Bernie Sanders, who calls himself a socialist, but has long supported communist regimes once said that breadlines are a good thing. During the Depression a man opened up a chain of soup kitchens, which he financed himself in Chicago. His name was Al Capone.
But, are breadlines really a good thing? Not to Helen Raleigh, a senior contributor to The Federalist, had to say about breadlines. She grew up in communist China and there they would give you coupons. They were similar to the ones from WWII that limited you on certain items.
The same was true in China, but Raleigh says that you never got enough to keep you from starving for most of the month.
Raleigh grew up in Communist China — she saw firsthand the devastating effects of socialism and the oppressive nature of breadlines.
“The government controlled the distribution of essentials such as rice and cooking oil to every citizen through a rigid ration system, maintained through coupons,” Raleigh wrote in a column for Fox News.
“Those coupons were not for getting a discount — they were used to restrict the amount of essentials we were allowed to have on a monthly basis. Hunger was a constant feeling.”
Sanders might argue that breadlines ensure citizens are fed, but that’s not true at all, according to Raleigh.
“We were also constantly reminded that just because we had a coupon, it didn’t mean there were goods to buy in the store. It was a constant and exhausting endeavor to get our hands on the basics so that our family could survive.”