Seattle Welcomes First Socialist Council Member

January 7, 2014 by B. Christopher Agee Leave a Comment

With the recent inauguration of Bill De Blasio, New York City now has a mayor with some fairly substantial ties to socialism. Though he sold himself as a progressive Democrat, only time will tell how much influence his extremist past will have on future policies.

While the East Coast city prepares for the possibility of socialist leadership, a major municipality on the opposite coast offers no such ambiguity with the inauguration of its first openly socialist councilwoman.
Socialist Alternative Party candidate Kshama Sawant made headlines last year when she won a citywide election in Seattle on a platform shared by some of the world’s most infamous dictators.
After being sworn in earlier this week, Sawant shared her vision for the city.
“I will do my utmost to represent the disenfranchised and the excluded, the poor and the oppressed,” she said, “by fighting for a $15-an-hour minimum wage, affordable housing, and taxing the super-rich for a massive expansion of public transit and education.”
When a self-avowed socialist begins using words like “massive expansion,” fans of liberty should instinctively shudder with horror.

Sawant was elected largely through the support of those who aligned with her economic rhetoric. Unfortunately, these voters obviously do not understand – or care – what impact such policies will have on the city’s infrastructure.
As in other cities, including New York, confiscatory taxes on the highest earners will simply propel those successful residents to find a more accommodating hometown. Furthermore, unilaterally increasing the minimum wage to unsustainable levels will cause widespread layoffs and the closure or relocation of businesses.
Nevertheless, the new councilwoman said she is able to “wear the badge of socialist with honor,” explaining she will “bring the needs and aspirations of working-class people to every table I sit at, no matter who is seated across from me.”
Over the past several years, America has experienced an unsettling rise in support for socialist policies. Now, with a major city having elected an unabashed socialist to a powerful position, it is obvious such a designation does not carry the stigma it once did.
Patriots who defend this nation’s founding principles must continue to expose the fallacies of socialism before America completely loses its status as a beacon of liberty in an oppressed and oppressive world.
–B. Christopher Agee
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Photo Credit: University of Washington (Creative Commons)