OPINION:
Sen. Bernie Sanders said in a recent interview that China has done more for poverty eradication than America — more “than any country in the history of civilization,” in fact.
Wow. Talk about throwing America under the bus. And in such ignorant fashion, to boot.
Here’s what he said, in an interview with Krystal Ball of Hill.TV: “China is a country that is moving unfortunately in a more authoritarian way in a number of directions. But what we have to say about China in fairness to China and its leadership is if I’m not mistaken they have made more progress in addressing extreme poverty than any country in the history of civilization, so they’ve done a lot of things for their people.”
Let’s unwind.
First off, “in fairness to China and its leadership” — why? Why do we have to be fair to tyrants and communists? So we don’t offend them? Geesh.
Second off, as much as China has indeed made gains in reducing poverty in recent years, the point is: China is communist. And corrupt. And oh yes, hmm, let’s see — communist.
America is not China.
America is not a country with an authoritarian government, with leaders who are free to control the economy as they see fit — disbursing dollars here, commanding higher wages there.
Registering citizens in government databases here and there.
“By registering the poor on a national database, the government [of China] is able to effectively monitor and implement domestic strategies,” The Borgen Project reported, in its “Poverty Reduction Strategies in China” post. “This registration system also allows for a more targeted approach.”
Would Sanders have the poorest of America register likewise?
Here’s another point to consider: Poverty in China means dying from starvation. Poverty in America means possessing only one television.
And guess why that is.
Because America is the land of opportunity, the country of freedom, the nation of pulling oneself up by one’s bootstraps to achieve great things. In a word: capitalist. In another word: free.
China’s economy is controlled. It also rates among the world’s worst in terms of income inequality — meaning the very, very rich skew some of the economic statistics, painting in some reports a rosier picture than reality.
America’s economy is a free market.
It’s an apples to prison bars analogy.
China in 2016 ranked No. 144 on the Index of Economic Freedom, behind Brazil, India and Pakistan. Hong Kong, land of shining capitalism, on the other hand, ranked first. America that same year came in at No. 11.
Which means that Sanders ought to rethink his whole pro-commie, anti-capitalistic view. If anything, when it comes to the economy, it would seem China could learn a thing or two from America.
But that’s the problem with socialists such as Sanders: They’re blind to truths; bonkers to control. And if it means destroying freedoms and nations in the process, so be it.
• Cheryl Chumley can be reached at cchumley@washingtontimes.com or on Twitter, @ckchumley.
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