Socialism Humor

I try to share something humorous every weekend (economics humor last weekend and politician humor the previous weekend).

This weekend, we’re going to add to our collection of socialism humor.

Our first item nicely summarizes the incentive structure of socialism (sort of like this cartoon).

Our second item mocks the left’s hypocritical approach to coercion.

This next item may have been motivated by Libertarian Jesus.

Our fourth item makes a lot of sense if you know history.

Last but not least, here’s a version of “real socialism hasn’t been tried.”

P.S. If you want information on why socialism is bad economics, you can peruse my three–part series.

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Economics Humor

I’ve shared lots of socialism humor and communism humor, but only a few examples of economics humor.

So let’s use today’s column as an opportunity to augment that limited collection.

We’ll start with a couple of items about the minimum wage. I wrote a column back in 2009 about why unions support a higher minimum wage.

Now we have an example of why investors might support that policy as well.

Here’s the second item about the minimum wage, and it depicts the response I often use when discussing the issue.

Here’s some satire mocking economists, though it’s more of a stereotype about clever folks from Wall Street.

Sort of reminds me of the “two cows” parable.

Next we have a joke about monetary policy, sort of the humor version of this long video.

Last but not least, nobody should be surprised that this is my favorite item from today’s collection.

It reminds people that “free” government in Europe is actually very, very, expensive for ordinary people.

Adding insult to injury, Europeans have considerably less income to begin with.

At the risk of being momentarily serious, this is why I’m baffled that Biden wants to make the U.S. more like Europe.

Shouldn’t we copy nations that are richer than America rather than poorer?

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More Politician Humor

I didn’t like many of the things Trump did (his wasteful spending and his protectionist tax increases) and I don’t like many of the things Biden is doing (his pork-filled stimulus and his infrastructure boondoggle).

So hopefully you’ll understand why I’m not fond of politicians.

And this is why I shared some mockery of politicians yesterday and why I’m going to augment that collection with some more satire targeting our ruling class today.

We’ll start with an idea that might finally end the pandemic.

Next, there are discussions about UFOs and why aliens haven’t made their presence known.

I think we now have a good explanation.

Our third item illustrates the difference between political rhetoric and political reality.

Last but not least, if Godzilla and his friends decide to pillage Washington, they better make sure they don’t have allergies.

P.S. If you like mocking the political class, I have lots of other material for you to enjoy. You can read about how the men and women in DC spend their time screwing us and wasting our money. We also have some examples of what people in Montana, Louisiana, Nevada, and Wyoming think about big-spending politicians. This little girl has a succinct message for our political masters, here are a couple of good images capturing the relationship between politicians and taxpayers, and here is a somewhat off-color Little Johnny joke. Speaking of risqué humor, here’s a portrayal of a politician and lobbyist interacting. Returning to G-rated material, you can read about the blind rabbit who finds a politician. And everyone enjoys political satire, as can be found in these excerpts from the always popular Dave Barry. Let’s not forgot to include this joke by doctors about the crowd in Washington. And last but not least, here’s the motivational motto of the average politician.

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Politician Humor

Politicians are not necessarily or automatically evil. Instead, they screw up in large part because of perverse incentives.

That being said, they should be mocked rather than admired (with St. Ronald being the obvious exception).

With that in mind, let’s enjoy another edition of politician humor.

We’ll start with a potential fringe benefit of facial recognition software.

Next we have some evidence that cattle may be smarter than people.

Our third item is a joke from George Carlin.

Last but not least, I thought about using this meme for one of my columns about “statism in images,” but the second frame leads me to think it mostly about mocking elected officials.

P.S. Last October, I wrote a two-part series about America’s venal political class (see here and here).

P.P.S. If you want more political humor, click here, here, here, and here. I also have satirical columns about selected politicians (Biden, Trump, Sanders, Bill and Hillary Clinton, and Obama).

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Communism Humor

I’ve been recently receiving lots of good material for our collection of communism humor.

I shared items in both August and September, and now we have a new batch for October.

The first bit of satire shows that it’s better to be victimized by capitalism than communism.

The second item in our collection is a further reminder that you have to choose whether you want full socialism or a full stomach.

Our next item is almost identical to one that I shared back in March, except mountain lions have been replaced by Canadian geese.

Next we have a big of humor involving two of history’s biggest mass murderers, Stalin and Lenin.

And here’s my favorite item, which will appeal to history buffs who remember that Hitler and Stalin agreed to carve up Poland.

A nice reminder that totalitarianism is reprehensible, regardless of the flavor.

