Do not be afraid of the word socialism. The multinational corporations and billionaires have used such fear as a means to stifle small businesses and local communities and keep people divided. 

Elkins has a socialized water generation and distribution system. It has a socialized sewer system. It has a socialized garbage collection system. It has socialized parks and recreation. It has a socialized police department. It has a socialized fire department. It has a socialized street department.                

These were all put in place democratically to help the people — all of us. These work effectively and relatively efficiently to provide the services we need.

How many times have we heard “The Government can’t do anything right”? Well, from experience, the government can operate just fine if the small businesses and local communities insist on it. It’s just like parent and child. The kid will meet exactly the standards that Mom and Dad set.

If the large corporations and wealthy can convince us that government can’t do anything they don’t have to pay their fair share of taxes. 

The result is that our small businesses and local communities have lost one of their most valuable tools they have for advancement.

This ensures that we remain backward and underdeveloped at the local level and that the needs of the people are never met.

Democratic socialists want at the national level what we had achieved at the local level — that is, meeting needs democratically and effectively. They include universal healthcare, a decent wage that will support the family, even-handed Justice for all, and making the wealthy pay their fair share of taxes.

None of these are unreasonable, and most respected polls indicate that they are supported by the majority of Americans  

So let’s not let large corporations and the monied elite deny us access to that most valuable tool — socialism — that we can use to bring sanity to our country and make small businesses and our local communities once more an effective and valued part of America. 

Duke Talbott 

Former mayor of Elkins