Why is socialism a bad thing?

the problem with capitalism is there are not enough capitalists

very few people are in fact capitalists

most are workers, wasting their lives enriching the actual capitalists, cast aside when they have outlived their usefulness

i find it amusing that the high watermark of the so-called 'american century' was the 1950s, when unions were powerful and income taxes were high

who woulda thunk it? nostalgic for the fities?

 

It might irritate but it wipes clean

We need a flat income tax federally and a flat state sales tax (exempting necessities) and get rid of ALL that other bullshit.

The problem is that this would be fair and Americans in general don't believe in fairness. We LIKE our caste system.

 

What in the world makes you think that i was planning on any WELfare?

In my big scheme of things, it would be WORKfare, just like it would be in any decent socialist republic. There would certainly be exceptions*, but folks that could work, WOULD work.

Entitlement would come to mean that everyone in the country is ENTITLED to:

Get an education;
Get a job;
Handle their personal finances responsibily;
and Take responsibility for their own actions.

The thing is, no one owes anyone a life. If someone is too lazy, ignorant, or contrary to "play well with others" and perform some sort of useful labor, then they need to get on down the road.

* The downside to this is that: abortion will be banned, since we'll need MORE workers; and euthanasia would be pushed, for the terminally ill, handicapped, and elderly. [Not that i, personally, would want this ~ that's just the way socialism works. And make no mistake ~ socialism can get every bit as out-of-hand as capitalism does...]

***

On a side note ~ i'm not real sure how well trying to FORCE people to care about others works ~ seems like it usually just makes the givers end up hating the takers. Also, it allows the givers to be the bosses, so to speak, of the needy, sort of putting them in the position of uncaring, stingy parents, but i've said that before.

***

Another thing about the Spreading the Wealth scam is that we're going to be going in to it with the have's ALREADY pissed off at the have-nots. Why? Because, instead of using a little basic courtesy, and actually THANKING the folks that have been giving and giving and giving all this time, the have-nots have thumbed their noses at the givers. THAT, folks, is known as Biting the Hand that FEEDS You.

***

i'm not sure of this, but i suspect that socialist countries have very few charities that the people give to, so any extras that might have been offered through those resources would be non-existent.

 

okay, so i should thank all the rich people for taking all the money and leaving none for the rest of us?

i can see you in an earlier incarnation arguing that slaves were biting the hand that fed them, too

 

socialism, in every sense of its meaning is economically irrational and is intrinsically set up to fail

 

if you do not believe in an economic theory, any theory, then it will seem like that

[it's how i feel about capitalism]

which theory do i believe in?

that if it is a sin and a crime to steal

then capitalism is a sin and a crime

[i just have a broader definition of what a thief is]

 

Fail. Greed > Socialism.

 

stealing? theft? yea, thats socialism

 

i just returned from walking two miles thru snow and over ice

to feed and water a bunch of stray cats at the junkyard

the city will not build an animal shelter

nor will they plow the pedestrian bridge over the yellowstone

they will pay a guy 30 thousand dollars per building to tear down all the old buildings in town that no one wants to buy, leaving main street full of holes

and we have a 6 million dollar jail in a county with around 10 thousand people

i do not know what i am for

but i know what i am against

 

Capitalism is the shit

Don't believe me?

Look around you

 

I look around and see the government bailing out the banks and corporations with people's tax money and I realize that is not capitalism. Sure there is some semblance of capitalism left, but very little. True free market capitalism has not existed in this country for a very long time. We are going into a completely managed economy.

 

True free capitalism wouldn't work simply for the fact people are not to be trusted

 

if people can't be trusted then how is anything going to work?

 

This is what they call "an epiphany".

 

Socialism is a bad thing for those whom assume that systems based on sustainable wealth and societal economies cannot work.

I'd say more, but there is already a lot going on in this thread.

 

By building a system where no one part has control over all the others. By being willing to change a system when it is obvious that it isn't working any more. By looking at actual results, as well as how things are "supposed" to be.

 

i just did a Google search for the "effects of socialism," figuring that without adding any bias, i'd get snowed under with PRO socialist sites. Man, was i ever wrong!

With almost 3 million results, i can't believe anyone that took the time to peruse a couple of these sites could POSSIBILY think that this ideology is a good thing...

Let's see how many pages i've got to wade through before i hit any positive articles.

brb

 

Wow. Here is totally unbiased History of Socialism in America:

http://www.u-s-history.com/pages/h1669.html

 

[COLOR=00033]Your answer to this problem is to make sure they'll live to breed another day?

You'd prefer to prolong their mean existance, pretty much setting yourself up as a god over them?

You don't mind wasting whatever time, energy and food scraps you have on feral animals, that could actually turn into a nightmare of a rabies epidemic?

Did you happen to think about that? (And, hey! That might sound sort of snotty, but i promise that i do not mean it that way ~ it's truly a question)

i'm sorry about your little town ~ the same thing is happening, all over this country, as more and more people flood into the cities. (Of the 7 towns i drive through on the way to the ranch from our "big" town, only 1 of them is sort of growing. In that one, folks are buying the old downtown buildings and refurbishing them into gorgeous mansionettes! )

Back to the cat thing ~ i know it's hard, BELIEVE me i know JUST how hard ~ but when we can barely even take care of ourselves, we really can't take on the responsibilities for other lives.

On the up-side, if there is one, have you thought about adopting one or two of the cats, that you might be able to have altered (spayed/neutered), that you could provide a truly good life to?

Wa Bluska, life just isn't fair, and sometimes we can only do as much as we're able, but we need to keep the Big Pic in mind when we decide what we're able to do... So sad... but true. [/COLOR]

 

So I'm going to take this about 5 pages back.

Pressed Rat, I agreed pretty much entirely with your reply to my post. The socialism that is being implemented today is a consolidation of power by a corrupt government. That kind of Socialism is evil, because the governments today are not instruments of the people. I would say I support the idea of socialism as a viable alternative to capitalism, but I would oppose any forms of socialism taken by our current government. The reform of government is key before we can even begin to look at the merits of socialism. That being said, if we can achieve the miracle of creating a truly representative government, then I believe socialism would be superior to capitalism.

On another note, it's funny how people have said capitalism is supposed to have "ethics" and "trust". I don't know where you've been. Capitalism, as pressed rat has said, is an inhumane system. There's no rules about ethics or morals, and the people that have them get bought out by those that don't. The people at the top, like the CEO's and millionaire politicians, are those that were most ruthless and cutthroat in the pursuit of profit. Capitalism is the pursuit of money, and that's it, so forget about your morals.