Statist ideologies are the opposite of libertarianism.

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Communism Humor

Time to augment our collection of communism humor.

But instead of random satire about communism, which is my usual approach, there’s a theme for today’s collection.

We’re going to mock fuzzy-headed youngsters who are drawn to this totalitarian ideology.

Our first item is for the leftists who imagine they’ll be part of the ruling class after a Marxist revolution, only to find out they’ll be part of the 99 percent who endure lives of toil and oppression.

Since young people have a poor grasp of history, our second item is a cliff-notes version of real-world communism.

Next, we have a communist in his parents’ basement, figuring out how to remake society.

Last but not least, they say curiosity killed the cat.

Well, my favorite item from today’s collection is this youngster feeling drawn to an evil ideology.

To be fair, more young people are drawn to socialism than communism

But the shortcut definition of communism is that it’s socialism accompanied by dictatorship, so we’re simply talking about degrees of coercion.

P.S. There are two videos (here and here) indicating that college kids reject socialism when they’re presented with a real-world choice (and there are two satiric versions – here and here – about how that choice operates).

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Two (Humorous) Images to Understand Biden’s Fiscal Policy

Yesterday’s column was a completely serious look at five graphs and tables that show why Biden’s tax plan is misguided.

Today, we’re going to make the same point with satire. And we’ll only need two images.

First, here’s a look at what happens when politicians create never-ending handouts financed by ever-higher taxes on an ever-smaller group of rich taxpayers.

In the past, I’ve referred to this as “Greece-ification” and Biden’s fiscal plan definitely qualifies.

It’s also a different way of looking at the second cartoon from this depiction of how a welfare state evolves over time.

This Chuck Asay cartoon makes the same point.

Second, here’s a cartoon that nicely captures why I think Biden’s agenda will erode the nation’s societal capital.

The same theme as this excellent cartoon.

While amusing, there’s a very serious point to be made. Politicians already have created a system that rewards people for doing nothing while punishing them for creating wealth.

Those policies hinder American prosperity (as honest folks on the left acknowledge), but we can survive with slower growth. What really worries me is that we may eventually reach a tipping point of too many people riding in the wagon (and out-voting the people who pull the wagon).

Simply stated, we don’t want America to become another Greece.

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Bureaucrat Humor

My all-time favorite example of bureaucracy humor is this Spanish-language video (with English subtitles!).

But this clip from Yes Minister also captures how bureaucracies operate.

And if you want another reason why bureaucrats don’t like initiative, this cartoon provides the answer.

Our third item shows that you need the correct angle to understand the life of bureaucrats (sort of like these six images).

Our next item shows featherbedding in action.

Never hire one person when you can make it a three-person job (or a lot more if you’re in California).

My final (and favorite) item is this cartoon strip. I don’t know if it’s a parody (like this one) or real, but it does show how bureaucratic pay scales operate.

Quite funny, though not for taxpayers.

P.S. If you want more, we have a joke about an Indian training for a government job, a slide show on how bureaucracies operate, a cartoon strip on bureaucratic incentives, a story on what would happen if Noah tried to build an Ark today, a top-10 list of ways to tell if you work for the government, a new element discovered inside the bureaucracy, and a letter to the bureaucracy from someone renewing a passport.

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Libertarian Humor

I shared some libertarian humor just two weeks ago, but readers have been sending me a lot of amusing items.

So let’s do another update to our collection.

We’ll start with a look at what happens to people who decide to become hard-core libertarians.

By the way, what happened to Sarah Connor also happened to Kurt Russell.

Next we have a Venn Diagram that tells you how to identify libertarians (and if you want to determine the specific kind of libertarian, here’s a guide to all 24 versions).

Though there are easier ways to identify libertarians.

Like this helpful hint for Facebook.

Next, libertarians pride themselves in being skeptical of all activities of government, including the parts that conservatives usually like.

Which is why border collies apparently are part of the movement.

Last but not least, here’s my favorite item from today’s collection. The Libertarian Dork strikes again!

Nobody can say we’re not dedicated!

P.S. Previous iterations of the Libertarian Dork can be viewed here, here, here, here, and here.

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Socialism Humor

I want people to understand the intellectual and empirical case against socialism, as summarized in my three-part series (Part I, Part II, and Part III).

But I also recognize that most people aren’t that excited about nerdy economic-themed articles.

Which is why I also use satire as a weapon against collectivism. And updating our collection of collectivism humor is the focus of today’s column.

Our first item combines economic issues such as tax rates and redistribution with basic notions of fairness (properly defined).

