.

We are hanging on by a thread. The demographic changes through immigration has California past the point of no return and Texas moving purple and trending blue. When Texas flips, we will be under one party rule. Prepare for a drastic and jolting shift to the left.

California is a model of what our country will look like. The Golden State was once the richest state with the largest middle class in the nation. Today, the middle class in California has all but disappeared. Twenty two percent of residents in that state live in abject poverty and that number is rising. California spends more per person on welfare than any other state in the union. Instead of helping, the welfare state perpetuates the poverty by locking the poor into an unbreakable cycle. It affects the poor in two ways. First, the cost of getting off welfare is high. Second, the welfare program is paid for by the highest tax system in the country. These high taxes discourage business and the creation of new jobs. Their welfare system is a job destroying cycle.

One quarter of the nation’s homeless population lives in California. Much of this group immigrated to the state specifically because of the generous welfare state. Proving, once again, a generous welfare state is incompatible with open borders.

Today, California is a playground for the rich and a holding pen for the poor. The Golden State reminds me of many third-world countries I’ve visited. They all have a very defined economic and social strata, with a huge gap between the rich and poor, with no middle class. You find a super-rich class, an administrative class made up of lawyers and software technicians who service the state, and then the poor. If California was its own nation it would be the 17th most unequal nation in the world, worse than Honduras. Canada in comparison is number 111. California ranks dead last in the quality of life of any state. The state has the highest income and sales tax of any state. Sales tax is the most regressive tax, making life much more difficult for those who can least afford it.

How did California get here? The population has exploded in the last 30 years from 16 million to 40 million. The vast majority of the new population is foreign immigrants. I don’t mean to disparage immigrants or immigration; it is simply a fact of life. The problem is immigrants vote at a rate of two to one, democrat. And the democrats will give away anything to keep that power base. (The first rule of power is maintaining that power by any means necessary.)

Even more disturbing are warnings of outbreaks of medieval diseases like typhus and the bubonic plague, also known as "The Black Death" from the fecal covered streets of its cities. There are reports of widespread tuberculous outbreaks in Los Angeles. The rat problem is out of control and the entire sanitation system in LA has broken down. The last time there was widespread outbreaks of these diseases, millions of people died.

As California goes, so goes the nation. Our future is a one-party system.

At some point, when one party rule is absolute, it turns its fight inward and shifts the center drastically. We see that today. Many ideas that were once seen as moderate or slightly right of center are now considered radical. Who would have thought ten years ago arguing that there are only two genders would get you labeled a hater? Or using a plastic straw would be immoral. In today’s media, talk of free college, universal free healthcare, minimum government guaranteed income, reparations, and other wild social giveaways are not discussed in terms of right and wrong, but when.

California maybe passed the point of no return. Other areas of the country need heed the warning. At greatest risk are large urban areas which have been under one party rule for generations.

The best known member of the Socialist Democrats is Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. In the last two elections, this radical socialist group claimed 48 election victories and an active membership of over 50,000, and still growing at a rapid rate. Their target is not the Republicans but the Democrats, hoping to move that party further to the left.

In Philadelphia, for example, a long time, one party rule city, the democrat machine is facing its biggest challenge in years, not from the Republicans, but from the progressive "Socialist Democrats". The socialists are challenging the party in both primary and general elections. Last spring, long-time Democrat City Councilwoman, Loucinda Blackwell, was defeated by a primary challenge from socialist, Jamie Gauthier. Democrat Socialists, Elizabeth Fiedler and Kristin Seale, won legislative primaries for House Districts 184 and 168. Fielder does not have a GOP opponent in the general election, while Seale will take on Rep. Christopher Quinn.

In the Pittsburgh area, Summer Lee and Sara Innamorato, Democrat Socialists, won Democrat primaries for State House Districts 34 and 21.

These socialists are not without support in the party structure, including Presidential candidates like Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders.

The unions, which are the financial and foot soldiers of the party, are split on this issue. The most powerful unions are the trade unions and they are sticking with the traditional democrat party. All the others, including the state and local workers, are backing the socialists.

Bob Brady, head of Philadelphia’s Democrat Party, feels the heat of these attacks and the threat to the existing power structure. Brady half-jokingly suggested the remedy might be to remove names of candidates who support the Socialists from the party’s sample ballot. "It’s something we can do if we want," Brady said.

Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders have put their weight behind the Socialists. Both of these presidential candidates have come to Philadelphia to raise money for, and support the socialist candidates.

This rise of the socialists in the democratic party repeats itself in Pittsburg, Denver, Boston, and almost every city with a history of Democrat party monopoly.

Brady understands the negative implications of the rise of the socialist in his city and he has been vocal with his criticism of Warren and Sanders meddling in the city. If Elizabeth Warren receives the party’s nomination will Brady and the machine choose to sit out the election like they did four years ago?

The fight for the future of this country may now be inside the Democrat Party.