If I Only Had A Brain: The Economics of AOC – Capitalism Bad!

Please respect our republishing guidelines - Click Here

When it comes to political comedy, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY) is the gift that keeps on giving. Each week, Liberty Nation uncovers the blunders that keep us wondering: How did she ever get elected?

Ladies and gentlemen, AOC is back at it again with a full week of political comedy that is sure to give you that belly laugh you’ve been aching for. This week, she made two remarks decrying free market capitalism, the system that has lifted immeasurable numbers of people out of poverty. But her complaints were not only directed at free enterprise; she also made time to come up with an inane criticism about participants in the pro-Second Amendment march that was held in Virginia.

Wealthy People “Take” A Billion Dollars

During a Martin Luther King Jr. day conversation with activist and master race baiter Ta-Nehisi Coates, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez did her usual schtick about how wealthy people are disgustingly evil. It was the typical progressive line: The only way rich people get rich is by stealing from the not rich. “No one ever makes a billion dollars,” she whined. “You take a billion dollars.”

She continued: “I’m not here to villainize and to say billionaires are inherently morally corrupt…It’s to say that this system that we live in, life in capitalism always ends in billionaires.”

Of course, anyone with common sense knows that the second sentence is the economic equivalent of saying “water is wet.” But the first line was rather amusing given the fact that she spends tons of time demonizing the wealthy.

She also claimed that billionaires make their money “off the backs” of “undocumented people, “black and brown people being paid under a living wage,” and “single mothers.”

Then, she gave us her magnum opus of economic ignorance: “You didn’t make those widgets, did you? Because you employed thousands of people and paid them less than a living wage to make those widgets for you. You didn’t make those widgets. you sat on a couch while thousands of people were paid modern-day slave wages, and in some cases, real modern-day slavery.”

So basically, billionaires should be demonized because they created jobs that developed products for American consumers to enjoy. Despite the fact that she provided nothing to back up her claims, the audience thundered with applause.

AOC Wished There Were More Police at Virginia Rally

AOC had more to say during her Martin Luther King Jr. day interview. Like her comrades on the left, she took time to castigate those who marched on Virginia’s capital in protest of new gun control legislation being passed. She did what progressives usually do when they don’t like something: She labeled the whole thing as an exercise in racism. But, ever the creative leftist, she also used a different line of attack.

“Why were there almost no police officers,” she asked during the conversation, adding that there were protesters “flying confederate flags and [carrying] semi-automatic weapons.”

She then contrasted the march to protests held by groups like Black Lives Matter, which have devolved into rioting and violence in the past. “When we go out and march for the dignity and the recognition of the lives of people like Freddie Gray and Eric Garner the whole place is surrounded by police in riot gear without a gun in sight,” she said.

Well, perhaps this is because there is no history of pro-Second Amendment demonstrations becoming violent. There were people of all races present at the rally in Virginia. Even the Black Panthers showed up without being hassled by the police.

Free Enterprise Can’t Address Poverty

Last, but most certainly not least, we have another comment on capitalism from the intrepid lawmaker. In the same conversation, she made the laughable claim that the Democratic Party is “center-conservative,” which makes one wonder if she only started paying attention to politics in 2016. But she also argued that the United States cannot “capitalism our way out of poverty.”

Apparently, the lawmaker has not delved into history. Otherwise she would know that countries with socialist and communist government are typically poor. Yes, they manage a form of equality, but it means that everyone in these nations are equally poor. It is the free market that have made strong nations, not excessive government interference.

She is likely referring to the Scandinavian nations, whose governments do take a larger role in the lives of their citizens. However, none of these nations would identify as socialist. Indeed, it is their reliance on a robust market that has allowed for their success. In fact, over recent years, many of these nations have been moving away from some of the more socialistic policies they implemented previously, realizing that they have become more of a hindrance than a benefit. Nevertheless, the ignorance of the socialist crowd persists.

What does AOC have in store for us next week? Tune in to find out!

Read more from Jeff Charles.

About the author

Jeff Charles

Socio-political Correspondent at LibertyNation.com. A self-confessed news and political junkie, Jeff’s writing has been featured in Small Business Trends, Business2Community, and The Huffington Post. Born in Southern California and having experienced the 1992 L.A. Riots up close and personal, Jeff’s insights are informed by his experiences as a black man and a conservative.Race Relations & Media Affairs Correspondent