Have you heard about the implosion of socialism in Venezuela? Or should I say, the blowup of Venezuela because of socialism?

Food trucks being hijacked, black market food skyrocketing, a dozen eggs selling for over 100 bucks, toilet paper, milk, and other basic necessities not being provided or even available for the general public. Yep. In a socialist nation where everyone is equal.

Bernie Sanders said we should embrace socialism because it treats everyone fairly and provides for all. That must have been one heck of an acid trip, Bern. The upper 1 percent get all of the toilet paper, food, water and electricity they want, while “the people” get what the government says they can have. And right now, that isn’t much.

Bernie was asked about socialism and why he thinks it’s so great, especially since we are seeing the oil-producing, socialist country of Venezuela unravel before our eyes. And recently we’ve watched the failures of other socialist nations like Argentina, Brazil, Cuba, Haiti, Greece, the European Union – all epic failures. Bernie responded with: “I didn’t come here to speak about socialism, I came here to speak about my campaign.” The commentator said: “You are touting the virtues of socialism on your campaign trail.” After a moment of silence, Bernie said again,” I didn’t come here to discuss that.” A real winner in that one.

Russia is really operating under socialism and can’t get out of its own way. It’s one of the richest countries on the planet in terms of natural resources. Russia is loaded with natural gas, diamonds, oil reserves and great farmland, but somehow the ability to feed its people or give them “fair and equitable” housing eludes them.

When asked about socialism, liberal loons respond pretty much the same way all the time, basically saying, “Go away,” “you’re stupid,” and “fear-monger.” They can’t even string together a sentence with structure and substance. Why? Because they got nuthin’. They don’t know they are ill-informed, and the way to win (so they believe) is to brow-beat and insult, rather than actually deal with the issue.

My wife Tammy (who is also my producer and editor) recapped an on-air story I recently covered about socialism. When I scanned the reader comments, I was floored. Not really. Nothing the far left does really floors me anymore. One reader wrote:

“How long did you spend in Venezuela? My students and family there would be really upset if they knew that a priviledged [sic] lady like you is so misinformed about what a dictatorship looks like versus true democracy.”

First of all, lady, we are comparing socialism to a republic. Hello. Get a clue. Second, are you really that blind? Are you so afraid or prideful that you will have to concede that socialism works nowhere that you’re willing to bury your head in a really dark place so you can ignore people eating their own pets and paying over 100 bucks for a dozen eggs? Food truck drivers are being beaten and the trucks hijacked. This isn’t a joke.

The government is shutting down government buildings two days a week to save electricity and money. Martial law has been established for at least two months. You can be shot for stealing food.

Some of you bleeding hearts don’t want to prosecute people in this country for stealing food for their families when they are in need. But somehow you have no issue with what is going on in Venezuela? The loon who commented thinks Venezuela is a true democracy? I want to know what she’s smoking.

Socialism doesn’t work. It never has. It takes so much away from individuals. Socialism doesn’t allow for incentives to better oneself or move up. The economy is not market-driven. Property is owned by the state, and the state decides who gets what and when. With no incentives, there’s no reason to work harder. There’s no real hope that you can achieve your goals and happiness. Under socialism, collective ownership is what’s important, not individual achievement.

China, although using a more “capitalistic approach” to its financial markets, still adheres to strong socialist values, except for the top 1 percent. Many companies in China are owned by the government or friends of the government. From a young age, you’re groomed to understand the government knows best about everything. It chooses what career you will have, where you will live, and how much you will be paid. Sounds like paradise, doesn’t it?

Watch the interviews of the “Bernie millennials.” They are strong advocates for socialism because the government pays for education, housing, food, medical and more. Sounds like prison to me. They think the government will share the resources so everyone is treated equally. Think again. The government has never done a good job of taking from the rich and giving to the poor. It has done a great job of taking from the hard working, and taking from the hard working, and taking from the hard working (no I didn’t stutter) and trickling a small portion of what’s left, what it didn’t waste, to people in need. But it has yet to work on a solution as to how to get them off of government aid. Just ways for getting more government aid.

Millennials think helping people is socialism, but it’s not. Helping people is actually accomplished through capitalism. Private organizations do a much better job at helping out nonprofits which then actually get more of the resources (private money) out to the people in need. It’s private money that funds much of the research and development for breakthroughs in medicine and science as well as new energy sources and new technologies. Very few innovations come out of socialist and communist countries. Period.

Capitalism is the only way for individuals and countries to pull themselves out of poverty and eventually be able to help other people and, in turn, help other nations take care of their own.

Watching the Bernie millennials, I now understand that saying from years gone by – “Youth is wasted on the young.”

Joe Messina is host of The Real Side (TheRealSide.com), a nationally syndicated talk show that runs on AM-1220 KHTS radio and SCVTV [here]. He is also an elected member of the Hart School Board. His commentary publishes Mondays.