Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders and his followers like to throw around the idea that he’s a “democratic socialist,” which in left-speak simply translates to “socialist.”

Calling it “democratic socialism” — by the way, this is what Stalin used to call his brand of communism — allows the everyday Sanders fan to claim that what you’ve seen of socialism in the past wasn’t truuuuuuuuue socialism and that this is way different. Upon asking what democratic socialism entails, the average Sanders supporter will then describe a government under plain ol’ socialism.

We know for a fact socialism is a doomed enterprise. It’s a government system that runs afoul of our human instinct of drive and ambition to attain and become more, while simultaneously dissuading us from putting in too much effort over lack of payoff due to government theft of our earnings. People leave, businesses close, the economy falls apart, and the government is forced to crack down on the people’s rights in an attempt to stay afloat.

It’s a story that keeps repeating itself with every government that embraces the socialist system. It’s happened multiple times in the past, but it’s also happening right now in the South American country of Venezuela.

Aside from the country having run out of everything from toilet paper to food, new reports from Venezuela indicate that 60 percent of the country’s businesses have closed.

From Today Venezuela:

According to the National Council of Commerce and Services of Venezuela (Consecomercio), of every 10 companies that were open five years ago, only four survive today.

Maria Carolina Uzcátegui, president of Consecomercio, explained that the merchants do not have enough funds to pay the salaries of their workers because the regime unilaterally increases wages, but maintains price controls on the few products available in the market.

Meanwhile, Sanders likes to suggest we raise the minimum wage to $15, increase the corporate tax rate to absurd numbers, promise all sorts of government health programs with paid leave, etc etc etc.

Asked how Sanders will get the funding for all of this, he’ll tell you in so many words that the rich will “pay their fair share,” but not explain how taking money away from the job makers won’t result in people losing their jobs, thus resulting in less production, thus resulting in less money to pay for his programs.

This is because he can’t. He doesn’t know how he’ll prevent socialism’s inevitable end. He doesn’t know how he’ll prevent Venezuela from happening here in the states. Funny enough, he won’t even acknowledge the Venezuelan problem, and flat out refuses to talk about it.

Currently, Sanders is America’s most highly rated politician, and the left is looking at him as their next top candidate. However, if Venezuela is Sanders’ destination — and there’s no way to avoid the fact that it is — then even Democrats should be treating Sanders like the plague that socialism is.