Alperovitz: Conservatives Back Socialism But Don’t Know It
Gar Alperovitz and Thomas Hanna show how public ownership of capital reduces taxes, which is exactly what conservatives favor.
The most well-known case is Alaska. The Alaska Permanent Fund, established by a Republican governor in 1976, combines not one, but two socialist principles: public ownership and the provision of a basic income for all residents. The fund collects and invests proceeds from the extraction of oil and minerals in the state. Dividends are paid out annually to all state residents.
Texas is another example of conservative socialism in practice. Almost 150 years ago the Texas Permanent School Fund took control of roughly half of all the land and associated mineral rights still in the public domain. In 1953, coastal “submerged lands” were added after being relinquished by the federal government. Each year distributions from the fund go to support education; in 2014 alone it gave $838.7 million to state schools. Another fund, the $17.5 billion Permanent University Fund, owns more than two million acres of land, the proceeds of which help underwrite the state’s public university system.
Similar socialized funds — sometimes called sovereign wealth funds — are common in other conservative states. The Permanent Wyoming Mineral Trust Fund, with a market value of more than $7 billion accumulated from mineral extraction, is almost a direct expression of Schumpeter’s doctrine: Socialized ownership has helped to eliminate income taxes in the state.
Such “socialism, American style,” can produce odd reversals of conservative-liberal political alignments. One of the largest “socialist” enterprises in the nation is the Tennessee Valley Authority, a publicly owned company with $11 billion in sales revenue, nine million customers and 11,260 employees that produces electricity and helps manage the Tennessee River system. In 2013 President Obama proposed privatizing the T.V.A., but local Republican politicians, concerned with the prospect of higher prices for consumers and less money for their states, successfully opposed the idea.
So how do ya like them apples?
Copyright 2015 Liberaland
12 responses to Alperovitz: Conservatives Back Socialism But Don’t Know It
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Buford2k11 August 1st, 2015 at 14:02
Hehehe, it is funny that they are either ignorant of the word, cannot google it, or they choose to be ignorant of the real meaning of America…of being an American…these Libertarians, these fake American Republican Conservative, have no clue what Freedom means as an American, or they have willfully forgotten our true history, a history that can explain the real meaning of American Exceptionalism…We always have been a Nation willing to be SOCIALISTIC and Exceptional…the Way Americans have been able to put aside differences for the greater good of America…the way some nameless American soldier willingly lays down his life for his brothers in arms in some far away hellhole…So America can be a Socialist Nation, Free from the Tyranny of our Foes…So we can travel our socialistic highways and byways of a very fine Country…who has sought to preserve clean drinking water, clean air, and unpoisoned food…if that is what the gop is opposed to, well they are, because these folks only represent a phoney version of America…the one corporate America wants us to believe in…
fahvel August 2nd, 2015 at 04:00
the way millions of amerindians were slaughtered and the way wealth was distributed to the exceptional by 300 years of slavery – american history sucks and it will be its own babe – usa is just a conceited come lately and will pay the price that every empire has paid since way way back.
Dwendt44 August 1st, 2015 at 14:03
Well, Dah!. Right wingers are socialists too. They just want different free stuff. Like corporate welfare, oil subsidies, military weapons system that don’t work and the Army doesn’t want, etc…
Tommie August 1st, 2015 at 14:29
On point!
TKList August 1st, 2015 at 17:08
New Contract With America:
Abolish tax code and IRS.
Enact the Fair Tax.
Minimize regulations to only what is absolutely necessary.
Balance the budget.
Start decreasing the national debt.
Abolish the Federal Reserve, the FDIC and all bank regulations except one; require full disclosure on full or fractional reserve backing of deposits.
Treat gold, silver and cryptocurrencies as legal tender (not as an asset) for tax purposes.
End the war on drugs. Decriminalize and legalize drugs.
Immigration reform is necessary because of inadequate immigration policy and execution.
Abolish the Farm bill
Give all parents school vouchers.
Abolish minimum wage laws.
Get the federal government out of the student loan business.
Get government out of the health care business as much as possible. Limit them to limited regulations and financial support to those who need it.
Obamacare, Medicaid, Medicare and VA hospitals should be phased out.
People under these programs and those who are financially below the poverty level should be given a yearly amount that they could use to purchase health insurance.
Keep the federal regulation stating that insurance companies have to cover pre-existing conditions as long as the person had previous insurance.
Allow people to purchase insurance from any state.
Deregulate state health insurance markets.
Unhinge medical insurance from employers in the tax code.
Getting government out and increasing competition in this way will lower health care costs. It cuts the bureaucracy costs, cuts the fraud costs and improves competition and quality of care.
Abolish the FHA, HUD, Freddie Mac and Fannie Mae. Repeal the Community Reinvestment Act.
Update the safety net. Have a means tested financial safety net, not a safety net based on government run programs for everyone.
Pay employees their full pay and let them choose to who and how much of their pay goes to their medical insurance, pension fund, and long-term care fund.
Stop letting companies, unions, cities, states and the federal government mismanage and underfund promised benefits.
Liberate the paychecks of hard-working Americans from the convoluted tax code and dictates of politicians on how to save for retirement.
Support politicians that promise to get rid of laws and regulations that are obsolete or ineffective, instead of the ones that promise to enact more laws and regulations.
Pass and ratify an Amendment to the Constitution to require a 60% supermajority in the House to pass any new legislation and a simple majority to repeal any legislation.
Pass a Constitutional Amendment for congressional term limits.
Choose limited federal government. Stop making millionaires out of our politicians and lobbyists. Stop increasing the power of connected corporations.
Roctuna August 1st, 2015 at 17:25
Ha ha ha. Are you a volunteer for Rand or paid staff?
bpollen August 2nd, 2015 at 04:18
Definitely a Libertarian fantabulist – http://tklist.net/
tracey marie August 1st, 2015 at 17:35
ron or rand fan?
SteveD August 1st, 2015 at 21:01
“…Fair Tax..” Totally regressive, worse than FICA or state income taxes, which disproportionately affect the poor. ‘Balance the budget.’ Federal surplus or balanced budget removes dollars from the private economy. What a marvelous idea. All 6 depressions in US history came on the heels of the federal govt. NOT running sufficient deficits..’…Start decreasing the national debt..’ Another brilliant idea. The federal debt is simply bank deposits. One could as easily claim that bank savings accounts are a problem’…Treat gold, silver and cryptocurrencies as legal tender. ‘ So, you these moronic rent taactics crashing by the hour, you want to avoid your fair share of taxes? It figures.’…the federal government mismanage and underfund promised benefits.’ The US govt. has the ability to create as many dollars as it wants. US govt needs no funding source.
Tim Coolio August 21st, 2015 at 20:45
93% of our national debt belongs to the republicons!!
the republican fiscal policy of borrow and spend!
just see – REAGANBUSHDEBT.ORG
TKList August 22nd, 2015 at 02:46
Democrats: Dictatorial, socialistic, economically ignorant, spendaholics.
Republicans: Authoritarian, religiously obnoxious, economically hypocritical, spendaholics.
Roctuna August 1st, 2015 at 17:28
We’ve been telling the cons on this site the same thing for years. What say you Red Eye? Tater? Finally willing to admit to your socialistic tendencies?