Perspectives Of A Russian Immigrant: Of 'Livable Communities' And Dachas
Suggesting there may be similarities between Democratic Party policies and those of the Soviet Union usually causes disbelief and ridicule among many. But doubters may want to take a closer look.
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Perspectives of a Russian Immigrant
On Aug. 3, the Senate Banking Committee passed Chairman Chris Dodd's "Livable Communities Act." "The needs of our citizens are evolving," Dodds said at a hearing on the bill, "and the way we plan for the future must evolve as well. This legislation is a significant step in that evolution ...
"Between 1980 and 2000, the growth of the largest 99 metro areas in the United States consumed ... about an acre for every new household. Our nation is facing a number of significant problems, including a struggling economy, an explosion in home foreclosures, the looming threat of climate change, an increasingly worrisome dependence on foreign oil, deteriorating infrastructure and, yes, worsening traffic congestion."
Dodd's solution to these problems is herding citizens into government-designed living structures: "By creating these livable communities, cities and towns," he said, "we can attract and retain young people, recruit new workers, put existing residents back to work, and accommodate the baby boomer generation as they enter retirement."
From Dodd's perspective, Americans must live according to the government's vision, not their personal preferences and circumstances. One must be convinced that government bureaucrats can predict future industries, careers, technological advancements, family situations and economic conditions better than the people who will be dealing with these issues themselves.
The Livable Communities Act and other proposed legislation of this Congress, such as a cap-and-trade measure that will allow the government authoritative power over industries, and the Great Outdoors Initiative, which will let the government acquire and control millions of acres of both public and private land, will make this country's political and economic structure closely resemble all the failed socialist political-economic systems of the past.
Under the slogan that all land belongs to the people, the Soviet government had total control of the land in the USSR. High-ranking members of the government apparatus had their own centrally located living quarters, special medical care facilities, separate stores and gated vacation areas (dachas) in the country.
The reality of life for the rest of the citizens was waiting in lines for apartments in assigned communities, waiting for medical care in assigned clinics and waiting in line for all other necessities as the result of an inefficient economy. The aspirations of many talented individuals were choked by petty day-to-day bureaucratic constraints.
In 1975, in the USSR, my young family moved to our own apartment in one of multiple micro-neighborhoods, or "livable communities," that had been built all over the country since the late 1950s.
These communities added just another layer to daily hardships that included overcrowded public transportation, limited choices and unbalanced services (schools, stores, clinics), and the biggest obstacle of all — total dependence on government bureaucracies for any upgrades or additions to your living conditions.
Politicians who are in the process of destroying the American standard of living are sheltering themselves from their own changes to the American way of life.
They already exempt themselves from the requirement to participate in the new health care system imposed on the American people. Passing the Livable Community Act will give them the power to usher citizens into government-regulated and -controlled quarters (livable communities). They have all the tools available to the government, including punishing taxation and penalties that will enforce their preferred living standards over individual choices.
While government leaders in the USSR gave speeches about the welfare of people, they themselves enjoyed luxuries and services denied everyone else; this is the general structure of all centrally planned, "fair and equal" societies.
I'm not surprised that Democratic leaders, surrounded by like-minded ideologues, are pursuing power-grabbing policies by replacing the free market with central planning. It is hard to comprehend there are people born in a free country who willingly support its transformation. They are ready to give up their personal liberties, freedoms and choices to submit themselves and their children to the control of a soulless state apparatus.
This is the 12th article Kunin has written for IBD. The other 11 can be seen in the Special Series section of IBDeditorials.com.
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