LARRY KUDLOW: Democratic Party socialism is unaffordable

It’s so interesting to me how these socialists who are taking over the Democratic party, are hiding behind the veil of affordability. They don’t want to tell you that their agenda is all about unaffordability, or in short wrecking the whole economy. 

Think of this, they will tax all manner of wealth and income. Indeed, take candidate Abdul El-Sayed and Mayor Zohran Mamdani, who basically want to liquidate any of your gains from successful wealth and work. And they say it all the time. In fact, Mr. Mamdani just yesterday talked about how in New York City apartments, it’s the people who live there who own it, not the owners who own it — that by the way is communism.

And then there’s the Medicare for All idea which is nothing but a euphemism, not simply for the takeover of the healthcare system, but basically for an economy-wide takeover. They want the government to run the economy. Period. Full stop.

Of course they want to defund the police and ICE, and they want open borders, and rampant illegal immigration, and then the even nuttier stuff of abolishing the senate, changing presidential elections. The insanity grows the more you listen.

Back to affordability, though. The socialists had a leg up on their program during the Biden years. Don’t forget the Green New Deal, and the phony Inflation Reduction Act, and Covid spending long after Covid was gone. Their giant spending bills and their attempted regulation of the economy, led to a 9 percent inflation peek, the highest in four years. And overall, the consumer price index cumulatively rose by 21.4 percent. Okay.

So Messrs. El-Sayed and Mamdani and Senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren and Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, they had their chance. They got about half the socialism during the Biden years that they would ever do if they won a national election, and look what they did. Is that affordability? Remember, 21 percent inflation. Real wages fell during their period, actually fell. That’s not affordability. So there’s a lesson to be learned here. 

Their affordability mantra is a coverup for a state-run economy and soaring inflation, which is by the way according to polls, working folks including average minority working folks are not voting for them. They went for Trump in 2024.

So that’s a lesson for the GOP. Hone in on the differences between free enterprise capitalism, which rewards success, and puts more money in your pocket, letting you keep more of what you earn, and that is real affordability. 

By contrast, this new Democratic Party socialism will take money out of your pocket, will lead to rapid inflation from the government’s takeover of the economy, will rob you of your success, and devalue the human dignity of work, enterprise, and initiative.

Think of it this way, socialism is a discouragement to the individual, the economy, and the nation. And antisemitism is perhaps the driving force behind the entire socialist movement. Free market capitalism is an encouragement to the individual, the economy, and the nation. Those are the differences in affordability. Democratic party socialism is unaffordable. And free market capitalism is surely worth fighting for.