Progressives have come to the realization that their far-Left policies are not that popular with Americans. Instead of going through the normal legislative process to make major societal changes — like upping corporate tax rates and implementing climate change policies — Democrats are now packaging them as part of a $2 trillion infrastructure plan, claiming that these policies fall under “social infrastructure.”‘
Sen. Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY) made this point on Twitter on Wednesday, saying paid leave, child care, and caregiving all fall under the umbrella of “infrastructure,” a nod to phase two of President Joe Biden’s infrastructure plan.
Paid leave is infrastructure.
Child care is infrastructure.
Caregiving is infrastructure.— Kirsten Gillibrand (@SenGillibrand) April 7, 2021
That really is quite different when we consider the dictionary definition of infrastructure.
When we hear “infrastructure” we typically think of roads, bridges, and railroad tracks. They are what allow us to get from point A to point B. Without these systems in place, our lives would be much more difficult, if not completely impossible.
Despite our traditional use of the word “infrastructure”, progressives are attempting to redefine the word in order to fundamentally transform our country. If they argue that policies like “free” child care and “free” community college are “infrastructure,” then we subconsciously learn to regard that as an expected function of government, as something that the government has to provide us. It is something we become dependent on.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz (R) explained this very concern during a segment on Fox News.
“Big government socialists want to tax everybody all the time. They’re looking for mechanisms to keep raising money. Why? Because they think they can spend their money better than you can, that they have all these big ideas,” Cruz explained. “You look at Joe Biden’s supposed infrastructure bill, over $2 trillion. Do you know how much of that infrastructure goes to building roads and bridges? Five percent. Ninety-five percent of the ‘infrastructure’ bill is spending money on things other than roads and bridges.”
Big Government Socialists think they can spend your money better than you can. pic.twitter.com/T1TW5Fxi6Q
— Ted Cruz (@tedcruz) April 7, 2021
As Cruz argued, this move is a “shell game,” a maneuver to inch us closer to socialism, to citizens relying on the government for everything from child care, to college, to food.
Over time, our view of the government and the purpose of its existence begins to shift, meaning that we become even more dependent on the government to tell us what we can and cannot spend our money on and how to live our lives. More importantly, however, the notion of rugged individualism — the idea that you can achieve anything you set your mind to — is gone. The desire to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps, to work hard for what we have, to take pride in what we do, diminishes.
Americans are fiercely independent. We believe in working hard for what we have and only accepting help when situations are dire. Living on government handouts (made possible by your neighbors’ hard-earned dollars) are antithetical to who we are as a nation, going against everything we were founded on.
When progressives move to fundamentally transform our entire system of government, they are not just chipping away at our wallet. They are chipping away at the American spirit, and once they start, there is no end in sight.
The views expressed in this piece are the author’s own and do not necessarily represent those of The Daily Wire.