Trump administration denounces socialism and its cost in new report

The White House on Tuesday released a 72-page report warning that socialism is on the verge of making a comeback in the United States.

The Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) authored a study, “The Opportunity Costs of Socialism,” outlining the cost of socialism on the economy and its impact on the federal budget.

“We haven’t put out a political document, but rather an academic one that goes through the history of socialism and really how terrible it’s been for the people who have adopted it,” Council of Economic Advisers Chairman Kevin Hassett told FOX Business’ Charles Payne.

Supporters of the Democratic socialist agenda, such as congressional candidate Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, have altered their message by suggesting such policies have been successful in Nordic countries.

The report states Nordic countries’ economic policies favor more regulations and higher taxes compared to the U.S. An American family earning an average wage would be taxed $2,000 to $5,000 more per year net of transfers if the U.S. adopted current Nordic policies.

“The Nordic countries in the ‘70s that have embraced socialism wholeheartedly have relaxed those policies if they are still out there,” Hassett said.

If America aligned itself with the economic policies of the Nordic countries in the 1970s, Hassett said, U.S. GDP would drop 19 percent.

“I think that people who advocate socialism are going to have to make a much stronger case than they’ve been making,” he said.