Failures of socialism shown in history

Recently, Jeopardy garnered 14.4 million viewers for its popular game show, becoming the evening's top-rated show and becoming the fourth largest non-sports offering in prime time during the 2019-20 TV season.

Anyone who watches this "test of wits" between three Americans (James Holzhauer, Ken Jennings and Brad Rutler) has to be impressed with their vast knowledge but especially their knowledge of geography and history. Study after study today reflects the fact that our high school and college students are woefully deficient in geography and history.

It has been famously said that "those who fail to learn from history are condemned to repeat it." The upcoming 2020 elections provide a perfect example of young voters supporting Bernie Sanders, an outspoken socialist. Polls reflect the fact that these same college students prefer socialism to capitalism. A recent Gallop poll found that 51% of young Americans prefer socialism and 45% prefer capitalism.

If young people did some research and studied a little history, they would find out that socialism was tried big time last century in Europe and it resulted in the deaths of approximately 100 million people. America went to war over these socialist policies.

Socialism has never worked anywhere it's been tried but only resulted in genocide and poverty.

Socialism is about redistribution of your money. Free health care and free college will bankrupt the system, and who will pay for it? Margaret Thatcher describes socialism saying "that eventually you run out of other people's money."

Venezuela is a perfect modern-day example of how socialism works. A few years ago, Venezuela had one of the strongest economies and best-run countries in all of South America. Today after communist/socialist leader Nicolas Maduro took over the government, the people are starving to death having to kill and eat dogs just to stay alive and feed their families.

Larry O'Neill

Palatine