Good (Socialist) Intentions Will Get You Killed

I cannot get Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez ("AOC") out of my mind.

New York, city and state, had a deal with Amazon.  Part of the deal involved relief from state and local land use regulations (that entail a lengthy, exhausting, and expensive review process), environmental review, and various building regulations.  You should know, a lot of building regulations mean what you think they mean:  let's make sure the building doesn't fall down on people's heads.  And, a lot building regulations are a horror of extortionate giveaways to special interests.  E.g., for many years, exhibitors at the Jacob Javits Center had to pay union electricians, at their exorbitant rates, to plug their lights and computers into wall outlets.  Probably, Amazon did not want to deal with the extortionate shit, so they extorted back.

Mainly, to build their second headquarters in NYC and bring in 25,000 well-paying jobs, Amazon would get tax abatements to the tune of $3 Billion.

Upon hearing of Amazon pulling out of its deal with NYC, AOC walked up to a microphone, flashed her million dollar smile, and exuded happiness and victory.  She thinks tax abatements means there is a pot of money, sitting somewhere in the mayor's office, and that our mayor would actually give Jeff Bezos $3 Billion (in 10s and 20s).  And now the deal is off, these $3 Billion are available to hire teachers, repair the subway system, and "put a lot of people to work, if we wanted to."

Sooner or later, if it has not happened already, somebody will wonder, "Why wouldn't we want to?"  Why haven't we used this money already?  What are we waiting for?  The subways need fixing why haven't we fixed them?  The schools need teachers, why haven't we hired them?  The mayor of NYC, Bill de Blasio, a self-described socialist, why does he leave that pot of money just sitting there?  Why does he not use it for the betterment of the people he represents?

In contemplating this question, AOC can proceed in one of two ways.  One, she could think that, perhaps, she misunderstands something and proceed as a college educated woman should, to disabuse herself of some uncommonly stupid ideas (there is no pot of money in a closet of the mayor's office).  Or, she could see "enemies of the people" hiding under every bed.

Since 1917, when V.I. Lenin took power in Russia, murdered the royal family, and murdered more Russians in his first six months of power than the Tzars killed in the previous 100 years, socialists have never re-considered their world view.  With the utter certainty of religious faith, socialists Know they have the key to human happiness.  And when their plans do not work out (they NEVER do, since they are based on false ideas), the only possible explanation is sabotage by "enemies of the people".

They start by killing a few people.  As their failures continue, as their frustrations mount, as they become habituated to murder, they kill more and more and more.  That is how Stalin killed more Russians (more than 20 million) than Hitler, how Mao killed way more Chinese (about 60 million) than Tojo, how Pol Pot killed one quarter of the entire Cambodian population (about 2 million), and how Nicolas Maduro has made some three million Venezuelans run from starvation.

The socialists Know they are right, and they will kill and kill and kill until you get it right.  And that is what I see in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez's million dollar smile.