I self identify as a socialist and that's all 'socialist' means to me. Everything else beyond that is a privilege, nice to have but society has no obligation to provide it.
Even food, shelter and medicine cost something. Somebody somewhere in society has to bear the cost. If it's socialism rather than charity, then somebody has to be forced, ultimately at the point of a gun, to pay. Who should be forced to pay? How much should they pay? How much bang for the buck are you getting? How do you determine who's a worthy recipient? What unintended consequences are you creating? You'd better have really good answers to all of these questions before you can even think about justifying what would under any other circumstances be considered THEFT
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As middle-class Americans, we're so obsessed with protecting our tiny wealth from the spectre of theft by the poor that we routinely overlook systematic, wide-scale theft by the rich.
I agree that the rich also steal. That's why the Federal Reserve, and others who constitute the de-jure or de-facto government, are not my friends. Let's be careful who we mean by the "thieving rich." It isn't Wal-Mart or Wells Fargo, at least not inherently. They play by the rules the government sets; I can choose not to do business with them; and when I do, I get something of value back from them. I have no choice whether to interact with the Federal Reserve or the IRS, and I may or may not get something that I judge to be of equal value, in return for what they take from me.
The difference is, in option 1, they're the insurance companies, and we didn't elect them. If the free market really "floats" the aggregate level of health care, then why is US life expectancy 36th in the world, behind a lot of countries with socialized medicine?You are
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In any event, you have not answered my fundamental questions, except to quote a fictional parody of Ayn Rand (whom I never said I followed) from a video game.
I repeat (modified for clarity):
Who should be forced to pay for food, shelter and medicine for those who cannot buy it themselves? How much should they pay? How much bang for the buck are you getting? How do you determine who's a worthy recipient? What unintended consequences are you creating?
I add an even more fundamental question: do you not agree that the ownership of private property and the making of profits in trade is just? If you disagree then I do not see how we can speak further.
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I agree that the rich also steal. That's why the Federal Reserve, and others who constitute the de-jure or de-facto government, are not my friends. Let's be careful who we mean by the "thieving rich." It isn't Wal-Mart or Wells Fargo, at least not inherently. They play by the rules the government sets; I can choose not to do business with them; and when I do, I get something of value back from them. I have no choice whether to interact with the Federal Reserve or the IRS, and I may or may not get something that I judge to be of equal value, in return for what they take from me.
The difference is, in option 1, they're the insurance companies, and we didn't elect them. If the free market really "floats" the aggregate level of health care, then why is US life expectancy 36th in the world, behind a lot of countries with socialized medicine?You are ( ... )
Reply
I repeat (modified for clarity):
Who should be forced to pay for food, shelter and medicine for those who cannot buy it themselves? How much should they pay? How much bang for the buck are you getting? How do you determine who's a worthy recipient? What unintended consequences are you creating?
I add an even more fundamental question: do you not agree that the ownership of private property and the making of profits in trade is just? If you disagree then I do not see how we can speak further.
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