All socialists stand and be accounted for

[_Eric]

For the record: I don't subscribe to your obviously false and misleading definition if socialism, nor did I stand to be accounted for anything this moonshiney post called for. I posted something you clearly couldn't understand, but you're an unabashed racist anyways, so it's not like it was a difficult argument to make with respect to you.

[_ajax18]

I always understood socialism to mean the government taking earnings from one worker's paycheck and giving that money to those that the elected government officials viewed as more in need of the funds.

For the record: I don't subscribe to your obviously false and misleading definition if socialism

What is false about that definition? Most socialists would admit that this is what they believe.

but you're an unabashed racist anyways

Wow you're already resorting to personal attacks. I didn't think the question was that hard for you to answer.

[_Quasimodo]

see the difference?

I always understood socialism to mean the government taking earnings from one worker's paycheck and giving that money to those that the elected government officials viewed as more in need of the funds. I don't see anything unfair about that definition.

I'm just asking who is a proponent of this, and all I seem to be getting from my survey is hostility from those who don't like the question. So far I have only Eric openly stating that he is in favor of this. Anyone else?

Here are some evil socialistic programs that are currently being funded by Federal, State and local authorities with your tax dollars, Ajax:

National Defense: A standing Army, Navy, Air Force and National Guard (about 20% of the national budget). You are paying for the protection of all those unworthy individuals too poor to pay taxes. Of course without that in early U.S. history, this country would probably be called South Canada right now.

Infrastructure : All those roads and bridges that all the unworthy travel on everyday (not to mention reservous, water reclamation projects, sewage treatment facilities and all that goes with indoor plumbing, etc.). Unfortunately, not enough funds are allocated to the maintenance of these. I think about that every time I drive over an old truss and grunion bridge.

First Responders : Fire departments and paramedics. If there were no firemen your house would just burn down (I guess that's what insurance is for). Without paramedics almost all heart attacks would be fatal. It would be a roll of the dice. If you had a heart attack while watching a good football game at home, you would have rolled snake eyes.

Unemployment Insurance: How secure is your job? With all the posting you do during work hours you might be on thin ice. If you lost your job today, how many months would you be able to pay bills before your money ran out? Jobs are hard to find right now. Would you be living in your car soon, or would that be repossessed as well?

Medicare: Now that you're unemployed and without insurance and maybe in your sixties you have a real problem when some health issue arises. Sure, you could maybe find a job picking fruit for a few dollars an hour, but your arthritis makes bending down to pick strawberries excruciating. Suicide becomes an option.

I'm in favor of all these programs (not an exhaustive list). If that makes me a socialist, then so be it.

[_krose]

I'm just curious how many of you guys are socialists?

Using the generally accepted definition of the word, which is one who believes that the state should control industry and the distribution of goods, I would guess "none of us."

I always understood socialism to mean the government taking earnings from one worker's paycheck and giving that money to those that the elected government officials viewed as more in need of the funds.

Using such a definition, the answer is probably "all of us," since I doubt anyone here believes that there should be no taxes of any kind. The proceeds from any tax will be seen by someone as benefiting others more than them. So all taxes result in redistribution.

I don't see anything unfair about that definition.

Okay. I will now re-define the word "Nazi" to mean anyone who opposes single-payer national health care. I don't see anything unfair about that.

[_krose]

I certainly don't see much liberation of the working class coming from Obama and his increase in taxes, welfare spending, tearing down the border, and Michelle Obama's 16 vacations during her three years in the white house.

You just made up all that crap (although to be fair, you are probably just parroting the lies made up by right-wing tools on the radio/TV/Internet).

- Taxes have gone down during the last three years.

- Obama has deported illegals at a much higher rate than Bush.

- Welfare doesn't really exist as it used to, but food stamp usage has increased as the number of needy has increased in a bad economy.

- First Lady vacations? Seriously? What a stupid thing to even mention.

[_ajax18]

How secure is your job?

Not very

With all the posting you do during work hours you might be on thin ice.

You don't seem very far behind me.

If you lost your job today, how many months would you be able to pay bills before your money ran out?

I wouldn't last a month. I live month to month.

Jobs are hard to find right now.

I can't remember when jobs ever were easy to find.

Would you be living in your car soon, or would that be repossessed as well?

It's all happened. Socialism didn't save me from any of it.

[_ajax18]

- First Lady vacations? Seriously? What a stupid thing to even mention.

$200 million dollars, and this for a communist woman who has lived her entire life up until now begrudging people who lived as she now lives. One could have taken the entire scenario right out of the pages of, "Animal Farm."

"Four legs good, two legs baaaad...

[_Bond James Bond]

- First Lady vacations? Seriously? What a stupid thing to even mention.

$200 million dollars, and this for a communist woman who has lived her entire life up until now begrudging people who lived as she now lives. One could have taken the entire scenario right out of the pages of, "Animal Farm."

"Four legs good, two legs baaaad...

200 million? CFR

[_Bond James Bond]

W/r/t Presidential vacationing (as of 2011 through 31 months of their presidencies):

http://news.yahoo.com/comparison-recent ... 00657.html

Obama -61 days
Bush II - 180 days
Clinton - 28 days
Reagan - 112 days

[_Bond James Bond]

And by the way if you're going to start talking about wasting American taxpayer dollars...Obama's wife might have gone to Europe on the govt dime but George Bush invaded and occupied two countries for 10+ years (indefinitely if you count the American permanent bases we'll have there) at a cost of a trillion dollars and more. So STFU.