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Folks....it doesn't matter if it is a socialist or capitalist society.
The real issue....does the government care about the people they serve??
I live in a conservative county in eastern Washington. Hasn't voted for a Democrat since 1964!!
I get my electricity, water, cable TV, internet, sewer, and phone service from the local county government.
At the time, this was a rural area and the ONLY entity that could raise capital was the local county government.
So they did....condemned a Seattle electrical company that refused to extend power lines outside of urban areas. Put in a fiber optic system over the objections of Liberal Democrats in state government in western Washington.
My joke is that socialism works.....if run by Republicans.
I suspect capitalism might also work if run by liberals that care about the working people. I exclude, Democats from that group. Yeah, they fought public fiber tooth and nail when our county proposed building the system....even though ONLY county funds were used, no state or Federal funds.
It doesn't matter what economic system you pick you need a society that cares about people.
That does make it slightly difficult.
Conservatives want the freedom to do whatever they please. Liberals want the authority to tell you how to live your life.
Just find folks that want to make life better for everybody.
You are describing the social-welfare state, something that all developed countries possess to some extent.
Here, the social welfare state, whatever you might think of it, was built by both Democrats and Republicans.
The Right sometimes murmurs (certainly does not scream) that Social Security and Medicare are broke- which they are. More than a few Democrats have acknowledged that as well. I don't recall anyone of either party calling it socialism and as it more than 7 decades old, I cannot believe it would matter.
Nobody of any seriousness is calling to abolish fraud laws. Now, if your hyperbole and outright fiction have concluded ....
read some history..the far right has shouted socialism, slippery slope on everything that benefits common people just as the far right resurrected by the Koch brothers money of today bellows
read some history..the far right has shouted socialism, slippery slope on everything that benefits common people just as the far right resurrected by the Koch brothers money of today bellows
Everything that "benefits the common people" must be paid for by the Government confiscating money from the common people, setting half of it on fire and pissing away the remaining half getting nothing done.
Rail, gas transmission, real estate, farms, venture capital, booze, IT........state ownership is significant.
I'll grant you that Sweden, Norway and Finland in particular are less socialistic now than in the 1970s but that's it.
Using Marx & Engels and similar definitions of socialism means that every country outside North Korea practices capitalism.........that's distortion at best.
Nominal income tax in Denmark is around 55%. So the PM can say whatever he wants.
Using dictionary definitions not a single Scandinavian country is socialist.
Using Econ textbook definitions not a single Scandinavian country is socialist.
Your whole argument is based on misinformation of what Bernie BSes socialism is, which is why you mention things like taxes.
P.S. the definition of socialism isn't related to taxes.
Using dictionary definitions not a single Scandinavian country is socialist.
Using Econ textbook definitions not a single Scandinavian country is socialist.
Your whole argument is based on misinformation of what Bernie BSes socialism is, which is why you mention things like taxes.
P.S. the definition of socialism isn't related to taxes.
I pay nearly no attention to Bernie he's a broken down gas bag.
I already showed you an Oxford Dictionary definition of socialism that included regulation.
Here it is again:
Socialism:
A political and economic theory of social organization which advocates that the means of production, distribution, and exchange should be owned or regulated by the community as a whole.
I've taught economics at the undergraduate and graduate levels off and on for many years, that's why I'm fairly hardheaded about all this. A proper modern working definition of socialism should be about control - and high taxes and other regulations are all about control as the Oxford definition clearly underscores.
If you'd like to pretend that every country on Earth outside North Korea is nominally based on capitalism go for it.
ETA - so far as taxes having nothing to do with socialism and control no less an authority than Karl Marx enumerated a heavy, progressive income tax as a means of control and and to limit freedom.
Folks....it doesn't matter if it is a socialist or capitalist society.
The real issue....does the government care about the people they serve??
I live in a conservative county in eastern Washington. Hasn't voted for a Democrat since 1964!!
I get my electricity, water, cable TV, internet, sewer, and phone service from the local county government.
At the time, this was a rural area and the ONLY entity that could raise capital was the local county government.
So they did....condemned a Seattle electrical company that refused to extend power lines outside of urban areas. Put in a fiber optic system over the objections of Liberal Democrats in state government in western Washington.
My joke is that socialism works.....if run by Republicans.
I suspect capitalism might also work if run by liberals that care about the working people. I exclude, Democats from that group. Yeah, they fought public fiber tooth and nail when our county proposed building the system....even though ONLY county funds were used, no state or Federal funds.
It doesn't matter what economic system you pick you need a society that cares about people.
That does make it slightly difficult.
Conservatives want the freedom to do whatever they please. Liberals want the authority to tell you how to live your life.
Just find folks that want to make life better for everybody.
But as conservatives see it, you're not worthy of a better life if you won't lift yourself up by your own boot straps, due to being too lazy, being a drug addict or too stupid and lacking in ambition. Worry over those worthless people holds everybody else back. Government should just go around them and leave them in the dust.
North Korea is a Communist Nation not "Socialist".
When Liberals in America talk about "Socialism" they mean in the European sense in regards to free Healthcare and Education which are quite doable by American standards.
0 year - a baby is born. All the hospital fees are paid by the government. The parents get paid maternity leaves.
1-6 years - the baby gets free kindergarten, free healthcare.
6-19 years - the teenager studies for free, gets all kinds of free food and help
19-25 years - she is a university student, everything is free
25-65 years - now she realizes that she has to pay 60% of her salary in taxes to fund kids and retired. It's a perfect time to immigrate to a place with much lower taxes.
65 years - it's a good time to return back and live on an excellent government pension.
Unlike in the US, they actually get something back for the taxes they pay. There's a reason why Scandinavian countries crush the US when it comes to quality of life and standard of living.
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