Photo:AP/Aflo

Left-leaning Democrats hold domestic power as the president’s leadership in foreign affairs is sought in the face of growing threats from China. What principles should guide the president from here on? The Liberty’s editorial board has a message for the President.

President Biden, you say you can unify American citizens by healing the “divide” and bringing Americans together as one. However, you also claim that this unification cannot be accomplished as long as there is a “gap” between the haves and the have nots, and therefore the rich should pay their fair share. These words suggest that you are strongly influenced by left-wing Democrats, putting you in direct conflict with Republicans who maintain that tax hikes are a red line that they will not cross.

The Middle Class Will Suffer From Redistribution

Mr. President, you claim that ordinary citizens will remain unaffected because the money redistributed will come from taxes on corporations and the rich.

However, workers bear 50 to 70 percent of the burden of corporate taxes, so the income of employees will not go unaffected.

Ironically, the greatest victim of increased capital gains taxes, which supposedly target high-income earners, is the poor. Investors will invest less in corporations, entrepreneurs will have less money and capital investment will go down. This will result in a vicious cycle where there are fewer opportunities for employees to enhance their skills and real wages will decrease. Many workers will end up trapped in poverty.

If the Current Approach Continues, We Will See a Repeat of Roosevelt’s Mistake From the Great Depression

First and foremost, can we elude the Covid-19 recession if wealth is redistributed?

Mr. President, you idolize the “father of big government”: Franklin D. Roosevelt.

In the midst of the Great Depression, Roosevelt initiated the New Deal to create a large-scale redistribution society. The Roosevelt administration confiscated the gold and silver at $20.67 per ounce in April 1933 and then set the gold price at $35 per ounce afterward, which effectively worked as a wealth tax. He also raised federal income taxes.

Despite these redistribution efforts, the unemployment rate remained at over 20 percent from 1937 to 1938 and the economy failed to recover.

Henry Morgenthau, the Secretary of Treasury under the Roosevelt administration, made the following comment during those difficult times:

“We are spending more than we have ever spent before and it does not work… I want to see this country prosperous… I say after eight years of this Administration we have just as much unemployment as when we started… And an enormous debt to boot.”

In the end, the economy only recovered because of the rise in demand from the military as World War II was breaking out. It was not the result of FDR’s New Deal program.

Would You Like to Become a Communist Nation?

Perhaps, you’re wondering why the economy won’t recover through government redistribution programs.

When the government pays someone for not working, that diminishes incentives for people to work, and more people will stop working.

Not only will the poor cling to welfare, but talented entrepreneurs will be hesitant to start companies. Instead, they will choose to depend on welfare instead of burdening themselves with high taxes.

When wealth is redistributed to stimulate the economy, total production will always fall. Over time, the economic pie as a whole will shrink.

The “equality” that comes from closing the wealth gap, as envisioned by the left, can only come true on fulfillment of a single condition: every single person must become poor.

In short, when leftist demands are promulgated, it signals that the U.S. is becoming a communist nation just like the Soviet Union after the Russian Revolution and post-Mao China.

A Step Towards a God-Approved Economy

In addition, the left tends to overemphasize and spread a victim mindset based on racial discrimination. They tend to implant in citizens an entitlement mentality that it is only natural for wealthy white people to redistribute wealth to the poor. Through the distribution of stimulus checks, they are also expanding a welfare-dependent poor class of society.

Would God approve of such a policy?

For instance, there is a story of a black single-mother who was a former drug dealer. She started washing dishes in a hotel and went on to become a chef (*1).

If she became dependent on social security, not only would she have lost the opportunity to move up from poverty to the middle class, but she would’ve been unable to discover the joy of giving to others and nurture her self-esteem in a way that would bring her closer to God.

Left-wing policies are cruel because they continue to maintain the poor in a state of poverty. They are also immoral because they nourish a mindset that is far from independent and promote a life of taking love from others. These economic policies are not God-approved.

