Socialists in America?

​As we look to the US for ideas, now that we are about to become equal partners (sic) here’s something that Johnson & Co. should look at: the move by Kansas City authorities to make all bus travel free. Incredible as it may seem, this act of socialism is being enacted in mid-America, in a largely Republican state. If only they knew some people might call such an idea ‘socialist’ - that could soon derail it. But there are plenty of reasons why such an idea makes good sense, which I’m sure we can all guess. So as Johnson searches for ways of embedding his victories in the hard-bitten north of England, might he not turn to simple ideas such as this to further ingratiate himself with the working classes? He did not after all as Mayor of London dare to cancel the Freedom Pass, which as I understand it gives every London resident aged over 60 free travel on all modes of public transport. For early political gains, free public transport (well, at least on the buses) would be a quick win. And because it can be said that they’re doing it in Kansas, nobody—even, say for example, Jonathan Freedland in the Guardian—has to worry that it’s SOCIALIST and is therefore by definition a massive vote loser.