Our second item points out how socialists are generally huge hypocrites.

Once they accumulate some money, they magically decide that their knee-jerk policy of “tax the rich” somehow only applies to the people who have even more than they do.

Needless to say, they almost never voluntarily give away their money, either to government or directly to poor people.

Our third bit of humor for today’s column shows how our statist friends are at war with facts, evidence, and the real world.

Speaking of real-world evidence, @iowahawkblog brags that the Chicago Cubs have a better track record than socialists.

Per tradition, I’ve saved the best for last.

Here’s a meme showing that socialism is capable of solving one societal problem.

P.S. For those who want to understand more about socialism, particularly how it compares to capitalism and redistributionism, my five-part series from 2019 on “socialism in the modern world” looks at Venezuela, Nordic nations, Greece, and France.

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Libertarian Humor

Libertarians have very intelligent and consistent views regarding public policy.

But why, then are we so unsuccessful in producing libertarian societies?

I suspect part of the problem is that we enjoy being outside the mainstream. Certainly in terms of ideas, and sometime even with regard to lifestyles.

• The bad news is that our quirkiness seems to limit our ability to persuade.
• The good news is that our quirkiness creates good opportunities for satire.

Speaking of satire, today’s column will add to our collection of libertarian humor.

Our first item could be a picture of me when observing fights between big-government Democrats and big-government Republicans.

For our next item, there’s an interesting policy debate about the bias of big social media companies, with some conservatives abandoning their alleged pro-market sympathies and demanding regulation. Or even the use of counterproductive antitrust laws.

Libertarians, by contrast, have a very benign view of private companies.

Which makes them vulnerable to this kind of satire.

For our third item, libertarians support reforms to improve police behavior, including an end to qualified immunity.

But when the debate shifts to defunding the police, libertarians have a more comprehensive attitude (by the way, this meme has a naughty word, so you have to click to see it).

This next item is very clever.

Libertarians are big on the idea of self-ownership, so…

Our final bit of satire touches a nerve with me because I worry a lot about a potential descent into Greek-style fiscal chaos (and, since the US is too big for a bailout, that presumably will be followed by social disarray).

So you can understand why this is my favorite bit of humor from today’s collection.

Reminds me of the G-rated version of “libertarian porn” that I shared back in 2010.

No wonder libertarians fantasize about creating a “Galt’s Gulch.” Or, maybe it’s more than fantasy.

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Gun Control Humor

It was back in May when I last shared some satire about gun control, so let’s update the collection.

We’ll start with this very important public service announcement about the horrible consequences of drinking and smoking during pregnancy.

Next, we know that Texans have a gun-loving reputation, both nationally and internationally.

Now they’re taking the right to keep and bear arms to the next level.

Our third item is very clever, though won’t be well received by self-described feminists.

I sometimes joke that I’m a lesbian trapped in a man’s body.

Here’s the gun control version of changing one’s identity.

As usual, I’ve saved the best for last.

If I was still doing coronavirus-themed humor, this item would have been very appropriate.

But it also is perfect for mocking gun control.

For what it’s worth, this is both amusing and true.

If you want less crime, make sure there are plenty of law-abiding people with guns.

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Communism Humor

My collection of anti-communism humor has grown significantly this year (see here, here, here, and here), but I don’t think any of those jokes can match this parody of John Lennon’s vapid song.

Kudos to the Babylon Bee.

Our second item shows empathy to our leftist friends who have to pimp for a system that has an endless track record of brutality and deprivation.

I’m not sure why I found this next meme so enjoyable.

Perhaps because it captures the utter misery of 99 percent of the population in a communist system.

I was thinking about making this next item a “Tweet of the Year,” but I’ve already done that for 2021.

In any event, it is pure anti-communism satire and belongs in today’s grouping.

I don’t know if the person on the left is a guy or a girl (or something in between), but I’m guessing he/she enjoyed a comfortable upbringing.

Per tradition, I close with my favorite item. And it is perfectly captures why there was bad parenting in the preceding example.

Though my daughter (who was raised properly) is going through her obligatory leftist-millennial phase, so I shouldn’t be pointing too many fingers.

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Politician Humor

It’s been since January that I shared some politician humor, so let’s augment our collection.

We’ll start with this bit of mockery, which also happens to be a very accurate depiction of how politicians actually think.

Next is a meme that show how to differentiate ordinary street criminals from the really crafty crooks.

Since we’re on the topic of criminality, the following image asks a very interesting question: Why is it against the law for a campaign to directly give you money in exchange for your vote, but the candidate can promise to give you someone else’s money once the politician is in office?

