[DEMOWGUN]

Look at European nations right now: Their dollar is kick our dollars unowhat; everyone has health care, they get 4 weeks vacation, they live a lot longer and have less health problems. The social programs we have work: Fire, Police, Libraries, Social Security, medicare, medicaid, sure they could be better with more money but they do well taking care of our sick and dying with the money they have.
What's wrong with everyone looking after everyone? Isn't that what Jesus told us to do? Besides, aren't we socialist NOW. Bush Nationalized the banks, the government owns some of the largest companies in America, we use tax dollars to "bailout" the "free market economy." (way to go W.) All that's left is health care.
Maybe I'm wrong, please enlighten me.

[MurrayS]

NO BUT ASK A REPUBLICAN. I believe it does work

[sixtiesradical0945]

Socialism kept us from having another depression, until Ronhole Reagan let crapitalism police itself, which is why we have this sh!tty economy today.

[MissKitty8358]

The housing sub-prime debacle that has caused this financial debacle is a great example.

[beta_hat]

Communism doesn't work.

Social democracies - capitalist societies with a strong welfare state - work very well. The US is also a welfare state, it just has less entitlements and redistribution than these other countries. It still has social security, medicare, and medicaid, programs that are very popular and that conservatives are afraid to take on (even though philosophically they oppose them, they know they are electoral losers). Canada, Sweden, and other countries offer slightly different models of what the US could be. These societies are just as free as the US, but have less extreme inequality and better overall outcomes in terms of health and education. Their economic growth is quite comparable to the US, and while a few of these countries have high unemployment (most noticeably Italy, Germany, and France) many of them do not - Canada, the UK, Sweden, Norway, Austria, Denmark, Japan, etc. all have unemployment that is as low or lower than the US.

[JeffSmoker8134]

Does the U.S.S.R. still exist?

Is the average Cuban citizen better off than the average American citizen?


EDIT:

You just said that Social Security works fine...do you actually have any idea what you are talking about?

[Lid1792]

No, you're right. We have plenty of socialist institutions that work pretty well. But when you introduce another one to conservatives (= afraid of change) they start bitching about how we're turning into communists. Nobody is proposing we change America to a communist state. We should simply model ourselves a little more after European countries that are doing better than us.

[soundguy393]

Unfortunately the average republican isn't smart enough to know the difference. Just read their silliness.

[wsnyder02]

Its not free. That is the one thing people never bring up that are saying they want it. Someone has to pay for the health-care, the time off, the working 32 hours a week and getting paid for 40 (which France is getting rid of). It all costs money. I am not saying that socialism doesn't work.

In some places minor socialist ideals are working. But with the track record of socialist ideals in this country, people are wary.

Look at our school system, welfare, nationalized health-care in Massachusetts, medicaid and medicare, social security. They have all been proven ineffective and overpriced.

By the way these European countries you all keep talking about are also failing. America is not the only country with problems right now.

[GailM]

Yes, read the history books.