MILNET Brief: Socialism

MILNET Brief
Socialism, 3/30/2005

"In the past 150 years there have been innumerable differing socialist programs. For this reason socialism as a doctrine is ill defined, although its main purpose, the establishment of cooperation in place of competition remains fixed"

- The Wikipedia, "Socialism".

To begin the discussion, let's get some official definitions that at worst contains an anglo bias toward socialism:

so·cial·ism (sō'shə-lĭz'əm) pronunciation

Any of various theories or systems of social organization in which the means of producing and distributing goods is owned collectively or by a centralized government that often plans and controls the economy.
The stage in Marxist-Leninist theory intermediate between capitalism and communism, in which collective ownership of the economy under the dictatorship of the proletariat has not yet been successfully achieved.

- American Heritage Dictionary, Houghton Mifflin Company (Highlight by MILNET) ¹

"socialism, general term for the political and economic theory that advocates a system of collective or government ownership and management of the means of production and distribution of goods. Because of the collective nature of socialism, it is to be contrasted to the doctrine of the sanctity of private property that characterizes capitalism. Where capitalism stresses competition and profit, socialism calls for cooperation and social service.

In a broader sense, the term socialism is often used loosely to describe economic theories ranging from those that hold that only certain public utilities and natural resources should be owned by the state to those holding that the state should assume responsibility for all economic planning and direction. In the past 150 years there have been innumerable differing socialist programs. For this reason socialism as a doctrine is ill defined, although its main purpose, the establishment of cooperation in place of competition remains fixed."

- Wikipedia (Highlight by MILNET) ¹

An interesting quote that helps us at MILNET understand the effects of socialism in national politics is from Hillary Rodham Clinton speaking about the Republican sponsored tax refunds, in a speech in a San Francisco fundraiser,

"Many of you are well enough off that ... the tax cuts may have helped you. We're saying that for America to get back on track, we're probably going to cut that short [tax cuts-MILNET] and not give it to you. We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good."

That phrase is especially interesting, it bears repeating, "..We're going to take things away from you on behalf of the common good." It should be noted that attendees at the San Francisco Fund Raiser just a few miles away from where her husband Former President Bill Clinton was also campaigning, cheered happily. One might also note that there is the usual stated implication that America is off track and that only the government can help people and of course the only to way to do that is take things away. All for the Common Good.

Should you object to our characteriszation of liberalism as being very closely linked to socialism, think again. The very liberal San Francisco Liberals were entralled with both Clintons.in June of 2004. And certainly we don't see the Democratic party getting any less socialist with Heir Dean leading them.

The sociailist agenda is to increase the amount of wealth taken and therefore increase the amount re-distributed. In our bias, the redistribution into social programs instead of incentive programs is where the political questions surrounding Liberalism and Conservatism begin. That, we'll save for another brief.

Increasingly, socialism (and especially liberalism) links the common good to the lowest common denominator, a mathematical model that presents the average as the best formula for success. And the idea of redistribution of wealth creates that common good. Taking money from the rich to feed the poor sounds like common sense and indeed our system in the U.S. has a number of examples.

And certainly cooperation is far more valuable in the touchy-feely world of liberalism. Some would even say that liberal politics and that overwhelming desire to cooperate leads the liberal minded to appease their opponents rather than confront them. Thus practices like peace at any cost become liberal issues.

However, it should be noted that many liberal causes may require activisim, and it is in these situations, the ethos turns back on itself. When facts no longer support the cause, many liberal-socialists will simply rewrite the facts to meet the needs of the cause and thus retain vigorous support for their cause. This also meets the socialist agenda which cannot be critical of socialist programs -- the very act of being critical of social programs is to disavow their idealistic goals. For instance a politician has to be very careful of criticizing the failures of black and white integration in this country -- stating that qoutas for college entrance has failed took decades to frame carefully. This is because should someone suddenly proclaim they have failed subjects the critcizer to claims of prejudice, making factual analysis appear to be just as racial as the problem the programs were designed to repair.

Similarly, it will take another decade (or two) for politicians to admit that clean air additives to automobile fuel actually created a worse ecological problem for water supplies, not to mention the grounds around gasoline service stations and has forced many lakes and rivers to be closed to motor boat engine usage. Then it will take another decade to realize that just because you can detect the additive in lakes and rivers, does not mean it does the any damage to life on the planet. And of course there is the ozone layer, one of the worst cases of ecological activism fraud in human history. For more on Junk Science, visit Steven Milloy's area³ on Fox News.

As a measure of political correctness, the social security system is often called the "third rail" of politics, referring to the subway's third rail which carries death incarnate, high voltage electricity. Social Security, while helpful to many, is actually a failed system that no longer meets the basic needs of aging Americans. Better than nothing, but few politicians can admit it publicly. Witness the fervor of the current debate over simply saving the program. Rather than simply saving it, our politicians should be looking at ways to massively improve it.

Below is a list of some of the important tenents of the liberal-socialist agenda:

Federal Government needs to tax in order to provide funds to support a large number social programs
Government's should regulate Corporations much, much more
A strong central government takes actions in favor of the common good over free choice
Entitlements are required to help people who cannot help themselves, favoring that approach over incentives and tax breaks
Cooperation is far more important than competition
Corporations need to be controlled because they will always take advantage of their workers
Unions are the best method of ensuring fair treatment of employees
Unions and collective bargaining in all workplaces
Reverse discrimination, racial quotas and reparations are okay because of previous imbalances -- the "setting things right" concept.
Eliminating racial quotas in hiring or college entrance is a concession to conservatives and must be fought at all costs
Heavy taxationis required to fund social programs because they have priority over other basic government programs
Welfare and entitlement programs have priority over national defense and business incentives
Healthcre should not be a business and doctors and pharmacuetical companies make far too much money, the medical system should be federalized

And recently a new, inexplicable position has been taken, social security is in no immediate danger and therefore needs no changes. This despite it taking years or even decades for large financial programs to begin even when Congress is actively concerend and engaged over the issues.