Something for the “public choice” scholars to investigate.

Our fourth item deals with some political correctness in the National Football League. As you may know the team that used to be known as the “Redskins” is now the “Washington Football Club” while contemplating a new mascot.

Here is a very apt option.

As usual, I’ve saved the best for last.

I’m not sure if this discovery was from a graveyard in the D.C. area, or from some other nation, but enjoy.

I vote for Washington, which truly is a “wretched hive” of “scum and villainy.”

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Economics Humor

I have plenty of politician humor, collectivism humor, libertarian humor, and gun control humor.

I also have big-government humor and European humor.

But only a very limited collection of economics humor.

Today, we’ll make up for that oversight, starting with this cartoon strip about the Federal Reserve’s easy-money policy.

Next we have a cartoon about incentives and the welfare state.

For our third item, I’ve generally cited supply and demand curves when trying to explain “deadweight loss,” but they also explain how prices are determined.

And since they’re a core tool of economics, what better choice for a tattoo?

Our fourth item is about a company that is more worried about stakeholders rather than shareholders.

Last but not least, here’s my favorite item.

It shows what happens if economists are very sinful during their lives.

To be fair, while it’s very common for Krugman to screw up, he’s not always wrong.

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Statism in Five Images

It’s been almost three months since I shared some satiric images about government.

So let’s rectify that oversight with five new items.

We’ll start with some very wise words from Forest Gump (not the imposter).

The second item in today’s collection sort of reminds me of this “shovel” cartoon about Keynesian economics.

Both involve pointless gestures that will never produce results.

I don’t think I need to add any commentary to this next photo.

I shared a cartoon many years ago suggesting that organized crime and government have a lot in common.

Here’s a different view.

Per tradition, I’ve saved my favorite example for the conclusion.

The lower-right frame may not be proof of a stroke, but it’s definitely evidence of brain damage of some kind.

Remember, you’ve asked a very strange question if government is the answer.

P.S. My full collection of amusing images (and cartoons) about government can be viewed here.

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Libertarian Humor

Time for some more humor about America’s most lovable minority.

We’ll start with a guy who must have raided his friend’s “jewelry box.”

Next, libertarians were in favor of Juneteenth, and not just because slavery was an awful policy of government.

For our third item, the Babylon Bee has an amusing story about nine warning signs that your kid is becoming a libertarian. Here are the ones I especially liked.

You should be closely involved in your teen’s life to make sure he doesn’t suddenly start believing in freedom and personal responsibility. Make sure to constantly check for these…warning signs: …2. He asks for his allowance in Bitcoin. – Dogecoin can also be a red flag. …4. You check under his mattress and sure enough, he’s been hiding the worst thing imaginable: a copy of Basic Economics by Thomas Sowell. – Talk to your kids about Sowell before it’s too late. …6. You catch him texting girls “Taxation is theft.” – Always check your kids’ electronic devices so you can be alerted to these telltale signs of libertarianism. …8. You get a call from school that he got thrown out of economics class again for arguing with his teacher about the unsustainability of the U.S. Dollar and the failure of Keynesian economics. – Trouble at school might mean he’s been radicalized by the Austrian school of economics. …9. He has no friends. – This is perhaps the surest sign of all.

Next, here’s why people who pay taxes should be libertarians.

By the way, this isn’t satire. I actually wrote about this example of foolish government back in 2017.

The only good news – at least for American readers – is that this example of waste is from Canada.

As usual, I’ve saved the best for last. Here’s a worried left-wing parent dealing with a potentially rebellious child.

There is a debate about Rand’s contribution to the cause of liberty. I’m not an Objectivist or a Randian, but I think everyone should read Atlas Shrugged.

In any event, there is some good Rand-themed humor.

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Communism Humor

What’s the difference between a socialist and a communist?

If we’re using the technical definition of socialism (government ownership, central planning, and price controls), there’s no difference. At least with regards to economics.

But most people don’t use the technical definition. There are plenty of self-described socialists who simply want higher tax rates and a bigger welfare state.

I disagree with their preferred policies, but I don’t assume they are bad people.

By contrast, I automatically assume that self-described communists are despicable human beings. After all, what sort of person identifies with an ideology that has caused 100 million deaths?

Which is why socialism humor usually mocks the naivete of supporters while communism humor highlights the moral blindness of supporters.

Such as this meme.

There’s a special place in hell (much deserved) for the vapid young people who wear Che t-shirts.

Speaking of vapid young people, here’s an article from the Babylon Bee, the nation’s top site for political satire.

