[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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