In this way, tax cuts will raise after-tax income and heighten people’s incentives to work more than redistribution of wealth ever could. Tax cuts will also grow the number of people who live a life of giving. As a result, overall production and economic growth will largely improve.

“The soundest way to raise the revenues in the long run is to cut the [tax] rates now,” said Democratic President John F. Kennedy. “The purpose of cutting taxes now is … to achieve the more prosperous, expanding economy which can bring a budget surplus.” (*2)

(*1) Taken from “Religious Nationalism that Dictates the U.S.” (no English translations, 2021) by Saho Matsumoto.
(*2) President Kennedy’s statement made in Dec. 14, 1962, in the Economic Club of New York.

Keep it to a Mild Compromise With Left-wing Party Members

Further, people on the left are introducing the concept of class struggles and promoting the idea that “those with ownership = white people = the exploiting class” and “those without = black people = the exploited class,” further deepening the nation’s divide.

The businessmen who create an abundance of hires are not the enemy of the people — no, they should be considered heroes. If you really want to strengthen the bond between citizens, I recommend you create a culture where people respect the entrepreneuial spirit of the rich and consider successful people heroes who create employment opportunities for the poor. A culture that alienates the top 1% will tear down America.

God chose the U.S. as a nation to convey prosperity on this earth (*3).

America’s success is not attributable to the government’s communistic authoritative control, but to a great democratic and prosperous mindset: that the wisdom of citizens should be cherished and that everything will work out for the best if each individual is allowed to manifest their entrepreneurial spirit and act freely.

This democratic, progressive and prosperous mindset is the American spirit that is respected around the globe. It also functions as a powerful weapon to counter the threat of China.

Mr. President, I believe that deep down, you understand and resonate with this American spirit.

Therefore, as the leader of the free world, we at the Liberty Magazine sincerely ask that you follow a policy of mild compromise with left-wing party members’ agendas.

(*3) From 「The 10th volume of Collected Works of Ryuho Okawa’s Spiritual Messages大川隆法霊言全集第十巻」, “Chapter 2: Lincoln’s Spiritual Reading” by Ryuho Okawa.

Just like Hitler, Xi Jinping’s Aggression Will Never End

Half a year has passed since your inauguration, and you are beginning to redirect the focus of your foreign policy. The current era, however, is becoming dangerously close to that of Western nations in the 1930s when Hitler was expanding his power. The situation calls for swift action.

Mr. President, you may recall that in March this year the U.S. Indo-Pacific Admiral Philip Davidson said, “I think [China’s move to take control of Taiwan] is manifest … in the next six years.” Mr. Davidson also said, “I’m worried that they’re accelerating their ambitions … to supplant the United States and our leadership role. … I’m worried about them moving that target closer.”

You must not repeat the failure of the appeasement policy that British Prime Minister Neville Chamberlain followed.

Mr. Chamberlain’s appeasement policy reached its height during the Munich Conference. Hitler made his final territorial demand for the annexation of Sudetenland Czechoslovakia. Faced with this crisis, Mr. Chamberlain decided not to confront Germany with an unyielding attitude but to instead compromise through negotiation. In late September of 1938, he set up the Munich Conference, an international conference consisting of four nations: the U.K., France, Germany and Italy.

Mr. Chamberlain was pressured by Hitler’s countenance and offered him Sudetenland, thinking it was acceptable if that sacrifice was needed to maintain peace. His generosity backfired and heightened the Nazi desire for territorial expansion. In March 1939, Hitler annexed the rest of Czechoslovakia. Hitler’s never-ending aggression led to World War II that broke out in Poland in September.

Upon returning from the Munich Conference, Mr. Chamberlain was jubilant as if he had been able to avoid a large war, and he announced to the public, “I believe it is peace for our time.” History has shown that it was actually a “diplomatic loss” and “peace through slavery.”