According to sources, local high-school senior and avowed radical communist Kazden McChitterly is “a bit unsettled” after discovering the hammer and sickle from the insignia he proudly wears on his t-shirts and knit hats represents hard physical labor. “Wait– that’s an actual hammer? Like the kind you swing?” said McChitterly nervously. …Witnesses say he grew even more uncomfortable when he found out about the sickle. “I thought it was just a weapon used to gloriously cut down our capitalist foes!” he exclaimed after discovering it was actually used to gather grain for the government during 20-hour workdays in the bitter cold. …He relaxed, however, after his history teacher explained that “democratic communism” hasn’t yet been tried and is way better than the old communism that involved a lot of work and starvation.

I’m not sure about the identity of this guy, but he’s probably a relative of this libertarian.

Needless to say, we shouldn’t actually be dropping communists from helicopters. Forcing them to live in a communist hellhole such as North Korea or Cuba would be a more appropriate punishment.

Here’s my favorite item from today’s collection, since it accurately captures one of the big internal contradictions of Marxism.

As I noted yesterday, people are imperfect. We tend to be greedy, for instance.

But capitalism at least channels greed productively. We have to serve others if we want wealth. With communism, however, ruling others (and impoverishing them) is the only source of wealth.

Heck, even voluntary forms of Marxism don’t work.

P.S. Here’s a quiz that tells you the extent to which you have communist thoughts (I was offended that I scored 6 percent).

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Socialism Humor

Socialism has a track record of failure.

And that’s true whether we’re using the technical definition of socialism (government ownership of the means of production), the fascist version (nominal private ownership but government control), or the Bernie/AOC version (confiscatory taxation and pervasive redistribution).

But the silver lining to the policy disaster is that we get some amusing memes to augment our collection.

Such as this observation on voting habits.

And here’s a good depiction of those who realize government doesn’t do a good job at anything, but nevertheless think it should have more power.

Since socialism and big government have never produced a single example of success, I think this meme is spot on.

I almost didn’t include this joke because the idiots holding the sign incorrectly equate Trump with capitalism, but the applause from Mao and Stalin makes it worthwhile.

This next meme is also a good way of describing Keynesian economics.

I don’t know if this next claim is completely true since there are example of defecting spies, but it’s safe to say that the entire flow of ordinary people is away from socialism and toward (relative) capitalism

I mentioned at the start of this column that there are different definitions of socialism, at least from a policy perspective.

Well, here’s the common theme for all of them.

As usual, I’ve saved the best for last.

This one strikes home for me since I’ve dated some left-of-center women over the past couple of decades.

I confess I generally don’t try to convert them, especially early in a relationship.

Though I have eventually shared copies of Atlas Shrugged in hopes of turning them into future Margaret Thatchers.

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Gun Control Humor

There are some very serious moral, practical, and constitutional arguments against gun control.

But I’m a big believer in also using satire to make the case for the 2nd Amendment.

And that’s the purpose of today’s column, which starts with this reminder – as Ron Swanson told us – that bad guys don’t care about laws.

Our second item involves a woman who obviously never studied logic or history.

Makes me wonder if she’s also the woman holding the Trump sign in this column?

Our third item also pokes fun at the logic (or lack thereof) of our leftist friends.

Next, the clever folks at Babylon Bee explain various home-defense strategies for a gun-free world.

Guns are on their way out. And thank goodness! We can’t wait to return to the utopian paradise we lost when guns were invented… Still, once in a great while, you might need to defend yourself against a ne’er-do-well. When those ruffians come kicking your door down, you need to be ready. Here are seven great ways to defend your home against an armed burglar when your guns have all been confiscated.

Here are a few of those options.

Option #3 surely is the best, just as demonstrated in this video.

Yet never forget that there are people who think gun-free zones are a real answer.

Our next item is for guys, especially libertarian guys.

Reminds me of Barbie for Men.

As usual, I’ve saved the best for last. This meme is a helpful reminder that the Bill of Rights wasn’t limited to the technology of 1787.

By the way, this is an encore appearance for the man and woman in the above meme.

P.S. The full collection of gun control satire is available here.

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Libertarianism in Pictures

Since I’ve recently shared two examples (here and here) of “statism in pictures,” it’s time for a libertarian version.

Our first image is near and dear to my heart.

Sadly, the Supreme Court sometimes doesn’t fulfill its job of keeping government within the Constitution. Especially with regard to enumerated powers.

Next, this cartoon does a great job of capturing how libertarians think.

It’s not that we’re all anarcho-capitalists, but we definitely need a lot of evidence before overcoming our instinctive aversion to government.

