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.
Living in a socialist country is not a bad thing,
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 5th 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.
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.
No comments:
Post a Comment