Scrooge Was A Liberal
John Merline
December 25, 2025
Editor’s note: This year, we decided to re-gift something. So we dug into the archives and found a piece written for our former editorial home, Investor’s Business Daily, more than a decade ago.Just about every year at this time, “A Christmas Carol” shows up somewhere on TV, as do headlines about how one Republican or another is the modern equivalent of the tale’s greedy miser, Ebenezer Scrooge.
“The GOP’s sad Scrooge agenda.” “GOP Protecting Ebenezer Scrooge.” “Maher Likens Republicans to Ebenezer Scrooge.” “Republicans play the role of the stingy Scrooge.”
You have to wonder if these folks have actually read “A Christmas Carol” or spent any time pondering what Scrooge actually says and does. Because if you do, you come to realize that Scrooge more closely resembles a modern liberal than a conservative.
A major clue comes early in the story, when two men collecting for charity arrive at Scrooge’s office. After asking Scrooge for a donation to help the poor and needy, Scrooge responds: “Are there no prisons? And the Union workhouses? Are they still in operation? The Treadmill and the Poor Law are in full vigor?”
He goes on to say, “I help to support the establishments I have mentioned — they cost enough; and those who are badly off must go there.”
Modern translation: I pay taxes to support the welfare state, why should I give money to you?
Turns out, that’s a decidedly liberal viewpoint.
more
https://issuesinsights.com/2025/12/25/scrooge-was-a-liberal/
