I had not heard the words of Dr. King about the poor living with capitalism and the rich getting socialism in this country until I heard Bernie Sanders quote him during his 2020 election campaign. I had been learning that before he was assassinated, Dr. King had begun to get more pushback for criticizing American capitalism and the American war machine than he even had during civil rights. His comment that the very existence of our nuclear arsenal is white supremacist stopped me in my tracks.
And it encouraged me to think about why Dr. King would say that so explicitly, and what his ideas might mean about the way I’d been educated around capitalism, war, socialism and communism. It was another step in understanding some of the great liabilities inherent in what I was taught-- and that I sadly mostly accepted, in my formative years.
lyrics
Been a lot of talk of socialists and communists coming for America
Trump and company been running their mouths about a grave threat from the left
While they stoke white supremacy
They make a bogey-man out of anyone
Who wants the rich to pay some taxes
And the poor to get a helping hand
Out of the pit they’ve been kept in by the boot on their neck
Chorus: Here’s the truth friend, socialism’s here
It’s your money paid to the rich
The rich are the welfare babies, Baby
The rich are the welfare babies
Taxes that you pay build the roads for their limos
Their atomic bombs, their armies you die in
And fund their police forces
They’re the big, fat welfare babies, Baby
The big, fat welfare babies,
And that’s the facts, Jack.
That’s a fact.
Dr. King taught us more than fifty years ago that the poor live with capitalism
And the rich get socialist every day in more ways than you can count
You pay the system to work for them
They get their rebates and kick-backs and pats on the back
Their friends stay in power, yeah they own the swamp
And all the creatures in it
We’ve got a welfare problem, the rich are on the dole
credits
from Free,
released April 18, 2021
Words and Music by Wade Baynham
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