a. If socialism = Employee-owned/controlled enterprises/ESOP's Top 10 least socialist countries; Certainly not the U.S. b. If socialism = Total social spending as a percent of GDP/per capita Top 10 least socialist countries; Certainly not the U.S. c. If socialism = Welfare spending as a percent of GDP/per capita Top 10 least socialist countries; Certainly not the U.S. d. If Socialism = Government-owned/controlled enterprises Top 10 least socialist countries; Certainly not the U.S. Now, let's have a real debate.
Here's another equation; If socialism = Medicare for all 2019 INDEX OF ECONOMIC FREEDOM 1. Hong Kong...…..HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 2. Singapore...……HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 3. New Zealand.....HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 4. Switzerland...….HAS A HIGHLY SUBSIDIZED/COMPULSORY PRIVATE HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 5. Australia...……..HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 6. Ireland...……….HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 7. UK...……………HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 8. Canada...……...HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 9. UAE...………….HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 10. Taiwan...……...HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 11. Iceland...……...HAS A PUBLICLY FUNDED HEALTH CARE FOR ALL 12th freest economy; United States
Every country in the world with a government that taxes to provide for the common good is socialist!!
Yet, there shoudn't be confusion made between the, say, Australia or Canada "socialism" and Venezuela or Cuba "socialism". These are very different animals, of course. Trump and Co will obviously nurture that confusion (and fear) in order to try and have Americans turn away from the dem candidates. But these candidates who call themselves socialists should urgently clarify what socialism means for them and, more importantly, what it doesn't entail in their own vision of socialism!
Here's another equation; Higher taxes = socialism Ridiculous!....considering the fact we've all benefited from Uncle Sam's additional spending/line of credit, and we're passing on a huge debt to future generations.
But within that debt how much of our TAX DOLLARS went to highly profitable capitalist companies enriching shareholders.
Let's begin with; a. If socialism = Employee-owned/controlled enterprises/ESOP's Here's an eye-opening list; The Employee Ownership 100: America's Largest Majority Employee-Owned Companies https://www.nceo.org/articles/employee-ownership-100 ------------------- Thus, compared to other nation's ESOP's, are we less or more socialistic? Answer; By what measure(s)? In 2018, the top 100 employee-owned companies employed more than 606,000 people, 100% owned, more than 250,000. Thus, due to a small number, I figured out a rate per 100,000 people, same as our crime stats (per 100,000 people) U.S. population; 328 million/100,000 = 3280 77 X 3280 = 252,560 Answer; more than 77 per 100,000 ------------- Also, here's a list of notable employee-owned companies by country https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_employee-owned_companies See also Lists of companies – company-related list articles on Wikipedia List of Cooperatives List of Co-operative federations List of Energy Cooperatives List of Utility Cooperatives List of Food Cooperatives List of Retailers' Cooperatives List of Worker Cooperatives COOPERATIVES; a farm, business, or other organization which is owned and run jointly by its members, who share the profits or benefits.
Am I incorrect in thinking that both Hong Kong and Singapore are both officially part of Communist China since sometime around 1990???
I'm going to go out on a limb and write that the OP wants other people to pay for his health insurance. Anyone else picking that up?
Following your logic on the tax you pay for the upkeep of public roads, and then ask why I should pay tax for others using public roads. A single payer system is very easy to understand i.e. when others are in need for help you are there for them and where you yourself are in need they are there for you. One other point, No one under a single payer system has ever had to re-mortgage his home or sell it to pay for their medical bills.
Some folks like to conflate the fake socialist/capitalist distinction with totalitarianism. Of course, repressive despots arise regardless of their professed economic philosophies, and advanced nations are pragmatic integrations.
Indeed! The purpose of insurance is to guard against unanticipated expense, and the most effective way of protecting everyone against the risk of incurring unaffordable medical costs is to pool resources, the larger the risk pool the more precise the calculation of reserves, and the lower the premiums required to maintain them. That's an inescapable actuarial certitude free of ideological dogma, repeatedly proven by the pragmatic approach of advanced nations that have actually achieved Trump's stated goal of covering "everybody!" at "less cost!" Failure to achieve universal coverage means that the uninsured incur bloated medical bills (at hospital emergency rooms) that are routinely dumped on the American taxpayer. In the US, that can mean tens of millions of citizens. Economy of scale dictates that standardization of bureaucratic functions along with the elimination of multiply-duplicated astronomical executive compensations, profit margins, payrolls, agency commissions, marketing and advertising budgets, etc., etc., etc. inevitably lowers cost. An added capitalistic benefit is relieving the private sector of enterprises being burdened with the responsibility of administering taxpayer-subsidized employer-administered plans, and healthcare providers allocating resources to clerical personnel needed to deal with the variety of insurance carriers' diverse demands. Only those who gorge on the fatted cash cow of US inefficiency and dogmatic ideologues resist the clearly preferable approach.
Great! Have at you. Just leave me out of it. You may, or may not, have a good idea; but this much I'm certain of, it's not so good that it should be imposed upon the rest of us by force, not even by force of law.
Well I agree with you that the American tax laws are all slanted to the very powerful corporate business interests, Wall Street and Trumps manic fantasy of the Wall while forty thousand Americans live in poverty. But we can’t nit pick the laws we all live under, it doesn’t work that way I’m afraid.
Ok. A real debate. Socialism is a socio-economic system characterized and defined by worker ownership and control of the MoP. As such, ESOPs have nothing to do with socialism.
