To the editor:

This letter is in response to the recent letter to the editor, “Socialist Political Candidates” by Nandan Pai of Plattsburgh.

Pai rightly identifies the suffering “under the boot heel of centralized control” in a system without “the luxury of critiques.” No one disagrees. (Take note of the current president’s admiration for autocrats: Putin, Orban, and Kim; and his expansive use of presidential powers, targeting of political opponents, sanctions against universities…) Pai identifies socialism as the evil behind the suffering under such systems. Communism and authoritarianism have nothing to do with caring leaders who identify as social democrats who are foremost democratic, defending free speech and individual rights.

Socialism is, in essence, a value that believes that government should be for the betterment of all its citizens. Following the Constitution’s dictate “to promote the general welfare”, the United States has enacted excellent socialist programs, like Social Security, Medicare, Veterans Benefits, and highways.

The happiest countries in the world are the social democracies of northern Europe, which have affordable access to health care, education, childcare, etc. They embrace capitalism and encourage small business and entrepreneurialism, while recognizing that when all people can meet their basic needs, the whole country thrives.

Pai laments the brutal cost of feeding the poor, that it is ideological rot, that the problem is envy. Really? There are American families struggling to feed their children, and the problem is their envy? Many parents work multiple jobs and barely come out ahead of the childcare costs. The US spends the most per capita on health care of any developed country, with strikingly worse health outcomes.

The problem is not capitalism, but rather the concentration of wealth and its power in the super-rich and large corporations. Income inequality has serious consequences, and it would be wise to address this democratically. Such inequalities led to the French and Russian revolutions. We have freedom and the tools of democracy to use for the betterment of our whole society.

The Economic Policy Institute finds: the CEO to worker compensation ratio in 1965 was 20-1; in 2024, it was 281-1. Income inequality is increasing, while the “Big Beautiful Bill” cuts taxes for the wealthiest and large corporations, while taking away health care and nutrition for everyday Americans.

Pai sees socialism as wealth redistribution because of envy. Can we just care about each other? Can we decide, democratically, that those who have the most ought to contribute fairly? Can we understand that health care, nutrition, housing and education, for everyone, help all of us? When the ultra-wealthy and large corporations pay their fair share, the American Dream can be reborn.

Peggy A. Wiltberger

Saranac Lake