Part 8: "What We Fight For" Freedom to Flourish
"Expand public resources to support recreation, learning, and social spaces accessible to all. Establish paid family leave for all workers, a 32-hour work week with full pay and benefits, and a living minimum wage. Provide free, quality public education from pre-K to college and cancel all student debt." - DSA https://program.dsausa.org/
"Recreation, learning, and social spaces..." I have recently learned that I can download [I did] an exercise schedule to do "Chair Tai Chi," a yoga routine I can do daily on one of my dining chairs. I'm 76, so cut some slack, ok? My personal physician highly approves and uses the routine himself.
I have acquired a sizable print-book library, have a much larger library accessible on my home-office desk with its iMac, and have a local town library accessible to me. Yes, all towns in America do not have a library [although the smallest town in America, Monowi, NE, population: 1, has a 5,000-volume town library]. Some individuals may not have a home library. However, as of 2025, about 93% of homes in America have an internet subscription. https://www.highspeedinternet.com/resources/internet-facts-statistics. But this DSA blurb does admit to a lack of appreciation for statistics. OK, "data collection," DSA said, which is a necessary first step to obtain statistics. Their loss.
What are "social spaces?" A park? A rec center? The street? A field, meadow, national park, school gym, the Y, a coffee shop... etc? 74% of my State's landmass is public access land. With a population of 3.5M, that's a lot of available "social space." I would say, conservatively, more than sufficient. Ever notice how big cities in America are, by and large, Democrat-run cities? Here's a political map of the U.S. 2024 House election, by House District detail. With little exception, see the little blue patches in fields of red. https://www.270towin.com/2024-house-election/ Rats come to mind, population-wise.
The quote above notes a "living minimum wage." I'll wager those who inserted this qualification are completely unaware of the original effect of "living minimum wage," when included in the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938. "While FDR defined a living wage as more than bare subsistence—allowing families to cover food, shelter, and save for emergencies—the statutory minimum of 25 cents per hour enacted in 1938 was historically insufficient to support an average family without additional household earners." https://publicpolicy.pepperdine.edu/blog/posts/what-did-fdr-mean-by-a-living-wage.htm Now, the offering of the DSA is promising more for less; "a 32 hour work week with full pay and benefits." But, what is "full pay" and what are "benefits?"
"Provide free, quality public education from pre-K to college and cancel all student debt." "Free" to whom? My taxes and yours will be obligated to pay for that increase in education obligation. My children have already attended Free K-12, paid for by property taxes, and their mother was their "pre-K" caregiver and educator, and they are finished with college as of >20 years ago. The education tax on my county property tax bill is still the largest line item of my property taxes. I should ask for, and would vote for, a percentage reduction of my property tax bill. I no longer have children in school, so I am not deriving a benefit at all. Sorry, I believe my obligation is to my family members, only, in this regard. Especially when, just a few years ago, a county school administrator drove a company car to and from work, a Mercedes. I live in a well-to-do community, but it isn't Beverly Hills. My property taxes were supporting that Mercedes. I don't drive one, myself. I drive a 25-year-old Dodge Ram because it refuses to die. That's better manufacturing than one will have under a socialist regime. Is there a Chinese or a Cuban-manufactured car that tops any car-of-the-year award? Come to think of it, are all the citizens of any socialist state in the world meeting the standard of "flourishing?" To "flourish" describes a state of steady development, health, and prosperity.