I want to take her seriously because she is a Congresswoman after all.  And I know that what she may lack in gravitas or actual legislative accomplishment, she makes up for as a very influential voice shaping public opinion on social media.  But Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (AOC) continues to befuddle me with some stunning displays of naiveté.

The most recent example has to be this Twitter gem that left most thinking people scratching their heads: 

Reminder of what people are calling the “radical, extreme-left agenda”:

✅ Medicare for All
✅ A Living Wage & Labor Rights
✅ K-16 schooling, aka Public Colleges
✅ 100% Renewable Energy
✅ Fixing the pipes in Flint
✅ Not Hurting Immigrants
✅ Holding Wall Street Accountable

— Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (@AOC) July 18, 2019

She pinned this tweet.  Meaning, she not only thought highly of it, she actually believed it made her look wise and discerning.  But what in the world?  Yes, Ms. Cortez, other than the meaningless demagoguery regarding immigrants, all the rest of that – when understood – is what people see as a radical, extreme left agenda.  Largely because it is a radical, extreme left agenda.

“Medicare for All” would be a massive government takeover of 1/6^th of the American economy.  It would be the government putting private insurance companies out of business costing thousands of jobs, stripping health insurance coverage from every American who has it, and turning the healthcare of citizens over to government bureaucrats.  Not saying that bureaucrats are heartless people.  They are disconnected people.  All the problems with the healthcare industry in America stem from people interjecting themselves between a doctor and his/her patients.  This would be exacerbating that.  Many hospitals today refuse Medicare patients because the government does not fully reimburse the costs associated with the care provided.  Extrapolating that outward to every American visiting a doctor’s office would be catastrophic to the health care industry in America.

A “Living Wage” is wisdom only on disconnected college campuses where people can live in and amongst theories rather than reality.  Minimum wage has proven to be one of the biggest detriments to the growth and success of small business ever conceived.  When it is hiked, businesses don’t hire new workers, don’t take risks, don’t expand.  And those that try are hamstrung by financial obligations that stunt the company’s growth and prosperity.  When it collapses, jobs are lost – that doesn’t improve anyone’s financial health.  Note that socialist Bernie Sanders is refusing to pay his campaign workers a $15 minimum wage they are demanding because it would be financially catastrophic to the operation.  Bingo.  A “living wage” would require the impossible from small business and would end in total disaster.

K-16 Public Schooling/ “Public Colleges” is brilliant only to those that think the K-12 model of compulsory education is working well.  This is a widely held truism: when something is paid for by someone else, the beneficiary often times fails to see the value in it because it costs them nothing.  I’m a public high school teacher.  Some students don’t care and try to sleep through class.  If they were paying for it, not only would they demand I do a good job, they would take ownership for the effort they were making as well.  Turning a college degree into a second high school diploma only ensures the perpetuation of liberal indoctrination camps – it does not ensure a more educated populace.  

100% Renewable Energy is currently a pipe dream.  There’s no way, barring the expansion of nuclear power which the left vehemently opposes, that renewable sources could power even a fraction of the American economy.  Energy expansion, innovation, and creativity are all noble goals.  Ramrodding renewables will require massive government subsidies (read “tax increases”) that will make a Medicare for All spending extravaganza look tiny by comparison.

And then it just gets silly.

Fixing the Pipes in Flint – I don’t know of anyone, left or right, that doesn’t want the pipes fixed in Flint.  Is there anyone saying that “fixing the pipes in Flint” is a terrible idea?  Some are certainly saying that the state should do it as opposed to the federal government.  But fixing water pipes is not an issue that divides the nation as far as I am aware.

Not Hurting Immigrants – what does this even mean?  No one wants to hurt immigrants.  Saying that people who believe in a secure border, who want to protect the economic fortunes of inner city, black youth by guarding against an influx of illegal labor, who don’t think it is fair for legal immigrants to be held to standards others aren’t held to, is not “hurting immigrants.”  To suggest that it is, well, that’s pretty radical. 

Finally, holding Wall Street accountable is a catch phrase that doesn’t ever seem to come with any specifics.  What are we holding them accountable for?  Crimes?  Sure, who opposes that?  Does it mean increasing government control of the markets, or allowing government to pick winners and losers of said market?  It’s impossible to address this without knowing what it means.

But that seems to reveal again that AOC isn’t overly interested in being a leader.  She’s interested in being a provocateur.  That may earn retweets, popularity, and money, but let’s not pretend it should earn respect or esteem.