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I have friends who fear all things socialist and think the current administration is starting a socialistic movement in this country.
I did a little research to see if we had been infected with the socialism disease. I found we are indeed infected and may need some shots!
Here are a few of the programs I found that we have been using for some time: civil service retirement systems, federal employee retirement systems, Medicare, Medicaid, military retirement systems, and veterans' hospitals.
Don't forget the national school lunch program, school breakfast program, libraries, national parks and road systems, and police and fire protection (yes, government paying for police and fire protection is socialism).
There's also unemployment insurance, Social Security, temporary disability insurance, public education, the railroad retirement system, Amtrak, food stamps, workers' comp, minimum wage, welfare, farm subsidies, price controls (the government does control prices on some products), low-income home-energy assistance, temporary assistance for needy families, and the Special Supplemental Nutrition Program
The list goes on and on.
I got to thinking about these programs and whether the country would be better off with or without them. Everyone will have
I think most of us would say yes to some and no to others. However, if that is the case, isn't it hypocritical to condemn other proposed programs simply because you view them as socialist programs?
As my grandfather would say, "That is speaking out of both sides of your mouth."
Jeffrey Belcher
Spotsylvania
