Capitalism vs. socialism debate heats up as Biden jumps into 2020 presidential race
Former Vice President Joe Biden's entrance into the 2020 presidential race is sparking a renewed focus on the debate between capitalism and socialism in America.
“Just like Democrats like to brand a lot of Republicans and business leaders as these essentially rapacious captains of industry, there is a lot of the other thing going the other way that every Democrat who asks for Medicare for all is essentially a socialist," Wall Street Journal’s chief economic commentator Greg Ip told FOX Business Neil Cavuto on Thursday.
Ip added he thinks if President Trump is successful in portraying the Democratic Party as the “party of socialism,” he will have a pretty strong advantage at reelection in 2020.
“Certainly Trump would like the 2020 election to be about capitalism versus socialism because he knows that very few Americans want socialism. They like capitalism, they like the free market system,” hesaid.
Ip also points out all of those who say they are for socialism don't seem to really know what it means.
"They don't think it means what you and I think it means, that the government owns the means of production like in Cuba or Venezuela. They just think it means everyone gets healthcare and college is free.”
Ip said he thinks one of the biggest tests for both parties ahead of 2020 election will be trying to make the term socialism and their agenda to resonate with what people actually understand it to be.
“If young people are told Obamacare is actually socialism, they would say they actually like Obamacare and therefore actually like socialism. On the other hand, if you actually look at the root of it and say it's a system that was designed to work with private insurance to make sure everybody got health insurance and Republicans are trying to take that away, that could tip the ball into the Democrats' column,” he added.
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The latest Fox News polls show more than three quarters of voters are already interested in the 2020 presidential election, including over half, 52 percent, who are “extremely” interested. When asked about policies they support, voters said, providing government-run health insurance for all and providing free college tuition ranked higher in their priorities than reducing regulations or building the border wall.
The polls also found nearly eight in 10 Democratic primary voters would be satisfied with Biden (78 percent) or Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders (75 percent) winning the nomination, while six in 10 would be happy with California Senator Kamala Harris or Massachusetts Senator Elizabeth Warren (each 61 percent).