Quote:
Originally Posted by cartman
Just curious, how is it clear that is a move to socialism? Regulations are not a component of the definition of socialism. There is quite a bit of consolidation that occurs frequently across many industries, but unless the government privatizes the industry, the insurers are privately owned. Like I mentioned earlier, if there was a move to single payer, then that is socialism. If all hospitals became government owned and caregivers became federal employees, then that is socialism. There hasn't been anything like that occurring.
It seems like people want to latch on to the term as a perjorative for things they don't like, instead of the true meaning of the word. It goes back to when the ACA was first implemented, that it amounted to the government taking over 1/6th of the economy, when that simply isn't the case. Just because the government is involved in something, doesn't mean that they have taken it over.
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( Step_toward != fait_accompli )
We can continue assuming the opposite as a straw man if you like, but it's not something I'm terribly interested in arguing.
We can also argue whether infrastructure, schools, health care and military are all necessary and how best to accomplish them. Technically, having roads and a military is a good example of a step toward socialism (from people taking up arms and renting earth-movers themselves). In fact, I really hate it when politicians talk about privatizing the roads in order to raise more tax revenue.
I'm not sure it's a good idea to argue everything as equivalent in terms of meeting a theoretical goal. Not all ideas that move us toward socialism are bad ideas. But some are, IMO.
I think of theory as often too simplistic. I prefer single-payer to Obamacare, but I also prefer nothing to Obamacare. And I might prefer making all health-care workers state employees to single-payer. But I really don't want to go there.
I see Obamacare basically as the lobby for giant health insurance corporations suddenly winning the lottery. Which, of course, is also too simplistic. Getting people the health care they need and deciding how health care workers should be compensated for their training and expertise is an enormously complex issue.
Forcing people to purchase this health insurance is a move in the direction of socialism. That's all. Nothing pejorative intended with that characterization. But it's a move I oppose.
And the "you didn't build that" mentality is a mentality I oppose. Not on the pure theory behind the statement, because it's easy to argue that without our collective infrastructure and military and schools, it's hard to build anything. But because reminding us seems like an attack on the entrepreneurial spirit that also helped build this country.