If North Carolinians don’t wake up to the spread of socialism in our state, they will experience the same oppressive government I escaped. That experience is why proposals for government-run, subsidized grocery stores deeply concern me. Socialism rarely arrives by announcing food shortages or rationing. When government begins competing with private businesses using taxpayer subsidies, many privately owned grocery stores struggle to survive. That is why I become concerned whenever I hear proposals for government-controlled grocery stores or greater government control over food distribution.