[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 44 (Tuesday, March 12, 2019)]
[House]
[Page H2652]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
SOCIALISM LEADS TO HUMAN MISERY
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from
Alabama (Mr. Brooks) for 5 minutes.
Mr. BROOKS of Alabama. Mr. Speaker, a prominent American socialist
politician recently proclaimed that ``capitalism is irredeemable.''
Mr. Speaker, capitalism, better known as free enterprise, is based on
freedom and liberty, not government dictate.
The claim that freedom and liberty should give way to government
control and dictatorship is astonishing, sad, and alien to the America
that I know.
It is a betrayal of the freedom and liberty Americans have fought and
died for, a freedom that has given America the best gross domestic
product, the most wealth of any nation in history.
In sum, the argument that free enterprise is bad and irredeemable is
the height of economic hubris, economic ignorance, and economic
stupidity.
Mr. Speaker, it is one thing for an argument to be economically
ignorant and stupid, it is another thing for it to be dangerous to
human life. In that vein, the argument that socialism is better than
free enterprise is not only a betrayal of America's foundational
principles of freedom and liberty; it is also dangerous and must be
dealt with quickly and severely.
History is replete with examples of dead or dying nations that have
paid a heavy price for succumbing to socialist politicians who care
more about personal and dictatorial power, who care more about being
the boss, than the welfare of their own people.
For those who refuse to learn from history, I suggest reading George
Orwell's prophetic book ``Animal Farm.'' It explains all you need to
know about how and why socialism fails and who rules in a Socialist
society.
Venezuela's economic and humanitarian catastrophe is a present-day,
glaring lesson that warns all tempted by the siren song of socialism.
Thousands of Venezuelans are dying from malnutrition, disease, and
lack of food and medicine. The result: deadly riots.
In 2018 alone, a staggering 7,523 civilians were murdered due to
clashes with military and state police forces.
Mothers are forced to choose which child to feed and which child goes
hungry.
In 2017, the average Venezuelan lost 24 pounds because they could not
get the calories necessary to maintain their body weight. Today, there
are Venezuelans searching for food in trash cans who are fortunate if
they can eat once a day.
As Venezuelans lose hope, suicide rates have skyrocketed to almost
twice the global suicide rate.
Venezuela's socialist economy has collapsed. 2018's inflation rate
soared to 80,000 percent. Nearly 90 percent of the population is living
below the poverty line.
Even electricity is unreliable, as Caracas suffers from sporadic
total power failures, casting Venezuela's capital city into darkness.
Worse yet, Venezuela's socialism promotes crime and lawlessness by
desperate citizens. According to a 2018 report by the World Economic
Forum, Venezuela is the second most dangerous country in the world,
with Caracas coming in as the second most dangerous city overall with
111 homicides per 100,000 residents.
Venezuela's suffering even extends beyond its borders, as thousands
of refugees flee to neighboring countries that cannot take care of
them.
Venezuela is a man-made catastrophe brought about by tyrannical
dictators and self-proclaimed bosses that are always the result of
socialist policies.
Mr. Speaker, America must learn from Venezuela, a country that
succumbed to evil socialist sales pitches even though history proves
socialism has failed every single time.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues and America to reject socialism
lest America go down the same path of financial self-destruction as
Venezuela.
Finally, Mr. Speaker, I urge America to reject self-proclaimed
dictators and bosses who seek to deprive America of our hard-fought and
hard-won freedom and liberty.
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