How socialist is the US?

Source: VotingFemale

The opponents of health care reform lost the battle, but their war is not over. They argue, among other things, that the legislation amounts to socialism.

When Michael Steele, Chairman of the Republican Party, was asked if the health care plan represented socialism, he replied: “Yes. Next question.”

In a recent Bloomberg National Poll, 90 percent of those who favor the Tea Party said the US was “verging more toward socialism than capitalism.”

As proof that Obama is a socialist, Glenn Beck’s evidence is that the President’s father was a Harvard educated economist.

The redistribution of wealth is, unfortunately, a myth

Bill Quigley of Common Dreams has compiled evidence that gives the lie to the socialist claim.

The fact is that the US is not really all that generous to our working and poor people compared to other countries.

Consider the US in comparison to the rest of the 30 countries that join the US in making up the OECD – the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. These 30 countries include Canada and most comparable European countries but also include some struggling countries like Czech Republic, Greece, Hungary, Korea, Mexico, Poland, Slovak Republic, and Turkey. …

When you look at how the US compares to these 30 countries, the hot air myths about the US government going all out towards socialism sort of disappear into thin air.

Here’s Quigley’s refutation of nine myths about socialism:

• It’s not true that the US government takes from the rich and gives to the poor. The gap between the rich and the non-rich is greater in the US than in any of 30 other OECD countries.
• The US does not have the greatest health care system in the world. On infant mortality we’re 4th from the bottom, right above Mexico, Turkey, and the Slovak Republic.
• It’s not true that there’s less poverty in the US than elsewhere. One out of every five children is poor. This is twice the average of the other OECD countries.
• The US is not generous towards families with children. It ranks in the bottom half when it comes to financial benefits for families with children.
• The US is not overly supportive of its workers. There is no paid leave for working mothers (or fathers), for example. Every other OECD country offers paid family leave. US workers have no guaranteed annual paid leave. Most OECD countries require, at a minimum, 20 days of annual paid leave for workers.
• It is not true that the poor have a good chance of becoming rich in the US. Social mobility is easier in other countries. In the US, the rich stay rich and the poor stay poor.
• The US does not spend generously on public education. The US is about average compared to other OECD countries in spending. In educational achievement, however, the US is the 7th worst. On support for childcare and early education, we’re in the bottom third.
• The US is not redistributing wealth from the rich to the poor. The US ranks 2nd to the bottom on income redistribution, just above Korea.
• The US is not a big spender when it comes to foreign aid. We were tied for last place in this category in 2007 and 2008.

Quigley concludes:

Despite the opinions of right wing folks, the facts say the US is not on the path towards socialism.

But if socialism means the US would go down the path of being more generous with our babies, our children, our working families, our pregnant mothers, and our sisters and brothers across the world, I think we could all appreciate it.

Picking what truth to believe is now a basic American right

Those who believe the US is socialist will never be influenced by reason. Their argument is not about facts. They enjoy indulging in ideas that feed their emotional outrage. As Sean Alfano put it in discussing “truthiness”:

[I]n a perversion of classic American ideals, personally picking what truth to believe in is assumed to be a basic right, the very thing individuals ought to do if they are making their own authentic choices. It’s your right. Virtues are for the Greeks. Objective truth is medieval. Even pure relativism may be out of fashion because it doesn’t acknowledge fake truth.

Related posts:

The health care battle isn’t over
Tony Judt: On the edge of a terrifying world
Obama on race and the Tea Party
Our only language is English
Reaction to health care: A step backwards
Déjà vu: Historical resistance to the inequities of health
Health inequities: An inhumane history
Health care inequality: The US vs. Europe