Olin
By definition, all communist states are or were socialist economies. One
communist state, China, is now mostly capitalist. It retains its
authoritarian, one party, political system, but allows and encourages
capitalist ventures and private ownership. I remember when it had great
famines, and a third world economy. After embracing a more capitalist system,
it has become one of the wealthiest countries in the world, and has
billionaires in its population. its rural population is no longer starving,
and its GDP is threatening to exceed ours.
I didn’t write that there might not be areas such as health care and better
social safety net that need improving. I favor universal health care as an
option for everyone, though I don’t want it for me. That about 1/3 of the
population refusing to get a COVID-19 vaccination makes me wonder how much
advantage there is in providing universal coverage. People can already go to
any emergency room without insurance. Will people who won’t get a free
vaccination utilize other preventative or diagnostic services? In any case, I
agree that they should have the opportunity. The education system would be
improved by letting parents spend the dollars at schools they choose. Let the
schools compete. If public schools cannot do a competitive job, let them go
out of business, except for the few students who are rejected by them. In
pathetic Oregon, a high school degree will soon mean even less, since basic
reading, writing, and simple math ability are no longer required. It is too
easy for the public schools to succeed if their students are ignorant.
Sure - Bezos and Amazon, etc., should pay more taxes, but I wouldn’t want the
government owning or running the company. (IBTW: I would also favor taxing
larger estates, but taxes should not be so large as to inhibit initiative or
discourage savings, even if it is to be used to pass on the subsequent
generations.
While some European countries are described as social democracies, the
governments don’t own the means of production. They tax at higher rates and
provide more benefits. Whenever a government has total power over the economy
by ownership.
Anyway, don’t automatically vote for the democrats, though I haven’t seen any
better choices nationally or locally recently.
On Jun 30, 2021, at 4:18 PM, Olin Allen <olinallen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx> wrote:
Jeff, I thought the discussion was about socialism/socialists, yet your
examples are Venezuela, North Korea and Cuba. Venezuela is a failed
nation-state for a number of reasons, and North Korea and Cuba are communist.
All three are/were governed by dictators or strongmen. So, what to do any
of them have to do with socialism, exactly? No, Sweden and Denmark are not
socialist – at least you got that right. They and a number of other European
countries are often described as social democracies, where the government
plays a larger role in society, particularly in the areas of health care,
education and the social safety net. These countries are not without their
flaws, but many of them have a higher standard of living than the US by any
number of measures. Sounds pretty good to me. Or do you prefer this
country’s current oligarchy with our government of, by and for the rich, and
the resulting obscene wealth disparities? We have widespread hunger,
poverty, homelessness, etc. in the wealthiest country in the world. It seems
obvious to me that something’s not working right. I’m not a socialist in the
true sense of the word, but I believe that our particular form of consumerist
vulture capitalism is a disaster.
------------
Olin Allen
Monmouth OR
olinallen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx <mailto:olinallen@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
From: boo-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx [mailto:boo-bounce@xxxxxxxxxxxxx] On Behalf Of ;
Jeff Gilligan
Sent: Wednesday, June 30, 2021 11:29 AM
Cc: boo
Subject: [boo] Re: Remarkable citation of BOO content regarding Meadowlarks
Yawl would probably not enjoy Venezuela, North Korea, or Cuba. Sweden and
Denmark are not socialist. It just doesn’t work well for most people. When
I asked a second cousin, once removed, in Croatia if people missed socialism,
he responded that only the communists do. The once poor village by the sea
has become a prosperous place since the country abandoned socialism. A
cousin suggested that I move “home”. Its tempting. See Podstrana, Croatia:
https://www.croatia-expert.com/podstrana/ ;
<https://www.croatia-expert.com/podstrana/>
On Jun 30, 2021, at 11:17 AM, claire p <redraptorlarry@xxxxxxxxx
<mailto:redraptorlarry@xxxxxxxxx>> wrote:
I can definitely attest I've gotten way more liberal and more socialist with
age.... I keep waiting for the fabled conservatism to hit me but it sure
hasn't yet, lol.
Great find.
Claire
On Fri, Jun 25, 2021 at 11:53 PM Rebecca Hartman <rhartman@xxxxxxx
<mailto:rhartman@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
I feel bad about being a Socialist, but I guess it's true-we tend to get
more conservative with age.
On Fri, Jun 25, 2021, 9:05 PM Margaret Stephens <mlstep@xxxxxxx
<mailto:mlstep@xxxxxxx>> wrote:
Some of us are, indeed.
