在最近的一次采访中，民主党市长佐兰·曼达尼说：“对我来说，社会主义意味着你将拥有过上有尊严生活所需的一切，而政府的职责就是实现这一点。”如果社会主义能给予人们尊严，那么古巴人民应该沉浸其中。
In a recent interview, Democrat Mayor Zohran Mamdani said: "Socialism to me, it means that you will have whatever you need to live a dignified life, and that it is the government’s job to deliver on that." If socialism gives people dignity, the Cuban people should be swimming in it.
然而，他们却沉溺于痛苦、短缺和人权侵犯之中。我出生于古巴，亲身经历了16年的社会主义。我知道政治承诺与政府对人民经济生活施加更大控制后实际发生的事情之间的区别。
Instead, they are swimming in misery, shortages and human-rights violations. I was born in Cuba and lived 16 years of socialism. I know the difference between a political promise and what happens when government takes greater control over people's economic lives.
这就是为什么白宫经济顾问委员会（CEA）最近关于美国民主社会主义者（DSA）政策成本的报告值得关注。
That is why the new White House Council of Economic Advisers (CEA) report on the price tag of the Democratic Socialists of America’s policies deserves attention.
CEA估计，DSA的七项主要提案在未来十年内的成本将超过49万亿美元——大约每个美国家庭35.5万美元。其中，全民医保（Medicare for All）占据了约47.4万亿美元的预计财政负担。这些提案还包括学生债务取消和免费大学教育、32小时工作周、绿色新政政策以及租金控制。
The CEA estimates that seven major DSA proposals would cost more than $49 trillion over the next decade — roughly $355,000 per American household. Medicare for All accounts for approximately $47.4 trillion of that projected fiscal burden. The proposals also include student debt cancellation and free college, a 32-hour workweek, Green New Deal policies and rent control.
这些数字巨大，但讨论不应止步于价格标签。还应探讨这些提案如何获得资金，包括政府将从何处筹集所需的数万亿美元资金，以及这种融资方式将如何影响纳税人和更广泛的经济。
Those numbers are enormous, but the debate should not stop at the price tag. It should also address how these proposals would be funded, including where the government would obtain the trillions of dollars needed to finance them and how that funding would affect taxpayers and the broader economy.
《卡斯特罗的操作手册》：前总检察长警告称，数十项国会法案正在推动社会主义思想。这些政策提出了一个更大的问题：政府在美国人民生活中的角色应当是什么。在全民医保下，谁来决定医疗的获取途径？谁来决定工资和工作时间？谁来决定住房价格？当人们依赖的更多资源变得依赖于政府决策时，会发生什么？
'CASTRO'S PLAYBOOK': EX-AG WARNS DOZENS OF CONGRESSIONAL BILLS ARE PUSHING SOCIALIST IDEAS These policies raise a larger question about government's role in Americans' lives. Who controls access to healthcare under Medicare for All? Who determines wages and working hours? Who controls housing prices? And what happens when more of the resources people depend on become dependent on government decisions?
DSA运动将扩张的政府项目作为解决真实问题的方案：昂贵的医疗、住房成本和经济不安全感。这些问题值得严肃关注。但政策并不会仅仅因为其目标充满同情心而变得有效。
The DSA movement promotes expansive government programs as solutions to problems that are real: expensive healthcare, housing costs and economic insecurity. Those problems deserve serious attention. But a policy does not become effective simply because its goal is compassionate.
我们的结尾论点：中期选举是对谁掌控你生活的公投。为这些政策辩护时常用的词是尊严。
OUR CLOSING ARGUMENT: THE MIDTERMS ARE A REFERENDUM ON WHO RUNS YOUR LIFE The word often used to justify these policies is dignity.
但如果政府能赋予你尊严，政府也能夺走它。例如，在许可问题上，一个人获得许可证越困难，他们的小企业启动就越艰难。
But if the government can give you dignity, the government can also take it away. For instance, when it comes to licensing, the more difficult it is for a person to obtain a license, the harder it becomes for their small business to get off the ground.
美国的悄悄社会主义接管正从市政厅蔓延到课堂。尊严永远不应掌握在政府手中。它是个人权利。经济独立——即工作、赚钱、储蓄、建设、拥有以及为自己和家人做决定的能力——是这种尊严的重要组成部分。
AMERICA’S QUIET SOCIALIST TAKEOVER IS SPREADING FROM TOWN HALLS TO CLASSROOMS Dignity should never be placed in the hands of government. It is an individual right. Economic independence — the ability to work, earn, save, build, own and make decisions for yourself and your family — is an important part of that dignity.
存在一些替代方案，它们能解决同样的问题，同时让更多决策权留在个人手中。这意味着更小、更负责任的政府；更低、更简单的税收；减少使工作、建设或投资变得更难的法规；以及企业竞争、消费者拥有选择权的自由市场。
There are alternatives that address these same problems while leaving more decisions with individuals. That means smaller, more accountable government; lower and simpler taxes; fewer regulations that make it harder to work, build or invest; and a free market in which businesses compete and consumers have choices.
参议员汤姆·科顿：民主党人说社会主义会有所帮助。历史说它会造成伤害。
SEN TOM COTTON: DEMOCRATS SAY SOCIALISM WILL HELP. HISTORY SAYS IT WILL HURT Preserving a democratic system matters, too.
保护民主制度也很重要。美国人应保持自由地不同意见、组织、发言、投票并倡导不同的解决方案。自由社会不要求每个人都得出相同结论；它要求人们能够和平地做出这些决定。社会主义会夺走自由。
Americans should remain free to disagree, organize, speak, vote and advocate for different solutions. A free society does not require everyone to reach the same conclusions; it requires freedom to make those decisions peacefully. Socialism steals freedom away.
美国无需实施一个注定失败的体系来证明它会再次失败。我们无需赌博式地放弃自由来证明我们能够改进我们的制度。
America does not have to implement a failed system to prove it will fail again. We do not need to gamble away our freedoms to prove we can improve our system.
我逃离了共产主义。美国不得不忽视这些紧迫的警告信号。49万亿美元的估算不应仅引发一场关于数字的争论。它应当迫使美国人审视，扩大政府控制究竟是让人们对自己生活拥有更多控制权，还是更少。同情心很重要。可负担性很重要。经济机会很重要。自由同样重要。因为尊严不是政府能够制造的东西。它属于个人。
I ESCAPED COMMUNISM. AMERICA MUST NOT IGNORE THE URGENT WARNING SIGNS The $49 trillion estimate should prompt more than an argument over a number. It should force Americans to examine whether expanding government control actually gives people more control over their lives — or less. Compassion matters. Affordability matters. Economic opportunity matters. So does freedom. Because dignity is not something government can manufacture. It belongs to the individual.