Your Strategy of Engagement Is Identical to Chamberlain’s Appeasement Policy

Mr. President, you say that we are in competition with China, but the reality is indistinguishable from the strategy of engagement that was Chamberlain’s appeasement policy. The strategy of building a cooperative relationship with China in certain fields assumes that, when China is included in the international community, it will eventually become a “responsible superpower” which will promote economic development and the development of a peaceful world order.

But these hopeful thoughts do not apply to Chairman Xi Jinping, just as they didn’t apply to Hitler. The long-held strategy of engagement has already heightened China’s desire for expansion — with the Scarborough Shoal in the South China Sea effectively controlled by China, and Hong Kong similarly being all but subdued.

We must learn that compromising with unjust, evil nations will only expand their ego. Only through remembering the lessons of history can we prevent a recurrence of the fate of Mr. Chamberlain who was tricked and ridiculed by Hitler for his lack of foresight.

Follow Churchill, Spot The ‘Devil’

The Chinese authorities are beginning to uniformly agree on reunifying Taiwan through force, and Mr. Xi Jinping has said that “[the reunification of Taiwan] should not be delayed too long” (*4). China is serious in its intention to take Taiwan and the South China Sea. The only question left is the timing.

The military balance in the Asia-Pacific region is similar to the history of Germany against the U.K. and France. The military balance in this region is one-sidedly biased towards China. The March military exercise demonstrated China’s capability to unify Taiwan.

Mr. President, discern the true nature of China — just like Churchill was able to see the devil in Hitler. Don’t hang onto the thread of hope that China might become a friend to Western nations.

You recognize this problem as “democracy vs. authoritarianism,” but China differs from an authoritarian system that allows for limited, yet diverse thoughts.

China’s essence is totalitarianism. They will assassinate and eliminate, through any means possible, anyone who is regarded as a source of incongruity.

The true nature of China is becoming apparent from the approximately five million Uyghurs that are forcibly enslaved in concentration camps (*5). Adding to this sad reality is the high likelihood that China instigated a war with a biological weapon intended for hypothetical enemies to bring down developed nations. Further, its eugenic policies, such as its attempts at genome editing to modify the human body, indicate that they are under the control of evil spiritual beings, even worse than those of the inhumane Nazis (*6).

Mr. Xi Jinping’s ambition is to transform his national totalitarianism into “worldwide totalitarianism” and conquer the world with the devil’s values.

If China’s totalitarian policies consume this planet, a truly liberal world that has been consciously created by humanity since the Greek and Roman eras, will be gone. Now is the turning point that will determine whether Western values will remain prevalent in the next century.

Therefore, the strategy of engagement, which is nothing more than a contemporary appeasement policy, should cease. Strategic ambiguity towards Taiwan must also stop. You must make it the utmost priority of the Department of Defense to strengthen U.S. military presence in the Asia-Pacific region and become prepared for a Taiwan emergency.

Mr. President, you must declare that any attempt by China to unify Taiwan crosses a red line and will impose a formidable cost that could result in a crushed “Chinese dream.”

If your words are indeed followed by concrete actions, Western nations can unite under the purpose of defending the democratic nation of Taiwan.

Japan intends to take initiative in this aspect.

A great unity was finally created by Lincoln, who fought the Civil War. Although we hated the thought of a war between the states, to him, a war to realize people’s freedom and dignity was a good war.

We pray that you will accomplish your mission of protecting this free civilization. When that happens, the U.S. will become the city upon a hill (*7) that all nations will look up to. The U.S. will reclaim its position as a role model for the world. The time has come for America to reclaim her great American spirit.

(*4) From Stanford University Oriana Skylar Mastro’s paper, “The Taiwan Temptation: Why Beijing Might Resort to Force.”
(*5) From Tur Muhammet, in the June edition of The Liberty. See his interview: At Least One Million Killed in Detention Camps https://eng.the-liberty.com/2021/8313/
(*6) From “Zoroaster: How to Fight Against the God of Darkness in the Universe” by Ryuho Okawa. (*7) Matthew 5:14.