Here is alist of some definitive liberal programs:

Social Security - will payout more than is being taken in by 2017 (negative cash flow), will be bankrupt by 2040. Liberals claim it is a VERY successful program and state "...over of America's senior citizens depend on social security for half of their income...". Why they think "depending on social security for half their income" is a good thing defies logic.
Medicare - is already paying out more than is being taken in, will be fundless in 2014. California's Medicaid program which is styled after Medicare is already bankrupt and requiring injections of capital at aggregious rates, and hospitals are closing every month because of unpaid charges for medical care (see Restrictions Against Border Patrol and INS)
Welfare for unemployed or severe low income - Most states can longer afford their own systems and have created draconian measures to limit who may collect, with welfare fraud still remaining the number one problem
Child Protection Agencies - Many states (Florida is a horrid example) do not track their employees performance and their systems do not track the children, parents and foster care providers, with deaths and abuse rampant. Systems originally intended to protect children are now acting to mask problems and protect abusers.
Sanctuary for immigrants - several large cities in the U.S. have regulations that prohibit police and court personnel to even inquire about immigration status, with there being up to 60% of some gangs with foreign nationals--illegal immigrants--nearly half of whom are "returnees" -- those illegals who have reentered the U.S. after having been deported -- many of whom were deported for felonies. Not coincicentally those same cities have the highest illegal alien crme rates in ther country, and their states have the highest unpaid medical costs -- bankrupting many hospitals.
Restrictions Against Border Patrol and INS- several decades of lax border and immigration controls made 9/11 quite easy for the terrorists, and the number of illegal aliens in this country was at 3.5 million in 1980, rose to 8 million by 1990, then reached 10.3 million in 2004. An amenesty for 2.3 million was replaced within a few years, including amnesty figures, the count is actually over 12.5 million illegals that have entered and are living in the U.S. since 1980. The majority of the problem states also have cities that provide Sanctuary to illegal aliens (see Sanctuary above).
Medical Aid Cannot Be Refused - Federal law prohibits medical faciliites to deny services to children of illegal aliens and thus the illegals child not only automatically is entitled to medicaid, they are also able to received Supplemental Security Income and Disability Income --Federal assistance normally reserved for citizens and their survivors.

Interesting Quotes:

Associated Press article found at NewsMax.COM, (note the politically correct term "undocumented immigrants" instead of illegal aliens. Sheesh!!!

"The Pew report found undocumented immigrants increasingly fanning out beyond longtime destination for foreign-born residents. In 1990, 88 percent of the undocumented population lived in six states - California, New York, Texas, Illinois, Florida and New Jersey.

By 2004, those states accounted for 61 percent of the nation's undocumented population. The top state is California, where nearly one-quarter of the undocumented reside, followed by Texas (14 percent) and Florida (9 percent).
Next on the list were New York (7 percent), Arizona (5 percent), Illinois (4 percent), New Jersey (4 percent), and North Carolina (3 percent).

Arizona and North Carolina are two of the fastest-growing states in the nation overall and have metropolitan areas booming with new construction, restaurants and service-oriented businesses - job sectors that often hire undocumented workers."⁵

WorldNetDaily.com

"While politicians often mention there are 43 million without health insurance in this country, the report estimates that at least 25 percent of those are illegal immigrants. The figure could be as high as 50 percent.
Not being insured does not mean they don't get medical care.

Under the Emergency Medical Treatment and Active Labor Act of 1985, hospitals are obligated to treat the uninsured without reimbursement....
According to the report, between 1993 and 2003, 60 California hospitals closed because half their services became unpaid. Another 24 California hospitals verge on closure..."⁶

Ruth, Campbell, Odessa American, Odessa, Texas

"Linda Fitch isn’t worried about Social Security money being there for her when she retires. She’s worried about her daughters.

Fitch was among about 50 area residents attending a town meeting Tuesday called by U.S. Sen. John Cornyn at the Center for Energy and Economic Diversification building in Midland County. Some who attended said they favor President George W. Bush’s plan to privatize Social Security.

“If Social Security goes away, I’ll be all right, but many people won’t be,” the 60-year-old Fitch said.

Cornyn, R-Texas, said people age 55 and older don’t have anything to worry about, but in about 12 years, the fund will have negative cash flow and by 2040 it will essentially be bankrupt." ⁸

Sources:

Socialism, Answers.com, undated
San Francisco Rolls Out The Red Carpet for the Clintons, Beth Fouhy, Associated Press, 6/28/2004, found at SFGate.com
Mercury Rises Over EPA Pollution Rules, Steven Milloy, Fox News, 3/15/2005
Millions of Illegal Aliens Threaten U.S. Security, Phil Brennan, NewsMax.com, 8/7/2002
Report: 10 Milllion Aliens In U.S., NewsMax.com, 3/21/2005
Illegal Aliens Threaten U.S. Medical System, WorldNetDaily, 3/13/2005
Illegal Aliens and American Medicine, Madeleine Cosman, Journal of American Physicians and Surgeons, Spring 2005
Cornyn Talks Up Social Security Changes, Ruth Campbell, Odessa American, Odessa, Texas, 3/30/2005