Editor:

When asked regarding her view on Capitalism, Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez responded that Capitalism is an “ideology of capital.” What does that even mean? She further stated that it is “irredeemable.” She said “the most important thing [regarding Capitalism] is the concentration of capital (?) and to seek and maximize profit.” The second part of that statement is pretty clear. But the first part is another puzzle.

Simply put, Capitalism is a socio-economic and political system whereby business and trade are privately owned and operated rather than by the “state.” Here, in the U.S., we have government run businesses — the Postal Service, Veterans Hospitals, and a few others. Most of these continue to operate “in the red” with large negative earned income and operating cash balances. The thing that the good congresswoman is missing in her misguided understanding of economics is that without our privately owned and operated businesses and the positive income and cash streams they generate, there wouldn’t be the tax dollars available for the government to continue running their businesses as inefficiently as they have all along. Maybe the good Congresswoman should go back to Boston University for a refresher on her economics class — or maybe not!

Peter Kapuscinski

Farmville