A select few Conservatives and even fewer media pundits have labeled the takeover and bailouts of several American corporate icons as Socialism manifest.
The first months of the Obama Administration have given rise to abundant talk about a U.S. drift into socialism. “We Are All Socialists Now,” a Newsweek cover declared in February. On May 20 the Republican National Committee approved a resolution calling on Democrats to “stop pushing our country toward socialism.”
Socialists in America say however that it isn’t so.
They say if the Obama Administration were establishing a true socialist state, we’d have at least a $15-an-hour minimum wage (instead of the current $6.55 federal minimum) and 30-hour workweeks. Every American would be guaranteed employment and health-care coverage. Oh, and homeless people would be occupying vacant office buildings in cities and vacant McMansions in the suburbs.
…as if Socialism exists on one side of a hash line but not on the other.
So apparently we’re not there yet.
Guaranteed employment, health-care and housing will come in Obama’s reelection campaign.
But that’s not really the point, is it?
Conservative Americans concerned for our future as a nation, as an economic power, fear the direction our country is headed and even more the lack of concern among our citizenry for what is quickly happening right under their noses. You can’t unbake a cake and so it is with big government and entitlements.
As our esteemed governor knows, reductions in either are historically very hard to come by. As the saying goes, a luxury becomes a necessity twenty four hours later not unlike new layers of government spending and regulation. Once in place, they tend to stay in place.
Socialists say the policies Obama has pursued are hallmarks of “democratic capitalist” states, not socialist ones. “None of the societies of Western Europe are socialist, but the political influence of their strong Labor, Social Democratic, and Socialist parties make their form of capitalism much more humane than our own,” says Frank Llewellyn, national director of the New York-based Democratic Socialists of America (DSA), the largest U.S. Socialist party.
I don’t know how “humane” delaying the inevitable was to UAW workers at GM; thousands of which are soon to lose their jobs as GM declares bankruptcy under the weight of years of artificially-high labor costs and government over-regulation, despite an infusion of billions of taxpayer dollars and an inept CEO being fired by an even more inept President.
In the end, auto workers will discover their rightful economic value hard and fast. Taxpayers will own 70% of a corporation that should have been absorbed by the system. Capitalism should have been allowed to do what capitalism does – efficiently redistribute capital and talent to it’s highest and best use.
Something quite opposite capitalism has instead been deliberately and opportunistically brought to bear. Call it Socialism or Obamunism – labels don’t matter – the point is our government is violating domain it has historically been denied (and in many cases by law is prohibited) to venture.
Socialists say…the Obama team is…scrambling to rescue and preserve capitalism.
Deflection. Nice try. Capitalism can take care of itself, thank you very much.
If Socialism were to come to America, would it come quick like a thief in the night…or real…slow…like…so as to stay under the radar; take capitalism by surprise?
How do you cook a frog? In a pot of cool water; turn up the heat real slow.
By the time he realizes he’s cooked, it’s too late to jump out.
So Socialism is when governments make promises they can’t possibly keep which leads to repression and poverty for all except a select few. Got it.
Yeah, because after all, with the building of:
1. The B1
2. The F22
3. The F16
4. The Super-Hornet
5. The Iraq War
We sure have avoided socialism to this point.
For those of you rightie-dullards too simplistic to get the point, it’s this. The United States has been propping up/using the public trust for decades to fund the defense industry (and other industry for that matter) to the tune of TRILLIONS of dollars, for decades.
This meme’ floated by the right that we’re moving toward socialism is such BS. We’ve been bought and paid for by business to have our treasury be the ATM for big business, from big pharma to Rockwell to airports to tax free havens developed by US the taxpayer. We are ANYTHING but socialist, it is not the government (or the people) controlling the business, it is the business fooling the people and taking the taxes for their own profits.
I recall a quote that was frequently used by the left not too long ago that seems quite appropriate now: “Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power.” Mussolini’s words seem rather prescient.
