Was Maggie truly a witch?

Many in Britain ( and elsewhere ) are actually celebrating the death of former Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher. If they are poor or indigent people whose needs suffered collateral damage from her policies, I can at least comprehend why they feel that way. But before singing "ding-dong, the witch is dead," let us actually examine why Mrs. Thatcher did the things she did.

You cannot have both a capitalist system and an extensive welfare state at the same time. In a socialist economy no taxes are needed, because the country already owns its wealth and facilities. But in a private enterprise system the only way for government to do anything is to tax people and interests. The more services and benefits you provide, the more you need to tax. Eventually, people get so fed up with excessive taxation and begin to ask:"Why should I bother if it just gets taken away?"

Maggie scaled back the extensive welfare system in order to lower taxes, and thereby to give productivity an oxygen break. She privatized utility and service companies where poor service and bureaucracy had come almost to resemble malfunctioning in Warsaw Pact countries. But in so doing, she took vital economic security away from the indigent.

You cannot please everyone. Having private enterprise and social benefits at the same time is a see-saw. Maggie swung it in the opposite direction, and those on the old side were hurt.