Category: Capitalism
Mark Levin reveals what’s REALLY bankrupting Americans (it’s not billionaires)
One of the left’s favorite talking points is that extreme wealth concentration among billionaires is a major contributing factor to the financial struggles of everyday Americans. According to the logic of Bernie Sanders, Elizabeth Warren, and Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, among other progressives, eliminate billionaires and you solve America’s economic problems.
But Mark Levin debunks this argument with ease: “The billionaires aren’t our problem. They’re irrelevant in terms of whether you succeed or not. Government’s your problem because they take from you, they regulate you, they obstruct you.”
Billionaires, he explains, via investments and spending, actually pump their money back into the economy, which means “more capital, more research and development.” Then the money they save in banks just gives banks “more money to lend to … you and me, Mr. and Mrs. America,” says Levin.
But the government with their excessive spending and never-ending list of regulations and taxes bar the American people from financial success.
“Try and open a restaurant … maybe a doughnut-and-coffee place in your community. Watch all the red tape you have to go through,” says Levin. “That’s not capitalism blocking you. That’s socialism. That’s government. That’s politicians and bureaucrats.”
He gives another example of someone trying to increase his property value by adding a room to his house. Most will never see it happen because regulations will either forbid it or make it financially untenable for the homeowner.
Right now, we’re living in the aftermath of the Biden regime, Levin explains. “They spent like drunken Marxists, drove up the inflation rate. They were trying to manage the business world and individuals during the pandemic and did a horrendous job because so much of it was phony science and was politics.”
That’s why today, businesses like MacDonald’s are reporting massive declines in customer traffic for 2025. Robert Reich, secretary of labor under Bill Clinton, recently put out a video blaming it on Trump’s rigged economy, pointing to the contrast between booming stock market performance and the financial struggles of everyday Americans as evidence.
But Levin punctures his argument. “Any of you have pensions that aren’t Social Security-related or government-related? … Well, if the stock market collapses, so does your pension … your IRA, your 401(k).” Further the stock market “reflects how well a business is doing. If a business is doing poorly, it’s going to fire people, and it’s going to have an effect on our economy.”
The government is the problem, he reiterates. “Tell me, when is the last time the government had a net reduction in spending?” he asks.
The national debt is sitting at $38 trillion, and that doesn’t even account for our “off books debt.”
“Meaning they owe Social Security recipients, Medicare recipients because they’ve taken all your money,” Levin explains, noting that the actual debt is “over $300 trillion.”
“The economy creates between 17 and 18 trillion a year. We’re never going to pay that, are we? And so it’s borrow, borrow, borrow, borrow,” he sighs.
No matter how the economy is doing, the government’s mindset is always the same: “Spend more.”
“In other words, there’s no market system. There’s no check and balance. There’s no rational reason for this other than there are politicians who want to spend your taxes and then want to spend the money that’s yet been created by your children and your grandchildren,” says Levin.
He destroys Reich’s faulty argument that Trump only gives tax breaks to the rich with three points:
One: Trump eliminated federal income tax on tips and overtime pay, gave a 15% tax cut to middle-income workers, eliminated tax on Social Security benefits for seniors, and added deductions for U.S.-made car loan interest.
Two: Billionaire tax breaks that “actively screw the middle class” would be electoral suicide on the part of the GOP.
Three: The vast majority of billionaires fund the Democrat Party and progressive activist groups.
The leftist argument that billionaires are the enemy is rooted in the Marxist framework of oppressed versus oppressor, Levin explains. It’s the left’s go-to explanation for every problem the nation faces. While the economy is indeed an issue, pushing the blame on “oppressive” billionaires isn’t going to fix anything.
We’re still suffering from the horrific decisions of the Biden administration, Levin reminds us. It’s going to take time for the changes the Trump administration is implementing to be felt by the people. Further Levin urges his audience to go into the supermarket and look around at how many goods are available to us. “Capitalism is also about availability” — something media figures like Reich conveniently disregard.
“The benefits of this society are all around us … not thanks to government or taxes or redistribution of wealth,” he says.
“There have always been people who are wealthier than the vast majority of the people, and you will find that in every Marxist fascist regime on the face of the earth; you will find it in every monarchy in the Middle East.”
“The difference is this. … In our country, you can have enormous wealth, and you can lose enormous wealth. You could be born dirt poor, and you could become a millionaire if that’s your objective. In other words, there’s mobility in a free capitalist system. There is no mobility in a Marxist fascist monarchical system.”
To hear more of Levin’s commentary, watch the clip above.