The direct merger of state and corporate power under the Obama Administration sets a dangerous precedent.
Peev, you magnificent idiot. Even those “rightie-dullards” at Pravda have it nailed. http://english.pravda.ru/opinion/columnists/107459-0/
You on the other hand couldn’t buy a clue with a trust fund.
Leave it to wingnuts to cook a frog by slow boiling. First you *kill* the frog. Then you sautee in garlic and butter. One more thing the French know that you don’t.
Of course you kooks will want to call ’em “freedom frogs.”
Liberal Facism…..like what Barry wants…..like his Mussolini. You allow private businesses to survive, but they have to tow the governments line. Wait and see what kinds of neo-Gore clown cars GM will be forced to build. And when it comes to plant closings….guess which party’s congressional districts will get hit the least.
One more thing the French know that you don’t.
Like how to give up?
Your metaphor machinery is broken again, AC.
“Capitalism can take care of itself, thank you very much.”
No. It cannot. You can yank on the leash of that statement all you want, but that dog won’t hunt.
I suggest you read up on the Ferdiand Pecora Commision, for starters. But just for starters – there is so much more of the same, and more recent, that contradicts your above statement.
After brushing up on the Ferdinand Pecora Commission (as it is more coloquially known) – an investigation launched by a Republican majority Senate (now THAT kind of GOP would get MY support!!! AND in a new incarnation might garner a new modern majority support) – may I refer you to the more recent PCA (1991). For those of you who don’t know what that is – it is the Prompt Corrective Action Law. Bill K. Black, who was so very prominent in the Reagan administration, currently a very prestigious professor of law and economics, has written particularly brilliantly on the topic; a great place to start. But still – just a start.
And speaking of writing, inspired in part by your example, after a few casual emails, I offered Penigma to be the equivalent of what Roosh is here to Mitch, on Penigma’s blog. No specific arrangement has been worked out yet, but he put up my first contribution today. I had submitted it as a rough draft, and had planned a few changes, but… on to writing something else. I was intrigued after a discussion by email that ranged over the philosophy of Jeremy Bentham, and utilitarian ethics in comparison to deontological ethics; that in turn, in part, was a context of sorts to my first blog piece. Of course, if Penigma doesn’t like anything else I write, it may be my only contribution.
Ah, Angryclown – you remind me that I have neglected to indulge in frogs legs for too long, served with a dry white wine…ahhhhhh! Wouldn’t want to sautee the entire ‘grenouille’, just the legs, and only after quickly and PAINLESSLY killing the frog (of course).
Utilitarians are fools, period. The free market can take care of itself. It was in the middle of correcting itself after some absolutely idiotic indiscressions inspired by government planning, when GWB decided that he’d save the free market by destroying the free market.
Peeve you truly are a buffoon. Government contracting with private industry is not socialism, you ignorant slut. Government taking over ownership of an industry to produce goods, that is socialism. Government taking over portions of industry & granting favoritism to groups (aka cartels) sympathetic to the States ambitions… well, that’s that’s the beginning of a special corporate statism known as fascism. But that’s what you wanted, so welcome home you jack-booted brown-shirted thug!
For goodness’ sake, Dog Gone. You are dragging up congressional hearings from eighty years years ago? To show what? Congressional committees produce political findings, not findings of fact.
Doggie, little hint here: deontological ethics is a phrase gauranteed to make a reader’s eyes glaze over and involuntary mouse clicking to occur.
Unless they’re angryclown. Then it will inspire silly derision.
Dog gone,
Peni will just be exited that a 5th person will be reading his drivel. His standard are not high.
Deontological ethics: the ethics of Homer (blind greek guy, not animated character). This is progressive?
