Socialism

Socialism has been one of the most abused words in the English language, partly because it has become closely associated with communism.

However the simplest definition of socialism is the idea that society as a whole should be the primary concern of our policies.

Capitalism, another word for individualism, focuses on the benefit to the individual instead of the group.

It should also be noted that it doesn't have to be an all or nothing situation.

Every society and Government has to be concerned with society as a whole, or it wouldn't function.

The interests of the individual and the interests of society are not generally in conflict, however at times they are.

Generally it involves control of resources and how those resources are distributed.

In general we are a country that believe in capitalism in that we respect individual property and the right to amass wealth.

The general argument here is that it promotes progress and therefore ultimately better opportunities for all.

Wealth is in fact a proven motivator, but of course on might wonder if it is the only one.

The other issue concerns social welfare, a non-economic form of socialism.

Should health care be provided to all or just a few?

We see great disparities in wealth in this country and we see great disparities in quality of life.

Should some of our elderly be forced to scrape by, eating cat food to save a few pennies, unable to afford medication or should society take care of them?

Many of us who support economic rewards also feel that we need to improve our social welfare programs.

Its recognition that all people are created equal, although not so much in America.

Safety Net?

We've been seeing a sell off in the market the last couple of weeks as it becomes apparent that the dontard is actually pursuing trade policies that will hurt the economy.

Of course his immigration policies also are bad for the economy because right or wrong, undocumented immigrants make us more competitive in many areas.

I believe his team of so-called economic advisers argue that we need to replace the people coming here and working for very low wages with people getting public assistance.  Economically it seems to make sense since you turn someone using taxes to someone paying taxes.

The issues with this are pretty clear, since that strategy attempts to make people who either can't work or won't work into workers.

The other problem is the people aren't where the jobs might be.

If you accept the premise, you have to transport a lot of single mothers to the migrant camps where our undocumented work all day harvesting crops.

Not likely, or even probably possible.

Creating useful opportunities for these folks with training could work to a certain extent, but the current positions of the dontard are shaped by radical proponents of the sink or swim scenario.

Cut off their aid and food stamps unless they can prove they are working and drug free.

The fact that there are no jobs to be had in many cases, at least ones they qualify for, or that the real victims in many cases will be the children, is simply "one of the breaks".

Instead of providing education and opportunities for our vulnerable poor, we can turn them into a permanent underclass with all the problems they already have, plus some more.

The saddest thing is that the abusers of the system will figure our how to keep abusing it while the neediest will suffer.

Those are "the breaks"/