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If conservatives will not defend capitalism, who will?
In the aftermath of Zohran Mamdani’s electoral victory earlier this month, it became clear that socialism is a greater threat on the left than ever before. It is also clear that the GOP could no longer coast along by proclaiming, “Vote for us because he’s a socialist,” assuming that people would forever have a knee-jerk reaction to that word.
One issue that defined New York’s mayoral race — and increasingly politics throughout the country — is affordability. For millions of Americans, affording rent, groceries, health care, and a home seem further out of reach than ever before. The issue has been winked at by politicians across the spectrum for years around election time with precious little results to show for it.
Explaining to voters why they are wrong — or even worse, outright dismissing their concerns — has never worked politically, and that is not going to change now.
We have largely reached a point where this can no longer be avoided: We are now seeing regular releases of ever-worsening economic figures. The median age for all U.S. home buyers is 59 — a staggering statistic by itself, made even worse by the fact that it is up from just 28 back in 1991.
And it is not just that people are getting priced out of home ownership — rents have gone up astronomically over the past decade, leading us to a situation in which the American consumer is clearly struggling to get by. From credit card debt at record highs with seriously delinquent accounts hitting 12%, the highest since 2012, to auto repos matching 2009 levels, it is pretty clear that the consumer is maxed out.
Looking around at how conservative pundits spent the last few weeks talking though, you would not know it at all. You would be forgiven if you thought they had just come off a huge electoral victory. Conservatism simply cannot reduce itself to being the worst caricature of cold elitism that turns a blind eye to the very real economic struggles many in the country are facing.
Ben Shapiro kicked things off after suggesting to young people that they simply should not live in places like New York City, criticizing the idea that someone would deserve to live where they grew up and where job opportunities are heavily concentrated.
That same week, Donald Trump opened a rift within his own base — a rare sight for sure — in an interview with Laura Ingraham over the issue of H-1B visas. When she pushed him on his stance, saying that we have “plenty of talented people here,” he interrupted with, “No you don’t, no you don’t.” Instead of focusing on how to make American workers more competitive through better education or training, the message heard by many was that Americans were not up for the job.
Worst of all may have been Dinesh D’Souza, who felt the need to weigh in on Vivek Ramaswamy’s meritocratic education reform by essentially race-baiting, saying: “How ironic it will be if a brown American like Vivek actually helps to fix education and raise the prospects of white kids, while all the professional whiteys on X continue their idle boasting.” Whatever the merits of education reform, mocking struggling Americans — especially through whatever “professional whiteys” is supposed to mean — is not doing anyone any favors.
With approaches like these from the right, who needs the left anymore? It took Ramaswamy’s opponent in the Ohio gubernatorial race, Amy Acton, all of 24 hours to put together an ad saying that Ramaswamy thinks “Ohioans are lazy and mediocre. He’s wrong.” It practically wrote itself.
Arguments like these from conservatives do more damage to the defense of capitalism than attacks from socialists ever could and are totally disconnected from what free markets actually are. Capitalism has delivered more prosperity than any system in human history, and it is not even close — but it did not get there by running on the platform of saying, “You’re too poor to live where you grew up, our country isn’t talented, move aside.”
New York City is famous throughout the world because it is the city where generation after generation of people who wanted to work hard could go and make something of themselves. Nobody I have seen on the right is asking for a luxury life handed to them on a silver spoon while they sit on the couch. They are frustrated by the fact that the world seems to be increasingly out of reach for them.
The only person in the GOP who seems to be able to see this, I’m horrified to say, appears to be Rep. Marjorie Taylor Greene (Ga.), who spent the last few weeks getting attacked for acknowledging that many “young adults are barely making it” and accusing Trump’s allies of gaslighting Americans about the cost of living. On Saturday, she posted on X: “My heart is with Americans who struggle to afford life in America today.”
To her credit, she has been consistent in prioritizing cost-of-living issues — something that has become far too rare in the GOP since Donald Trump took office. She has taken the lead in warning that health insurance premiums would double for millions of Americans — including her own adult children — when enhanced Affordable Care Act subsidies expire, while Republican leadership has largely sidestepped the problem.
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Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images
We on the right have long embraced a tougher-love approach that certainly includes prioritizing a strong work ethic, and nobody needs to give that up. But that is not the issue here at all — Ben Shapiro’s comments are not directed at people who do not want to work; they are directed at and felt by those who do work and still cannot afford many basic things that previous generations took for granted.
