Raised Right is a weekly column written by senior Veronika Bondarenko on social issues from a conservative perspective.

Socialism, especially to us students, seems like perfection. Free stuff at its finest- no work required! Free education, free healthcare, taxing the 1%, rebuilding roads and expanding social security- oh my! In all, these social programs will cost about $18 trillion in new spending over a decade, according to a tally by The Wall Street Journal. This sum alarms conservatives- and even makes many Democrats pause.

Since us high schoolers have to worry about college soon, Sanders’ plan is attractive to many. “Free college,” as Senator Sander promises, does not in fact mean free college. Nothing in this world is free. Someone is paying for your college under Sanders’ proposal. Someone is being taxed at exorbitant amounts- practically legalized theft- in order to cover your college costs. Is that what “equality” really is?

Senator Sanders is critical of capitalism, Wall Street, and essentially the entire idea of a Republican Democracy. Millennials seem to think that this is an actual, realistic way to run the United States of America-it is not, and all we need to do is look at nations such as the former USSR, Cuba, and China who have fallen into tyranny at the hands of socialist ideology, open our eyes, and realize that we need to tone it down a little.

Taxing the 1% does not help the middle class. Giving away free things only inhibits the masses and keeps them in an impoverished and dependent state.  What DOES help is ensuring that our people are educated, have jobs, and are able to stimulate the economy. Let’s not take the extreme route here folks- socialism and the United States of America were never meant to go hand in hand.