I just read a diary that named public libraries the "best socialized good in America." Of course, the general public's impression of "socialism" is not exactly...attuned to the public good (or the Constitution's 'general welfare', for that matter); it occurs to me that many folks simply don't realize what "socialist" means in the context of governmental actions.
So, I think it would be instructive, for both this community and those who come across this discussion via Facebook, Twitter, Google et al., for us to give our own examples of "socialism" and/or 'general welfare'. To that end, I have a single, simple question for you.
Follow me below the Great Orange Colophon...
There are no polls, no selection of potential answers, and no prompting to be had. Your task is to answer this question:
For you and/or your family, what do you consider the greatest 'public good' action/program ever undertaken by the US government?
You are free to cite examples from decades or centuries past, if you like; I would, however, ask that you limit your examples to actions/programs of the Federal government.
I'll throw a nomination out in the comments to get things started.
Let's put "socialist" and "general welfare" into tangible form!