Explaining to voters why they are wrong — or even worse, outright dismissing their concerns — has never worked politically, and that is not going to change now. Support for capitalism has now fallen to 54% overall, with Democrats preferring socialism 66% to 42%.
Peter Thiel’s now-viral email from 2020 captures exactly what is underlying this shift:
From the perspective of a broken generational compact … when one has too much student debt or if housing is too unaffordable, then one will have negative capital for a long time … if one has no stake in the capitalist system, then one may well turn against it.
He was right then, and he is right now. The only thing left to be seen is whether the right will wake up to that reality before it is too late.
If this month’s performance is any indication, I am not holding my breath.
Editor’s note: This article was originally published by RealClearPolitics and made available via RealClearWire.
The Spectacle Ep. 301: Is the U.S. Economy As Good As President Trump Says It Is?
While the stock market soars, Americans struggle to afford housing, groceries, and a McDonald’s Happy Meal. (RELATED: The Answer to…
The kids aren’t all right — they’re being seduced by socialism
Something is breaking in America’s young people. You can feel it in every headline, every grocery bill, every young voice quietly asking if the American dream still means anything at all.
For many, the promise of America — work hard, build something that lasts, and give the next generation a better start — feels like it no longer exists. Home ownership and stability have become luxuries for a fortunate few.
Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them.
In that vacuum of hope, a new promise has begun to rise — one that sounds compassionate, equal, and fair. The promise of socialism.
The appeal of a broken dream
When the American dream becomes a checklist of things few can afford — a home, a car, two children, even a little peace — disappointment quickly turns to resentment. The average first-time homebuyer is now 40 years old. Debt lasts longer than marriages. The cost of living rises faster than opportunity.
For a generation that has never seen the system truly work, capitalism feels like a rigged game built to protect those already at the top.
That is where socialism finds its audience. It presents itself as fairness for the forgotten and justice for the disillusioned. It speaks softly at first, offering equality, compassion, and control disguised as care.
We are seeing that illusion play out now in New York City, where Zohran Mamdani — an open socialist — has won a major political victory. The same ideology that once hid behind euphemisms now campaigns openly throughout America’s once-great cities. And for many who feel left behind, it sounds like salvation.
But what socialism calls fairness is submission dressed as virtue. What it calls order is obedience. Once the system begins to replace personal responsibility with collective dependence, the erosion of liberty is only a matter of time.
The bridge that never ends
Socialism is not a destination; it is a bridge. Karl Marx described it as the necessary transition to communism — the scaffolding that builds the total state. Under socialism, people are taught to obey. Under communism, they forget that any other options exist.
History tells the story clearly. Russia, China, Cambodia, Cuba — each promised equality and delivered misery. One hundred million lives were lost, not because socialism failed, but because it succeeded at what it was designed to do: make the state supreme and the individual expendable.
Today’s advocates insist their version will be different — democratic, modern, and kind. They often cite Sweden as an example, but Sweden’s prosperity was never born of socialism. It grew out of capitalism, self-reliance, and a shared moral culture. Now that system is cracking under the weight of bureaucracy and division.
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Photo by Angela Weiss / Contributor via Getty Images
The real issue is not economic but moral. Socialism begins with a lie about human nature — that people exist for the collective and that the collective knows better than the individual.
This lie is contrary to the truths on which America was founded — that rights come not from government’s authority, but from God’s. Once government replaces that authority, compassion becomes control, and freedom becomes permission.
What young America deserves
Young Americans have many reasons to be frustrated. They were told to study, work hard, and follow the rules — and many did, only to find the goalposts moved again and again. But tearing down the entire house does not make it fairer; it only leaves everyone standing in the rubble.
Capitalism is not a perfect system. It is flawed because people are flawed, but it remains the only system that rewards creativity and effort rather than punishing them. The answer is not revolution but renewal — moral, cultural, and spiritual.
It means restoring honesty to markets, integrity to government, and faith to the heart of our nation. A people who forsake God will always turn to government for salvation, and that road always ends in dependency and decay.
Freedom demands something of us. It requires faith, discipline, and courage. It expects citizens to govern themselves before others govern them. That is the truth this generation deserves to hear again — that liberty is not a gift from the state but a calling from God.
Socialism always begins with promises and ends with permission. It tells you what to drive, what to say, what to believe, all in the name of fairness. But real fairness is not everyone sharing the same chains — it is everyone having the same chance.
The American dream was never about guarantees. It was about the right to try, to fail, and try again. That freedom built the most prosperous nation in history, and it can do so again if we remember that liberty is not a handout but a duty.
Socialism does not offer salvation. It requires subservience.
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