Now that Amazon has decided not to move forward with its new headquarters in Long Island City, Queens, the flaws of Socialism are clear.  But first it’s important to note that self-described Democratic Socialist (no such thing) Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, who was one of the champions of the cause and who tweeted her absolute delight when Amazon withdrew, has no idea why she will be on the wrong side of history when looking back.  It’s actually not her fault.  She’s an inexperienced young person with no understanding of economics or how the real world works.  She’s a series of taglines, and tweets.  She tweets for the same reason our President tweets.  They are the same, only on opposite ends of the political spectrum.  Agreeing with her, just like agreeing with our President doesn’t make either of them right.  Neither does the number of followers or likes.

The problem with AOC’s position on Amazon goes to the very heart of what’s wrong with Socialism.  Think about this.   We turn down high paying jobs that will help the overall economy including small business owners because we prefer the neighborhood remain poor, dirty and in disrepair??  The logic being that if Amazon moves in and indeed 25,000 high paying jobs are created, wealth will be created.  Rents and real estate will climb.  Restaurants will become more expensive and other upscale business will move into the neighborhood.  Abandoned warehouses transform into expensive condos and the demise towards prosperity really gets going.  Before you know it, the neighborhood is beautiful with parks and great schools.  And then what happens to all of the people and politicians that don’t want that?  Where are they in all this wealth and prosperity?  What???  That should be the goal for everyone.  For those not familiar with Long Island City, other than the waterfront, which has become quite expensive with high rises emerging from the waterfront dirt and with beautiful views of Manhattan, LIC is industrial and not a place you’d necessarily want to live.  Amazon would have accelerated improvements to the neighborhood.

So then why be against Amazon?  The answer is, Socialists, including AOC believe that the $3 billion dollars in tax incentives offered to Amazon would better be spent on those living in the neighborhood regardless of the return on that investment.  In other words, use government, tax payer money to improve the quality of lives of people rather than having people do it themselves by working and paying taxes and as a result, supporting the overall economy.  Free stuff vs. financial freedom.  Keep people dependent as opposed to training them for high paying jobs that can help them create wealth for themselves.  That is a ridiculous and incorrect way to think.  We need to have expectations.  Drive people to be better and more productive.  That’s what America should be about.  Governments don’t create wealth and prosperity, people and businesses do.  The Chinese realized this as did the Russians.  Their Socialist/Communist Economies were fantastic failures.  The collapse of the Venezuelan economy, once one of the wealthiest in South America, is the perfect example of Socialism’s failure.

If AOC and her Socialist friends really want to help their constituents, they will fight for better education, better opportunities, better outcomes and the jobs that she and her compatriots just lost for their constituents.  That’s what they should have been negotiating with Amazon, the mayor and the governor.  Instead of fighting to keep Amazon out, they should have been negotiating in good faith.

It’s not ok to spend your entire life being supported by the government unless there is a real reason for it.  People, citizens, sometimes need help and that’s part of the social contract but permanent dependence is not acceptable and not what America is about.  It’s certainly not what helped the USA become the largest economy in the world.  The greatest of what this country is lies in the freedom to dream and create without the heavy hand of government regulations weighing on that freedom.  People shouldn’t be penalized for that but rather rewarded.  The rich don’t need to be brought down, the poor need to be forced up.  My grandparents were illiterate, their son, my father, was a doctor.  That’s the American Dream.  That’s how economic prosperity works.  That’s the way, the Only Way we will ever close the gap in income inequality.