New York Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez wants the United States of America to be just like every other country in the world — under the wise guidance of bureaucrats at the United Nations.
The New York representative’s assertion that the United States should adhere to the U.N. Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights may sound like a good idea at first. A closer look reveals this would rapidly ruin the lives of millions of U.S. citizens and businesses. To make it expressly clear that the UN document is being used to turn the United States into a “socialist utopia”, Rep. Ocasio-Cortez issues a suite of six “Just Society” bits of legislation that would radically change America for the worse.
To start with, the Place to Prosper Act would forbid landlords from raising rents more than 3% per year. Landlords would find it very difficult to kick renegade tenants out of their homes. The law is naturally meant to make it easy for poor people to find affordable housing, but it’s almost certain to have the exact opposite effect. Savvy people will simply refuse to invest in real estate, and those who do would be very choosy about who would be allowed to rent a home, apartment or condo. This will cause housing prices to skyrocket.
Another disastrous bill is the Embrace Act, which would grant legal and illegal immigrants all the same benefits that Americans enjoy, including welfare, food stamps, driver’s licenses, Section 8 Housing, and more. While such a move certainly sounds compassionate, there is naturally no mention in the bill of how all the new freebies would be paid for.
The Mercy in Re-Entry Bill and the Uplift Workers Act were both clearly constructed to demolish the economy. The former bill would make it illegal to ask anyone if he or she has been convicted of a past crime. A business would then be forced to either shell out large sums of money to conduct comprehensive background checks, or take a chance hiring someone who may steal from the business or even pose a danger to customers.
The Uplift Workers Act, at the same time, destroys honest competition as the federal government would only work with contractors that have a high “Worker Friendly” score. For instance, a federal contract for an office building may go to a construction company charging $1.5 billion for the project, even if another company charges significantly less and has a track record of doing better work. The reason? Company number 2 doesn’t pay all its workers $15 an hour, doesn’t offer a full suite of benefits, dares to hire extra workers for jobs rather than pay overtime, or doesn’t allow workers to unionize.
The starting point for all these bills is the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights. The Covenant states that people have a right to social security, social insurance, paid parental leave, an “adequate” standard of living, “adequate” housing, continual improvement of living conditions, the best possible standard of physical and mental health, free universal primary education, etc.
While all these goals may sound great on paper, it’s clear that no government can ensure a fair, perfect world for every single person. Arbitrary laws that force companies and individuals to behave in a particular manner always backfire, as people and businesses that look out for their best interests will find ways to continue doing so. People who are too lazy to work or less capable to make their dreams come true will take advantage of government largesse.
In short, AOC just endorsed the end of not only America’s independence, but the independence of everyone living within it.
