‘Creeping socialism’ is rushing in

Recent economic developments have reminded me of the “Horseshoe Theory” put forth by my political science professor over 60 years ago.

Rather than a straight line, the political spectrum is a horseshoe, sometimes placing the far left and the far right closer to each other than they are with their moderate colleagues. Recently, the Trump administration announced it is using $550 billion received as part of a trade deal with Japan “... to jump start the manufacturing growth by investing in the development of semiconductors, pharmaceuticals, critical minerals, energy, ships, and quantum computing.” Already, the federal government has purchased a “golden share” in U.S. Steel and a 10% stake in INTEL. (According to an administration official, there are more such deals to come.) We probably won’t hear that Sen. Bernie Sanders and Socialist New York mayoral candidate Mamdani oppose these developments. This seems to fall within their game plan.

Pundits on both side of the aisle have suggested government investment in private business is necessary to allow domestic companies, who bring their manufacturing home as a result of tariffs, to effectively compete with those in countries where such subsidies are common. While it seems to be the norm for the new Republican Party, former Vice President Mike Pence has expressed concern over these developments.

Even though there are, more than likely, other traditional conservatives who used call this out as “creeping socialism,” most are afraid of losing their jobs by speaking out. After all, Pence already lost his.

David Sherwood

Cedar Rapids