This past week, I was able to attend the Turning Point USA High School Conference host at George Washington University in Washington DC. Turning Point is an organization founded by Charlie Kirk, and promotes Capitalism and Free Markets. The conference included high school students from all around America. We also heard from many guest speakers that talked to us about Conservatism in this modern world, how to handle the left bias and be a strong advocate for capitalism.
America is based on the premise that people are free when the markets are free, however, this is threatened when government becomes too involved. The government and Democratic beliefs have implemented many restrictions and regulations on corporations and small businesses that hurt how much they can prosper. Presidential candidate Hillary Clinton has mentioned many times about wanting to allow small businesses and entrepreneurs to be as successful as possible. But, without free markets and limited government, this cannot be the case.
An example commonly used by Charlie Kirk, the founder of Turning Point USA, is the taxicab industry and the rise of Uber. At one point the taxi industry was so large and non-competitive that the the taxis were able to raise their prices without providing a nice service. Soon, Uber came into the picture and provided a substantially nicer service where the passenger rates the driver and driver rates the passenger. Uber was able to start all because of capitalism. Capitalism truly allows everyone to be prosper and be free.
You can see the radical difference when the comparison is made between countries like the United States and countries like Venezuela. These socialist countries, where everything is distributed and controlled by the government, are now experiencing a vast black market including basics like toilet paper, deodorant, rice and milk. These items are so convenient and accessible in the U.S., but Andres Malave, contributor to U.S. News, writes “The force that is driving Venezuela into the ground is socialism.”.
In this election cycle, Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders worked his socialistic ideas into his agenda. Many of these policies include hefty regulations and requirements. These policies hurt small businesses most and do not let entrepreneurs operate to the best of their abilities. And, as Bernie Sanders wants to increase the middle class, the best way to do that would be to let Capitalism take control, and the people to raise themselves out of poverty.
The Economist finds “The MDGs [Millennium Development Goals] may have helped marginally, by creating a yardstick for measuring progress, and by focusing minds on the evil of poverty. Most of the credit, however, must go to capitalism and free trade, for they enable economies to grow—and it was growth, principally, that has eased destitution.” Capitalism has greatly helped global poverty and the same can be applied to the United States. So, Capitalism and free trade is a powerful tool to lift up people from poverty, rather than welfare.
Capitalism and free markets are truly powerful and produce benefits for both the buyer and seller. Charlie Kirk, founder of Turning Point USA, described at a conference that both parties in the transaction get richer, like when you buy coffee, you tell the barista "Thank you" and the barista will usually say it too. You're both thanking each other because you both gain something; you get coffee and the shop gets profit. Capitalism lets the American dream live. People prosper and start their own businesses (many that you and I enjoy). However, big government tries to muffle this dream when heavy regulations and requirements are placed on a business. Thankfully, we have amazing organizations like Turning Point USA that spread the word about capitalism, and they set up conferences for high school students, young women and young Hispanics. Lots of high schools and colleges have chapters and get students involved. So, remember, with capitalism all things are possible through hard work, big government sucks and socialism sucks.
