Quote:
Originally Posted by dogzilla
I'll accept all of the above except 'not a socialist'. His nationalization of GM and Chrysler, and his insistence on controlling the salary and bonuses of executives sure seems to meed the Wikipedia definition of socialism. As far as his government enforced redistribution of wealth by programs like cash for clunkers, new homebuyer credits, forcing mortgage writedowns, etc, that sure sounds socialist to me. It clearly is not capitalism.
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Do you consider subsidies socialist as well? You know, like the U.S. farm bills. Redistributing wealth to farmers. Those things that Republicans as much as Democrats are responsible for.
Guess what Richard Nixon, Gerald Ford, Ronald Reagan, and George W. Bush have in common? They were Republican presidents who saw some form of
nationalization take shape on their watch.
So if these things are what socialists do....I hate to say it, but I suppose that makes the United States of America a socialist nation.
Truth be told, there are a lot of things going on in the U.S. that could be considered socialist (or at least considered as having socialist roots). But people aren't aware of them in that way. These are things that were established long before Obama took office...and many long before he was even born.
I can imagine there are thousands of Americans, if not hundreds of thousands, who fear or otherwise admonish "the socialist threat" all the while benefiting from socialist ideas older than their grandfathers. Ideas that they now take for granted.
EDIT: Oh, and quick answer: he's working with a mixed economy. I'll type on about mixed economies until my fingers are numb. The U.S. is a mixed economy, not a purely capitalist economy. There are capitalist elements and socialist elements. Get used to it. It's been that way for decades.