Our third item is from the clever folks at Babylon Bee.

Helps to explain why libertarians (like most Americans) are not big supporters of foreign aid.

Next, if libertarians have a reputation for being dorky, it’s probably because of examples like this.

Needless to say, we’re fans of cryptocurrency even if we don’t trade any of them.

I’ve saved the best for last, as usual. Our fifth item deals with a real story about some fun-loving Arkansas rednecks, followed by the libertarian reaction to their arrest.

If libertarians believe in legalizing drugs, gambling, and prostitution, then why have laws against testing out bulletproof vests while drinking?

Though it’s not an activity I would recommend, so perhaps this belongs in my collection of libertarian quandaries.

P.S. For other examples of libertarianism-themed images, click here, here, here, and here.

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Statism in Five (More) Images

One week ago, I shared five images that capture the essence of government.

Today, we have another collection, starting with a reminder of, in the words of Ronald Reagan, the most terrifying words in the English language.

Next, we have warning signs about all sorts of things, but not about the the biggest threat we face.

Our third item captures what happens over time as a small government becomes medium-sized government and then evolves into big government.

Here’s a succinct explanation of how government and organized crime are similar (though here’s a cartoon reminding us how they are different).

Here’s my favorite, though given the spending proclivities of many Republicans, it should simply read “politicians promising everything for ‘free’.”

You get the same message from this Glenn McCoy cartoon and this Michael Ramirez cartoon.

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Statism in Five Images

As a wonk, I prefer serious criticisms of government that focus on excessive spending, punitive tax rates, and pointless red tape.

But since I’ve never grown up, I also appreciate humor that mocks government.

So let’s enjoy a new collection of memes that target our overlords in Washington (these also apply to the politicians and bureaucrats in other national capitals, as well as those in state capitals and local government).

We’ll start with this four-frame summary of government.

For our second item, we have a cartoon that shows how government creates a big wedge between gross pay and take-home pay.

Needless to say, workers have less incentive to be productive in this system, which is why I often write boring columns about “deadweight loss.”

Next we have some of the warning signs of an abusive relationship, and some clever person added a bit of wisdom underneath.

At first, I thought this was an exaggeration, but then I realized it wasn’t difficult to think of a program or government activity that matches all 15 categories.

Our fourth item will make most sense to geology majors, but the rest of us can certainly understand the message in the final frame.

Indeed. Reminds me of Reagan’s 9-word warning.

Last but not least, my favorite item in today’s collection points out the eerie similarity between online scammers and political scammers.

The moral of the story is that you’ve asked a very weird question if government is the answer.

Makes you wonder if the “ancaps” actually have the right approach.

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Consolation Humor: When Leftists Finally Understand Economics and Morality

I have three types of humor I periodically share.

1. Libertarian Humor
2. Gun Control Humor
3. Socialism/Communism Humor

Today, we’re going to venture into “consolation humor.” At least that’s the best term I can think of for the following two memes, both of which show what happens when leftists suddenly grasp reality.

In our first example, a woman learns that envy actually is a negative personality trait.

Maybe she’ll also learn at some point that spending other people’s money isn’t compassion (another person needs to learn that lesson as well).

In our second example, a young woman is bereft after learning that there isn’t a magic money tree to finance never-ending goodies from government.

Maybe she should watch this video as part of her therapy?

P.S. This great cartoon from Chuck Asay shows what happens when people don’t learn about scarcity.

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Communism Humor

Communism has a horrible track record of murder and brutality. It also leads to economic disaster wherever it is implemented.

And its founder, Karl Marx, was a despicable excuse for a human being.

But the tiny silver lining to that awful dark cloud is that at least we have endless opportunities to mock this evil ideology.

So let’s augment our collection of anti-communism humor.

We’ll start with this story about how dinosaurs went extinct, along with what might cause the world’s next mass extinction.

Our second item speculates that vapid young people will cast off their silly views once they get a job.

Of course, this may not be true if they get the wrong kind of job.

Next is a look at how China has created a modern version of Mary Shelley’s literary classic.

Reminds me of this gem from 2010.

Next we have a satirical tweet.

A Marxist is someone who reads Marx.

An anti-Marxist is someone who reads the history of Marxism.

— Alice Smith (@TheAliceSmith) April 22, 2021

Per tradition, I’ve saved the best for last.

All communists are bad, though for different reasons. Some are guilty of stupidity. Some are motivated by hate and resentment against success. And some are psychological misfits that are attracted to brutality.

