It changes throughout history. The Roman Church has its monasteries and nunneries; the feudal system had its ranks and orders, etc. Part of democracy's problem is its many options and therefore, its risks- risks an individual cannot control.
On Oct 12, 12:16�pm, Gaar <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > Guess you don't have to own much Wealth when the Government will give > you everything you need to survive... > > On Oct 12, 3:32�am, "\"Lone Wolf\"" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > You talk about all these programs yet the bottom 40% of the American > > population owns just 0.2% of the wealth ( while the richest 1% have > > more wealth than the bottom 90%)--they are really living it up on > > government handouts, which incidently are taxpayers funds, they are > > not the governments funds. > > > You have really been sucked in by the a vile propaganda campaign that > > is right up clueless MJ's alley > > On Oct 12, 6:01�pm, rigsy03 <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > This writer forgot about welfare, food stamps, free meals at schools > > > and hundreds of other programs. > > > > On Oct 11, 11:10 pm, "M.A. Johnson" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > > > > > We're all socialists nowby Paul Mulshine > > > > October 11, 2008 1:43PM > > > > I've noticed lately that a lot of people seem to have discovered that > > > > Barack Obama is a socialist. > > > > There's a lot of that going around. > > > > Socialism, I mean. > > > > The only politician that I know of on the national scene who is > > > > definitely not a socialist is Texas congressman Ron Paul. And look > > > > where that got him. During the presidential primary campaign Paul was > > > > treated as a laughingstock by his fellow Republicans for such stances > > > > as his call for young people to be permitted to opt out of Social > > > > Security. > > > > Paul's having the last laugh these days. As you can see inthis clip, > > > > the entire U.S. economy is now socialist thanks to the big corporate > > > > bailout, says Dr. Paul. > > > > And then there is the unpleasant fact that every senior citizen in > > > > America is what my Aussie friends used to call "a dole bludger," > > > > someone who takes welfare without working. > > > > One such apparent dole bludgerheld forthat a recent McCain rally in > > > > Wisconsin. The old codger worked himself up into a frenzy that even the > > > > hot-tempered McCain might envy, screaming "I'm mad, I'm really mad!" > > > > and then shouting, "And what's going to surprise ya, is it's not the > > > > economy, it's the socialists taking over our country." > > > > The old coot made it clear that the hated socialists are the Democrats. > > > > But assuming he was over 65, which he certainly appeared to be, the guy > > > > is receiving the benefit of at least two socialist programs. One, of > > > > course, is Social Security. There's a reason they called it "social" > > > > security and not Capitalist Security. It's a welfare program and the > > > > current codgers are getting a free ride paid for by working Americans. > > > > True, they paid into it, but anyone who lives a normal life span will > > > > get out a lot more than he or she put in. > > > > And then there's Medicare. The current crop of seniors paid a pittance > > > > into it during their working years, but they now have the benefit of a > > > > system of socialized medicine till the day they die. > > > > Does this guy really want McCain to fight socialism in America? > > > > Imagine McCain told this guy he was absolutely right and as of January > > > > President McCain would end Social Security and Medicare and pay back to > > > > senior citizens the amount they paid in, with interest. By February, > > > > this geezer would be at a rally demanding to have his Medicare coverage > > > > restored. > > > > The truth is, Americans love socialism. They'd better. This is a > > > > socialist country. Here's an interestingarticlethat compares our > > > > government-funded health care systems, primarily Medicare and Medicaid, > > > > with other countries: > > > > "The average rich-country government spends 6.7 percent of GDP on > > > > health; America's 6.8 percent is very slightly higher. The national > > > > health systems of Canada and Britain cost about 6.9 percent of GDP, and > > > > that of Australia 6.4 percent. Germany's government spends the most on > > > > health care at 8.9 percent of GDP, followed by Norway, Sweden, France, > > > > and Denmark." > > > > The big difference, of course, is that in most of those countries the > > > > socialized system covers everyone, while our socialized system covers > > > > just the poor and the elderly. Oh yeah, don't let me forget government > > > > workers. They have a system of guaranteed benefits and early retirement > > > > that the typical Brit or Swede would envy. > > > > So our system is socialism. It's just an inept form of socialism. And > > > > it's also an unsupportable form. The baby-boomer retirement was going > > > > to bankrupt us even before the recent market meltdown. Now we could be > > > > on the verge of a slide into Third-World status. I've been to countries > > > > where you need to carry a backpack just for the bills needed to buy a > > > > beer. It's not a pretty sight. > > > > The only way to prevent that would be to take the harsh medicine that > > > > Dr. Paul offered us during the primary season. But not a lot of > > > > Americans want that prescription, and I suspect the old crank in this > > > > video would be among the last to down a dose of it. > > > > NOTE: Michael Cannon of the Cato Institute just sent me a link tothis > > > > paperin which he argues that Obama's plan is socialized medicine, as is > > > > Medicare. He doesn't deal with McCain's plan, but it is slightly less > > > > socialist than > > > > Obama's.http://blog.nj.com/njv_paul_mulshine/2008/10/were_all_socialists_now....quoted > > > > text - > > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > > - Show quoted text -- Hide quoted text - > > - Show quoted text - --~--~---------~--~----~------------~-------~--~----~ Thanks for being part of "PoliticalForum" at Google Groups. For options & help see http://groups.google.com/group/PoliticalForum * Visit our other community at http://www.PoliticalForum.com/ * It's active and moderated. Register and vote in our polls. * Read the latest breaking news, and more. -~----------~----~----~----~------~----~------~--~---
