I think that a lot of you are unfairly bashing socialism. It is important to understand that many of the socialistic policies in this country exist because of the failures inherent within a capitalistic, conservative, system of government. If our government was able to provide the basic necessities to anyone willing to work for them, their would be no need for socialism. The welfare state would not exist if the average American was able to provide for themselves and their family on a working wage. The socialistic policies which have been adapted by the American government over the years are there to address certain domestic failures within the federal government.

The reality is that there are millions of Americans out there with no health insurance, no life insurance, and no savings. These are honest hard working people who are simply unable to make the money needed to take care of themselves. What are they supposed to do? How are they supposed to take care of their families? The government is not helping these people in any way. Yet they pay taxes. They pay money to the federal government in the hopes that they will use it to provide for the common people.

A lot of people forget why we pay taxes. We don't pay it for the privilege of simply living in this country, we pay it so that the government can make things better. We pay it so that the jobs we pay them to do get done. Its not just some gigantic bank account that the members of our government can use as they please. But nowadays that's what it seems like. Hundreds of billions of our dollars are spent on things that wont even effect us.

Saying that things like the unemployment program, medicare, and section 8 housing, are a waste of money is just plain fucked up. Millions of people rely on that money to survive and that's a fact. These people have done nothing wrong, they have tried to do everything they could and because of failures within our government there is a wall they cannot climb.

In the end it all comes down to empathy. The ability to feel any sort of connection to your fellow man. If you can eat lobster every night while your neighbor starves, then I don't know what to tell you. Its all apart of this idea that the government is not responsible for the well being of the American citizens. Think about what this country would be like if everyone simply had the "chance" to live a peaceful life. Apparently that's what America used to be like.
Ramulux Reviewed by Ramulux on . are we to be free? with all the talk of socialism in america and the growing governmental control over our relatively free marketplace, i feel the need to ask those of you on these boards a rather basic question. is the individual an important component of american political philosophy or is the will of the people of paramount concern? this country has always led the world in its pursuit of the rights of the individual, understanding that the price we pay for those rights is a tumultuous life at best. as Rating: 5