Shirtymouth said, “Peni will just be exited that a 5th person”, that’s pretty funny – someone criticizing my standards – yeah Shirt, first, you might try spell check – I think you mean excited, and second, since I’ve banned three people who frequent, and frequently comment on, this site, I guess my standards are just a TAD higher than SiTO (no personal offense meant Mitch – your standards are fine, it’s just the irony I’m laughing at).
Second, Kermit, if it’s over your head, perhaps a course in ethics would help you?
Third, to those who claimed anything about ‘ignorance’ in my comment earlier, the jokes on you. You don’t understand what the balance of the world gets about the US, and that is, we’re bought and paid for by big business – think not, look at the recent credit card (joke) I mean ‘reform.’
You guys want it both ways – you don’t know beans about the military procurment joke err I mean process – not one iota – or you’d grasp what a joke the development of the F18 and for that matter the F22 really have been, you would also know the B1 was a boondoggle extraordinaire, signed onto by Reagan only because they wanted to keep Rockwell afloat (talk about your bailouts)…
This is not socialism – this is fascism in the model of the corporate state at least. Before lecturing me (or anyone else) who knows a triffle more than you do about the subject, read first, then comment.
The F18 is only superior to the F14 (from a combat role standpoint) in that it is a quicker role aspect plane and at least as compared to the D in combat mission profiles availble. It is inferior to the F14D in thrust, maneuverability, threat, range, and therefore utility (as a fighter). Throw a reasonably affordable bombing package on the 14D and it was superior to the 18 in payload and range and obviously still retained it’s superior dogfighting and shoot-down ability. It was, like the B1, a sop to military contractors. It had NOTHING to do with ‘military contracting’ as a normal process, unless you think that process NORMALLY choses inferior equipment for the purpose of lining the pockets of contributors or saving one military manufacturer just because we wanted to.
The US history of procurement since 1960 has been one BADLY managed effort after another. I grasp you folks don’t get it, but calling me ignorant is indicting only yourself.
BTW DogGone, I completely agree that capitalism is a self-defeating economic model. Unfetterd, it allows for and pursues market dominance, eventually squelching off competition, creating a miniscule but hyper-dominant upper class and a massive and powerless lower class through economic intimidation and as necessary, violence. The best example is Mexico, and it’s exactly what these chimps want without knowing it… which is why their claims of ingorance are the best irony so far.
Deontological ethics: the ethics of Homer (blind Greek guy, not animated character). This is progressive?
Thank you. I thought it referred to oral hygiene.
Penigma,
Sorry it took so long to rescue your comment from the spam filter. It took me a while to get through it as my mind kept wandering off to faraway places; I think I may have dozed off once or twice.
Sorry. I’ll try harder next time to stay focussed.
Peev mumbled “Second, Kermit, if it’s over your head, perhaps a course in ethics would help you?” to which I have to just shake my head in bemusement. How would a course in ethics help one defragment the Peevisms? Seriously. Dude, if you made any less sense you’d be a perfect Cheshire Cat. (That’s a Lewis Carrol reference).
The US history of procurement since 1960 has been one BADLY managed effort after another.
yet we won. The so-called ‘socialist’ countries could not out-design, out-produce, or out ‘procure’ the United States.
who knows a triffle more than you do about the subject
What’s a ‘triffle’? If you meant ‘truffle’, peev, you’ve put a noun in the place of an adjective.
3. The F16
4. The Super-Hornet
Fingers? Wanna take this one?
heh. Hey, who knows more? Or at least a triffle. Peeve don’t forget
6. The F
7. 16
First you *kill* the frog. Then you sautee in garlic and butter. One more thing the French know that you don’t.
That’s cool, when you have the time.
I usually just make a microwave frog, throw on some Mrs. Dash and margarine,and get back to work.
Dog Gone said:
“No. It cannot. You can yank on the leash of that statement all you want, but that dog won’t hunt.”
You think Capitalism cannot take care of itself, so exactly what must be done to care for Capitalism? More government committees would be good, I take it, but that’s just a start, right?
Liberal Fascism