Although the 2020 Iowa caucuses took place earlier this week, there were only results available at the time of the writing of today’s publication. Have you already have had enough of the 2020 presidential election, Dear Voters? Who is resonating most closely with your core values, Dear Voters? Which fraction of the Democratic party will ultimately take over? What do We, The People, want our legacy to be starting today as we move closer to the most consequential election of the last 40 years?
Welcome to new and returning readers to the Branding24Seven community! This blog is the brainchild of JMStrategy LLC (JMS), a boutique consulting firm that offers strategic solutions to strengthen your brand. Today, this blog is wanting to explore how progressive Democrats are attempting to change the landscape of the American political brand.
Last fall, this blog discussed the most pressing issues the 2020 Democratic presidential candidates should address if they wanted voters to take their White House bids seriously. Today’s publication is a necessary follow-up as the sea of presidential hopefuls has shrunk quite a bit. What should you keep in mind, Dear Voters, as you evaluate the policies you have heard candidates champion nonstop?
IS SOCIALISM WACKY OR ROOTED IN JUSTIFIABLE FEARS?
This time around, no one can deny that a stronger socialist breeze is sweeping across the nation as the long walk toward the 2020 Democratic National Convention begins. What are the facts? The average American is fed up with rising costs of health care and education while wages are stagnating as more and more U.S. jobs are moving overseas. In a nutshell, the American Dream is simply out of reach for so many of you, Dear Voters!
What is the root of the problem? For many hard-working middle-class Americans, the decrease in their standards of living came as the manufacturing industry underwent notable shifts in the last 25 years. Indeed, the 90s saw the rise of China as an industrial power. As a result, companies chose to move operations outside of the U.S. to maximize profits since the cost of labor in China was significantly cheaper. Unfortunately, as this transfer of operations abroad propelled U.S. companies to new economic heights, generations of Americans no longer have access to the good life they had grown to expect. In other words, the private sector-driven economic expansion has come at the expense of the welfare of too many hard-working middle-class U.S. families!
Thus, as China opened to the world and introduced free-market principles to grow its economy, the U.S. manufacturing sector started to shrink. Plants were closing left and right and moving abroad in part to China. More and more Americans felt left behind. By the 2000s, this blog believes that the socialist sentiment seen in display today took hold then, mostly in former industrial enclaves stricken by the more attractive and cheaper Chinese import competition.
Today, the shrinking American middle-class is at its wit’s end as promises offsetting employment gains in other industries never bore any fruit! Can we blame all these hard-working Americans, Dear Voters? Absolutely not! The manufacturing sector went from representing about 30% of the total U.S. labor force in the 1950s to less than 10% in 2018.
So yes, socialism is not a whimsical idea. It is rooted in real fear and frustration. And it is here to stay as long as soooooooo many hard-working Americans continue to feel left behind. This disenfranchisement feeling powered the then unlikely candidate Trump into the White House. Do not think for a second, Dear Voters, that the feeling has died down.
MEDICARE FOR ALL, FREE COLLEGE FOR ALL, EVERYTHING FOR ALL… AT WHAT COST FOR ALL???
As established previously, it bears repeating that a good portion of Americans is struggling. Understandably, the allure of finally gaining access to basic needs that make life worth living more easily is attractive. Who wouldn’t want free college, Medicare for all, better housing for all?! This blog acknowledges the pain so many are suffering and does not judge anyone who champions such principles. However, the JMS team wants you, Dear Voters, to remember that our national heritage instilled in all of us the unshakable belief that we have unalienable rights. After all, our Declaration of Independence invites us to explore all avenues that will lead to “Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness”.
Here are two questions to ask yourselves as you choose your candidate, Dear Voters: do you want to freely hand over your right to choose what works for you and love ones to the Federal government? Are you ready to accept the consequences?
That is, if college is free for all, you may not have the freedom to study what you may fancy. Your profession might instead depend on quotas that the government chooses to make to address the needs of the collective. Medicare for all does not mean that you get to choose the physicians or treatments that make the most sense for you as federal guidelines will predetermine your options! If you think you only have a few choices now, you will have even fewer later. This is not fearmongering. It is the truth. This everything for all movement will restrict your freedoms to an unprecedented level, Dear Voters. By the time you realize that the socialist utopia progressive democrats sold you is hell on Earth, it will be too late!
As you choose what is best for your families, Dear Voters, this blog stresses the fact that democracy is messy and downright infuriating at times. Consequently, we should not become discouraged and stop engaging in the process. After all, what makes America a beacon of truth is our commitment to freedom that Ronald Reagan so poetically described as a “shiny city upon a hill.” Are you still willing to give up your freedom, Dear Voters? The very thing that freedom-seeking people across the globe would risk life and limb to have?!!
One more thing, Dear Voters, please do not believe in the empty allure of socialism. Do not believe what progressive, pro-socialist candidates are selling: socialism is not the cure! You don’t have to believe this blog, Dear Voters. Have you ever asked any of our veterans to share how joyous it has been to receive care at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center? When have you ever heard Vets testifying that this intricate tri-service medical center was running as smoothly as a well-oiled machine? Not really! The JMS team consistently hears more complaints than anything else from our brave servicemen and women. So, Dear Voters, if running this single multi-level medical center is challenging, why believe that the federal government can provide for everything you will ever need in a manner that is cost-effective and time-efficient?
There you have it! Thanks for stopping by today and taking the time to read this post. The JMS team hopes that this refreshingly honest take has struck a chord with you, Dear Voters, and invites you to share it with your friends, comment below, or email us at jms@branding24seven.com with follow up topics you would like to see examined further.
As we inch toward the 2020 presidential election, this blog will provide unbiased yet thought-provoking policy analyses because we should all care about our democratic heritage. Now more than ever, we have witnessed to what extent elections have consequences on the way we want to live. The JMS team is doing its part to participate in our national debate and, in the process, provide relevant tidbits that are valuable to all American citizens.
You can always send us mail at:
JMStrategy LLC
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