Day 605, The Social Democrats
Is “socialism” bad for you?
Some call it a disease.
The Socialists: what would they do?
What are priorities?
They like good health, so they all want
Health care for everyone.
Untreated illness should not haunt
The lives of anyone.
The Socialists hate poverty.
They hope to find a cure.
They want Social Security
For elderly and poor.
They think that we should understand
How all the species formed
And we must have a good command
Of why our planet warmed.
We must teach science in our schools
Along with history,
Humanities. Too many fools
Will wreck society.
How do we pay for all this stuff:
Security, good health?
The answer, stripped down to the buff,
Is tax excessive wealth. (1)
The rich influence who can vote.
The rich buy TV time.
They write words politicians quote,
Which ought to be a crime.
Through methods even stealthier,
They’re hiding whom they bought,
So they grow ever wealthier,
Assured they won’t be caught.
So, public finance of campaigns—
Most Socialists approve.
Yes, money talks and that explains
Why problems don’t improve.
Besides, the Social Democrats
Are not pure Socialists.
Their enemy is plutocrats.
They are not Bolsheviks.
So, Socialists will fight for you.
The rich fight for themselves.
If you need help, they say, “Boo hoo,”
“We are not Santa’s elves.”
- Thomas Piketty, Capital in the Twenty-first Century. 2013