This next item mocks the Marxists, like the Chavez family in Venezuela who use it as a scam to line their own pockets.

Any resemblance to Bernie Sanders, of course, is purely coincidental.

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Libertarian Humor

It hasn’t even been a month since I shared the most-recent collection of libertarian humor, but I’ve received so many clever items that it’s time augment our collection.

Our first item is this cartoon strip about children getting drawn into the movement.

Speaking of children, the second item for today’s collection is this story from the Babylon Bee.

…local mom Shirley Wood had a surprise when she picked up her three-year-old to tell him it was time for bed. “Am I being detained?” shouted the toddler at the top of his lungs, greatly befuddling Mrs. Wood. …Confused, Mrs. Wood did put him down and tried to figure out what was going on. “Oh, I’ve been teaching him libertarian principles,” explained Mrs. Wood’s husband, Fred Wood. …“Then you get him to bed.” Mr. Wood approached Zach to try to non-violently persuade him to go to bed. “Hey, buddy. Seems like it’s time to sleep now.” “Can’t sleep,” replied Zach. “Fed still out there. Need to audit the Fed.” …Eventually, Mr. Wood was able to persuade Zach to go to bed with the promise of reading him a bedtime story about cryptocurrency.

Having raised three kids, I can vouch for the fact that they are natural libertarians at bedtime.

For our next item, someone made the mistake of asking a libertarian about disdain for government. Nearly two hours later…

If you wonder why it takes so much time for a libertarian to explain the flaws of government, this primer from the Babylon Bee may give you a good idea.

Libertarianism is the only logically consistent political philosophy, and it’s held primarily by crazy people. …The Bee is here to set the record straight once and for all about our weird, drug and Bitcoin-obsessed friends with this handy explainer. …Beliefs: It’s mostly about wanting to smoke weed and run around naked while shooting guns in the air, we think. …Prominent proponents: Ron Paul, that weird guy who’s always smoking weed in your drama class… Prominent critics: Republicans, Democrats, anyone who loves war and hates freedom. …Key texts: Atlas Shrugged (we think, no one’s actually ever read it)… How do you spot a Libertarian? …look for guys carting around books from the 1700s and shouting, “AM I BEING DETAINED?!” at everyone from police officers to Arby’s cashier

I’ve saved the best for last.

We libertarians think of ourselves as freedom fighters. In our Walter Mitty-style fantasies, we’re waging big fights for big principles. That doesn’t match our real lives.

But, however dorky we are in real life, at least we have our own anthem.

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Laughing about Taxes and the IRS

Just like last year, April 15 isn’t the official deadline this year for filing your annual tax return. But we’re still going to “celebrate” with some memes about the income tax and the IRS.

We’ll start with something that has always bothered me, which is the fact that many people look forward to filing their taxes because they get a refund.

Yet that simply means that they gave the government free use of their money because of excessive withholding!

It also galls me when IRS documents refer to customer service when none of us are voluntary participants.

That’s the point of this next meme.

And since we’re mocking our friends at the IRS, here’s another item worth sharing.

But we should have some sympathy for tax collectors.

They sometimes have a challenging job.

For our final IRS-focused bit of satire, let’s turn to the Babylon Bee‘s report on taxation in outer space.

President Trump’s new Space Force has been stealing the imagination of the public… Not to be outdone, the Democrats are now trying to show they can also look to the future with their new proposal: Space IRS. “We also are inspired by watching shows such as Star Wars,” Nancy Pelosi told the press, “and seeing someone like Han Solo, a smuggler who is obviously avoiding taxes. …there has to be a way to follow someone like that and see how much he’s spending at cantinas and sabacc tables and know that he’s hiding income. That’s the job of Space IRS.”

Now let’s shift to some satire about the economics of taxation.

Starting with this look at the Biden Administration’s philosophy.

Next we have a woman with a Bernie Sanders mindset. I suspect the guy is about to learn an important lesson about incentives and marginal tax rates.

Here’s a visual depiction of double taxation.

Here’s some tax satire from the left about companies using international tax rules to minimize their fiscal burdens.

I can’t resist pointing out two things in response.

1. If the corporate tax rate is low, companies have less incentive to utilize existing preferences in the tax code or lobby for the creation of new ones.
2. Our friends on the left don’t seem to realize that the foreign-source income of American-based companies is subject to tax by foreign governments.

As usual, I’ve saved the best (in my humble opinion) for last.

Biden recently attacked the 2nd Amendment, and some clever person applied his thinking to the 16th Amendment.

