You keep using that word. I do not think it means what you think it means.
Haven’t talked politics in a while. Mostly because it’s so infuriating that I’ve stayed away. I really hate when people use the word socialism though. Do they really know what it is? Do they realize that we have plenty of socialist programs already in place? I know of at least one that the people against health care reform aren’t against. A little socialist program called The U.S. Military. I know you guys love that one and I do too. We need a military. Want more examples? How about jails, police, firemen, libraries? It’s just the tip. Think about all these government run programs that use your tax dollars. Why don’t I get mad that MY tax dollars were spent to put out the fire at some other person’s house? Isn’t that pretty much the same as me getting mad that MY tax dollars were used to get someone the medical care they needed? Of course the same people that are getting mad about the thought of their tax dollars being spent to save lives are the same people who have no problem and in fact supported the ending of lives in a needless war.
These same people that love the government run military are the same that say the government can’t run anything and so will not be able to run a public health care system. These people might need to look into a little something called the U.S. Postal Service. It is a model of efficiency. If you look here you can see that they are entirely self-sufficient. They don’t make a profit, the actually break even… or close enough. I think a deficit of $0.60 is close enough to even. I’m sure people have dropped more than that on the floors of various post offices.
So can we please drop this whole “We’re turning into socialists” nonsense. We have certain socialist programs and we should have at least one more. Capitalism will still thrive. If you seriously think we are on the road to becoming communist, please have your head examined. Communism is an extreme version of socialism… and we’re not even close to a socialist society! The only legitimate reason you should be scared about health care reform is if you run a health insurance company. But even then they will still have enough people who don’t want a public option and so will survive. Other than that, the idea of a future communist U.S.A is just… inconceivable.
