Isn't it absolutely hilarious how the right wing pundits scream "Socialism" at the mention of a stimulous package that helps working people? Well let's face it, if Rush Limbaugh and Glenn Beck et al are hyperventilating over socialist policies, perhaps these policies are worth a serious look. It's truly bizarre that they think our country is endangered by socialism, I mean there isn't even a viable national party. Don't even go there with Democrats being socialist, they are standard center right in any developed country other than the US and maybe Australia.
So with all the cries against the evils of socialism from the blabberbots, I decided to read up on what socialists are actually saying. I used the Democratic Socialists of America<for a source. Those commies don't scare me!</p>
DSA has issued a recovery plan that calls on the government to spend $1 trillion to stimulate the economy and includes no business tax credits. We believe the federal government should minimally allocate:
1 trillion smackers? no business dough? wha...wha...how could that be? I mean if we don't bailout people with failed businesses after all, well what's the point?
$200 billion in block grants to state and local governments to make up for the annual loss in state and local revenue
Oh well alright. I mean afterall, state and municipal governments are the ones that got dumped on by all those Bush tax cuts. That combined with the complete strangulation of the macro-economy, it makes sense to throw these folks a bone.
$100 billion to pay for half of the increased Medicaid costs states will face
Increased Medicaid costs? Oh Right, Bush "fixed" Medicaid so obviously we need to clean that up so folks can get their meds again.
$100 billion to pay for COBRA coverage for laid-off workers and to allow people over 55 to buy into Medicare
Hmm, right. Now that I just learned unemployment is well over 7% (really 13% if you count properly) we're going to have lots of people that can't afford to carry their healthcare when they are jobless.
$50 billion to increase unemployment insurance and expand eligibility. (Currently only one-third of unemployed workers receive unemployment insurance!)
Really, only 33% of workers get unemployment insurance? Who knew? Surely not the main stream media. Someone ought to tell them.
You know I could go on but...
I am sick and tired of Republicans and many Democrats tossing around the word socialism as if they actually knew what it was. No it is not a synonym for Soviet Russia, East Germany or even Castro's Cuba. The dismissive attitude that prevails in the MSM is handicapping our country and its dialog.
Real solutions to this "free market" mess are going to require we legitimately consider all possibilities. The second largest tax cuts in history have resulted in one of the largest economic collapses...period. Many Americans are going to face very hard times and if we start listening to the peddlers of tax cut opium, we're all going to starve to death. Let's kick the righties to the curb, where they belong and enact some real socialist policies that will lift up people that suffer the most in hard times.