Germany a proven model of Democratic socialism

"A socialist for president?"

Bernie Sanders is not a socialist. He is a Democratic socialist and there is a big difference. A true socialist believes government businesses are better than private businesses. A Democratic socialist believes that private businesses should run most of the economy, but the wealth created by these businesses should be more fairly distributed among all the citizens.

If we had perfect competition in a free market, like they taught me in Econ 101, then the wealth of a country would be distributed fairly to everyone. But our economy is nowhere near this perfect competition.

Most industries are now dominated by a few giant corporations. Bernie Sanders says that government should counter the excessive power of the few to make the distribution of wealth fairer to the many.

A good example of a Democratic socialist country is Germany. Public colleges are free. German healthcare is like Obamacare, paid half by the employer and half by the employee. Mothers receive 14 weeks of paid maternity leave and the government subsidizes child care.

Yes, taxes are higher. Their highest income tax is 50.5 percent (U.S. 39.6 percent) plus a 19 percent national sales tax (VAT).

We don't have to copy Germany, but that doesn't mean that we can't learn from a successful Democratic socialist country.

Steve Scott

Sarasota

This story was originally published November 5, 2015 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Germany a proven model of Democratic socialism ."