P.S. My archive of IRS humor features a new Obama 1040 form, a death tax cartoon, a list of tax day tips from David Letterman, a Reason video, a cartoon of how GPS would work if operated by the IRS, an IRS-designed pencil sharpener, two Obamacare/IRS cartoons (here and here), a collection of IRS jokes, a sale on 1040-form toilet paper (a real product), a song about the tax agency, the IRS’s version of the quadratic formula, and (my favorite) a joke about a Rabbi and an IRS agent.

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Gun Control Humor

Time to add to our collection of satire about the foolishness of gun control.

We’ll start with a comparison of the logic of those who believe in the 2nd Amendment and those who believe only the government should have guns.

The obstacle course isn’t as elaborate as my regulation obstacle course, but maybe that’s because the anti-gun crowd doesn’t have the fortitude of business owners.

For the next item in today’s collection, this headline from the Babylon Bee basically needs to commentary, but I’ll add that the War on Poverty also has been a costly failure.

Feel free to draw the obvious conclusion about government competency (or lack thereof).

This next item doesn’t just apply to Democratic gun control “logic,” but also to the cognitive shortcomings of any Republican or independent who thinks disarming law-abiding people is the right solution to criminal behavior.

Sort of like getting rid of your refrigerator because your neighbor is too heavy.

This following meme is a clever twist on an old theme.

And I like this next bit of satire because the bottom frame captures the mindset of naive leftists who think passing a law will magically achieve a certain result.

Seems like the 911 operator read the wrong fairy tale as a kid.

Last but not least, here’s my favorite because it cleverly shows the real consequences of gun control. The people who obey such laws are never threats to society. Meanwhile, anti-gun laws are almost no barrier to bad people.

And remember that life is much better for criminals when there are fewer guns in the hands of law-abiding people.

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Libertarian Humor

Libertarians have a reputation for being principled, albeit a bit quirky. Maybe even dorky. And that creates opportunities for satire, even if we’re making fun of ourselves. Like in this video.

Our second item captures the mindset of libertarians.

I don’t know if Ms. Dehbozorgi is a libertarian, but she definitely knows how to make some libertarians feels guilty.

I actually have some libertarian-minded friends in the bowels of various bureaucracies (and they all admit they are overpaid and most acknowledge their comfy jobs shouldn’t exist).

Some of them are even out of the closet. I gather they don’t care about irritating their colleagues for the simple reason that libertarians rarely get too worked up about what others think.

As reflected in this next meme.

This next item would have been more appropriate last month, but it’s still worth sharing (at the risk of triggering a squabble with the Randians).

And here’s my favorite item from today’s collection.

It’s almost like taking the 24 types of libertarians, combining them into one, and then doing a brain scan.

P.S. But it’s not quite me, most notably because I have zero interest in the blunts and I worry about spending rather than debt.

P.P.S. Here’s my entire collection of libertarian humor, both pro and con.

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Socialism Humor

Socialism may be a miserable failure, everywhere and anywhere it is tried, but at least it provides comic relief.

Such as this Remy video.

Speaking of miserable failure, we have an example of Crazy Bernie trying to teach economics.

Though that could also be a depiction of spending policy under Trump and Biden.

This next meme is for the head-in-the-sand types who want us to believe that “real socialism has never been tried.”

This next meme should be shared with all deluded young people.

My favorite item from today’s collection is this bit of satire about redistribution from Arthur Chrenkoff. But not tax-and-spend redistribution.

…generations of radicals, socialists and progressives inspired by his vision have fought for a better world animated by egalitarian values; a classless world without the bourgeoisie and the proletariat, where from each it is taken according to their ability and to each given according to their needs. …but in its pursuit the Marxists have seemingly overlooked and done nothing about the even more glaring inequalities between men and women and the hot and the not. Sure, the control of the means of production is important, but what about the means of reproduction? …Shall we tolerate this outrageous situation where some people monopolise the attention and attraction of the opposite sex (or the same sex – we, progressives, don’t judge) while the great majority fight for scraps? Surely, it is not just and it is not equitable that a small minority of those with an unearned privilege (the good looks) should lord it over the aesthetically poor masses. …I now call for the redistribution from the few to the many. …the distinctions between the attractive and those less so will be abolished forever. Everyone will have an equal access to attention and love and everyone will be expected to be attracted to everyone else, without distinctions and discrimination.

Very clever. And akin to this mockery of Elizabeth Warren class warfare.

But there’s a serious point to be made. As noted by Prof. Robin Hanson, there is a great deal of attractiveness inequality yet nobody seriously (at least so far!) is proposing government-coerced redistribution of sex.

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