Is socialism bad ?

 

When I was at Discount Tire the other day, I ran into a man about my age who was in to have his new Cadillac serviced.

Milton’s primary address is in British Columbia, but he also owns homes in Banff and Tucson (where he spends a little less than 6 months a year.)

He retired last year, but at that time, he owned at least three businesses. In his lifetime, he has owned 9 Corvettes, and has owned several different airplanes.

He is not a fan of Pierre Trudeau, and is opposed to Canada’s guaranteed income program, which is called the Canada emergency response benefit (CERB). It was designed to help people during the epidemic. Having a guaranteed basic income meant that people could continue to pay for rent and other basic expenses, which helped to prevent the income from collapsing.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada-how-basic-income-works-1.6179760

In America, we used stimulus checks to accomplish the same goals. If you went back in time a bit, you may remember that we passed a $878 billion stimulus bill to prevent the economy from cratering during the 2007/2008 recession. The program worked, but to be truly effective, it should have been LARGER.

Milton does not like Trudeau because he is a “socialist” and he does not like Joe Biden for the same reason.

Ever since the institution of the New Deal, America definitely could be considered to be a socialist country, which is NOT the same as being a Communist country. Although Social Security was initially intended to be a supplemental income, the reality is that roughly 15 % of our population rely on Social Security as their ONLY source of income.

https://nationalinterest.org/blog/politics/how-many-americans-rely-social-security-their-entire-income-200633

Living in a socialist country is not a bad thing,

 https://www.cnn.com/travel/article/worlds-happiest-countries-2022-wellness/index.html

 

The World Happiness Report (which is produced by the United Nations) has rated the happiest countries in the world for the last 10 years. According to their data, Finland is rated the happiest country in the world for the 5^th year in a row. The majority of the other counties in the top 10 are Nordic countries – and they all have strong socialistic programs in place. On this list, Canada is rated #16, and the United States is ranked #16. The Least happy country is Afghanistan, which is ranked #146.

https://www.nsnews.com/local-news/canada-ranked-1-most-desirable-place-to-live-in-the-world-3149149

Financial services provider Remitly conducted the research using Google search data to discover which country people want to move to the most.

Canada is the number one location people are looking to relocate to, having topped the wish-lists of 30 other countries. USA is on the list, but it rated #9. For people currently living in Central America, USA is their first (and only choice).

https://www.history.com/topics/industrial-revolution/socialism

There are actually several different definitions of that socialism is. The site below lists the advantages and disadvantages of socialism. There are 12 advantages and 10 disadvantages.

https://futureofworking.com/6-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-socialism/

Without getting too bogged down in the various pros and cons, the list below provides a brief description of what socialism in this country provides:

Social Security

Medicare

Police

Fire

Military

Roads and bridges

Hospitals

Fire stations

Public schools

Public libraries

Amtrak

DMV

Courts

Penal institutions

SNAP benefits

Housing assistance

Environmental protection

Banking and business regulation

Investment regulations

Diplomacy

This list, of course, could also include a few more things that I have not thought of, and some (but not all) of them (such as schools) could also be handled privately

One of our neighbors is a Libertarian, and he does not think that there should be public schools or public libraries. He’s entitled to his opinion, but I disagree with him.

 

Thomas Jefferson was a pivotal figure in the founding of American democracy. He believed in democracy for all people, no matter their gender, race or economic status. He said that “all men are created equal,” which means that every person should have an equal opportunity to succeed in life. In his Declaration of Independence, he wrote, “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal.”

He believed that democracy is a natural state for people to be in and knew it would not always work without some form of government intervention. His political views were shaped by his belief that all people are equal and have certain natural rights. He helped draft the Declaration of Independence and served as the third president of the United States. 

Thomas Jefferson is considered one of America’s most influential Founding Fathers. He served as the third president of the United States and was a major contributor to democracy and equality. His legacy has been carried on by many Americans who have followed in his footsteps, including those in today’s society.

“The best defense of democracy is an informed electorate.”

In order to have an informed electorate, you NEED both public schools and public libraries.

If voters are not well informed, they will vote for candidates who are not fit for office. Although there are many examples of this phenomenon, some examples would include Marjorie Taylor Greene, Lauren Boebert, Paul Gosar, Ted Cruz, and Louie Gohmert.

Socialism has a lengthy history in America, but the only socialist who made any real progress was Eugene V. Debs. Debs ran as a Socialist candidate for President of the United States five times, including 1900 (earning 0.6 percent of the popular vote), 1904 (3.0 percent), 1908 (2.8 percent), 1912 (6.0 percent), and 1920 (3.4 percent), the last time from a prison cell. He was also a candidate for United States Congress from his native state Indiana in 1916.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/History_of_the_socialist_movement_in_the_United_States

When you think of socialists today, you probably think of Bernie Sanders.

https://www.vox.com/policy-and-politics/2019/6/12/18661708/bernie-sanders-definition-democratic-socialism-explained

Although Bernie has some good ideas, he never attracted enough votes to get elected president.

If you are wondering if socialism is a good thing or a bad thing, my humble opinion is that it is definitely a good thing – but Milton would probably disagree.