Many, many years ago, when I was fresh out of college and waiting tables, I was friends with a fellow waiter. We both enjoyed jazz and the blues, and he played a pretty mean harp. Harp in this case, referring to a harmonica, not the stringed instrument. I used to catch up with him after work and listen to him make up riffs over beers on the back patio of a bar. He was also more left-wing than I even at my progressive apex.
One day, during a slow lunch shift, I mentioned that I happened to be a fan of Bruce Springsteen. My friend became apoplectic. Springsteen, he opined, was nothing more than a right-wing shill. My friend’s rationale for this hypothesis was the song “Born in the USA.”
I tried to explain to my friend that Springsteen was never a right-winger. In fact, he went to great lengths to present himself as the exact antithesis of the right. Moreover, I pointed out that the song’s lyrics served as a blanket indictment of the American system. My friend countered that he didn’t have to listen to the lyrics. The anthemic quality of the melody and the refrain “Born in the USA / I was born in the USA,” was all he needed to hear to make the tune a conservative marching song.
I have been thinking back on that exchange since the election of Zohran Mamdani as the mayor of New York City, and now the election of Katie Wilson, an avowed socialist, as mayor of Seattle. Wilson is cut from the same or at least similar cloth as Mamdani, and as the Post Millennial reported, her campaign was centered around the boilerplate talking points: she plans to protect the city from Trump and guard against “federal overreach” (funny how that opposition to “federal overreach” shifts for Leftists, but that is another column), universal childcare, “social housing,” rent control and land ownership shifting from corporations to “steward communities.”
Seattle mayor-elect Katie Wilson: "I want everyone in this great city of ours to have a roof over their head. I want universal child care, free K-8 summer care ... I want social housing, I want much more land and wealth to be stewarded by communities instead of corporations..." pic.twitter.com/OjOkAAU2rn
— The Post Millennial (@TPostMillennial) November 13, 2025
According to the Daily Caller, in a September video, Wilson claimed she would not allow private grocery stores in the Emerald City to close. While campaigning, Wilson stated:
Access to affordable, healthy food is a basic right. We cannot allow giant grocery chains to stomp all over our communities, close stores that will leave behind food deserts. Together, we can build a Seattle where fresh food is for everyone, not just for those who can afford it. Food deserts are not natural; corporations create them when they abandon our communities.
She then said that private stores would be required to give 90 days’ notice before closing and laying off employees, and that those stores would have to provide those employees with a fair severance package.
She also favors the creation of government-run grocery stores.
All of that sounds good to your average leftist. However, like my old friend, they are paying attention to the melody and maybe the chorus, but they aren’t reading the lyrics.
Socialism has never worked. It did not work in the Soviet Union. It hasn’t worked in Cuba or in Venezuela. The mindset that favors it certainly did not work in the Chaz/Chop zone. And one great way to create a food desert is to subject business owners to crime, shoplifting, taxes, and regulations to the point that it is no longer feasible to keep a store open.
A business, or even a franchisee, is not awash in cash, and eventually, the cold, hard numbers on the ledger tell them it is time to close up or move out. Starting a business is a colossal risk. The local chamber of commerce does not show up with buckets of cash. Utilities need to be paid, there are licenses, permits, wages, taxes, inventory purchases, and a slew of costs that no one ever tells you about when you decide to open up shop. Trust me, I know all about that.
As to government-run grocery stores? We have all heard the stories of people standing in line for groceries in the Soviet Union. However, closer to home, back in August, Rick reported on the fall of Kansas City's Sun Fresh Market. This was a city-owned grocery store. Not only did the store’s operations and inventory suffer, but the outlet was also plagued by crime.
The irony is that once it becomes evident that socialism has failed New York and Seattle, there will be no admission of guilt by the socialists. The blame will be shunted off to everyone else. Of course, the beauty of socialism is that even as it fails, its proponents will claim they only need to tweak the system or give it more time. But it will work, eventually. Right?
Socialism has a catchy jingle that plays on the heartstrings. It evokes images of compassion, fairness, and basic human dignity. But while it’s advocated that you always hum the tune, they never read the words.
